As digital transformation progresses, corporate leadership teams are increasing their focus on the quality and availability of data. Spend analysis is just one internal data resource in a sea of data ecosystems, but it has the potential to serve as the foundational connection point for all procurement analytics.

For this special series, Art of Procurement partnered with Sievo and Buyers Meeting Point to take a deep dive into procurement data ecosystems. We will explore how procurement leaders can meet their analytical requirements while also exploiting the full cross-functional value of data - data that enables corporate growth and competitive advantage. 

Every two weeks between April and July 2021, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner will speak with senior level executives at Sievo, riskmethods, Basware, supplier.io, and EcoVadis - companies at the forefront of the procurement data revolution. Listeners can also download the ebook behind the podcast series in the Links section below.

In this episode, Philip Ideson and Sievo Co-Founder and CEO Sammeli Sammalkorpi discuss procurement’s expanding mandate from the business and how - with the help of quality data and analytics - they can deliver above and beyond expectations:

Why it has been so difficult up to this point to get a solid grasp on procurement analytics

The evidence suggesting that humans and automation will be working in partnership for a long time

How procurement can manage and benefit from the data ecosystem that surrounds them

At Mastermind LIVE Spring 2021, Art of Procurement had the opportunity to bring together a visionary panel of procurement leaders to discuss the urgency of the present moment and what can and should be done to support corporate growth. The panel included: 

• Adam Brown, Senior Manager of Procurement Transformation & Head of the Procurement Garage at BT
• Amy Fong, Vice President, Sourcing and Vendor Management for Everest Group
• Keith Browning, Managing Director, Supply Chain Management at Delta Air Lines
• Keith Hausmann, Globality’s Chief Revenue Officer
• Reunan Varene, Global Head of Procurement at Dropbox

Facilitated by Philip Ideson, this discussion-based session was focused on procurement’s sense of urgency as we pursue a growth agenda, the need for supplier collaboration and mutually beneficial third-party relationships, and the strategies and technology that will empower procurement to scale. While we heard some reflection on the challenges of the past year, most of the discussion was forward looking, taking procurement’s capabilities today and building on them.

In this episode, which was recorded live at Mastermind LIVE Spring, Philip asked the panelists about:

• How they each define growth - both in terms of how they are developing procurement’s capabilities and in how that empowers them to contribute to the corporate top line
• Ways procurement can better communicate and demonstrate their top-line, value-oriented investments to the rest of the business
• The absolute criticality of partnering with suppliers while seeing them as much more than suppliers: current customers, potential customers, and/or sources of differentiation and market expertise

Procurement’s organizational structure is as important as the processes and technology they use. Their operational model has to position them to deliver what the company needs most - requirements that may not remain fixed. When the business needs something different from procurement, their structure will have to evolve as well.

Robert Bonnar is currently the Global Procurement Director at SHV Energy, but he has worked in procurement in a number of industries. As he puts it, “I did cars, drugs, booze, and now energy.” But even that colorful description doesn't capture the breadth of his experience. He has also focused in a number of procurement disciplines, including direct and indirect procurement and supplier-enabled innovation.

In this conversation, Robert speaks with Host Philip Ideson about:

• Whether it is possible to bring innovative or high-performing suppliers from one vertical to another, and what procurement needs to do to help them succeed
• His perspective on how to manage the complex puzzle of qualitative KPIs, quantitative KPIs, and data quality
• How procurement can use access to information to ease the burden placed on stakeholders and shorten the time to results

According to the Procurement 2021 Pulse Check by WNS Denali and ProcureCon Europe, only 9% of CPOs are satisfied with the current level of stakeholder alignment in their organization. 

9%. In 2021.

I was so surprised by that number that I decided to dedicate this episode of the podcast to it.

In this podcast, we’ll explore the differences between what the alignment journey and the corresponding operating model changes mean for small, mid-sized, and larger companies, as well as the solutions to be considered. As you listen, think about how aligned YOUR procurement function is with the business and what you might do to address it.