There are few categories of spend as large and operationally complex as construction. From different sourcing models, to right timelines, to a whole host of contractors and subcontractors to coordinate, procurement has to walk a fine line between being a roadblock and advocating for active spend management.

Neha Kumar has experience working for companies like Barclays, Bloomberg, Deutsche Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation across the corporate services, facilities, and real estate categories. Most recently her focus has been on construction.

In this episode, Neha takes Philip Ideson on a journey through the peculiarities of construction procurement - the first time we have covered this category on the podcast! 

• Understanding and deciding between the common models for construction sourcing
• Why scheduling is just as important as price
• How construction RFPs differ from other RFPs and the role they play in the sourcing and project management process

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

In this week’s episode, we’re featuring a crossover from Dial P for Procurement - a show hosted by Kelly Barner every week on the Art of Procurement platform. 

Dial P for Procurement is for anyone with an appreciation for business storytelling who isn’t afraid to take a closer look at tough topics. It is also part of the LinkedIn Presents network, which features a limited number of shows hand-selected by LinkedIn to be a part of their own podcast programming.

This particular episode tells the true story of what happened when Kraft Heinz procurement ran afoul of the SEC by illegally securing and reporting on supplier cost savings. It led to significant turnover at the executive level - including the CEO - as well as the restatement of two years’ worth of financial statements.

Listen in and then subscribe to Dial P for Procurement wherever you listen to podcasts!

Links:

Listen to Dial P on Art of Procurement

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on Spotify

Subscribe on Google 

Subscribe to the Dial P for Procurement LinkedIn newsletter 

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

According to 2022 research conducted by Economist Impact and commissioned by SAP, risk reduction is a top priority for corporate leadership. 

38 percent of C-suite executives view risk reduction as a way to deliver increased value through procurement. Do the other 62 percent recognize the role procurement plays in risk management?

In this episode based on an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Gordon Donovan, Global Market Research Director, Procurement and External Workforce at SAP, and Matthew Montgomery, Solution Management Director, Supplier Lifecycle & Third Party Risk Management at SAP. 

They answered live audience questions about:

• How C-suite executives view procurement’s role in managing risk        
• Why procurement talent and skills shortages may be part of the risk management challenge 
• How companies are leveraging supplier management technologies to address these challenges 

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The procurement talent space has been on a rollercoaster over the last couple of years. 

First the pandemic disrupted everything, then companies started making a grab for procurement talent - in many cases hiring people before meeting them. Demand and salaries shot up in parallel. Then, at the end of last year, economic headwinds led to a correction and hiring slowed. There have even been layoffs in some sectors.

Where does all of that leave the procurement talent market today?

In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Andrew Daley, Managing Director of Digital Procurement and Supply Chain at Edbury Daley and a returning guest. Edbury Daley is a specialist recruitment consultancy formed in 2005, and Andrew is one of the most well-connected procurement professionals in the UK. 

Andrew shares his up-to-the-moment perspective on:

• What he has heard at recent conferences season about digital literacy for procurement professionals
• Outlook and advice for provider-side procurement professionals who may recently have been impacted by company layoffs 
• Why CPOs continue to consider procurement talent such a struggle, and why they are allowing training budgets to go unused in some cases

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

The concept of a ‘business ecosystem’ has changed over time. In the early days, a business ecosystem would bring together enterprise technology and implementation partners, easing the transition and accelerating value realization.

Today, however, business ecosystems are far more expansive. They include both software and service partners that are able to support a company on its digital maturity journey.

At SAP Sapphire 2023, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to sit down with Claus Gruenewald, Global Head Partner Business SAP Intelligent Spend Solutions, and Conor Mullaney, Business Advisor, Sustainability, Procurement and Supply Chain Lead at excelerateds2p. 

In particular, they focused on the importance and accessibility of business ecosystems for mid-market companies:

• The ability to accommodate the unique localized nature of a business that is geographically or functionally dispersed
• Unique challenges and opportunities for procurement organizations in mid-market companies
• How the business ecosystem makes it possible for companies to combine an enterprise solution that addresses 90 percent of their needs with partners who handle the rest

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Supply chain and procurement professionals are used to supporting informed decision making, but the last few years have been far from ordinary. Decisions are being made more frequently with less time to prepare, and each one has a far greater impact on business continuity and supplier relationships.

This is even more true for direct materials. Sophisticated supply chain models and mature procurement strategy have been put to the test - each time the team must cross the ‘decision abyss’ could make the difference between competitive advantage and operational disruption.

Keith Hartley is the CEO of LevaData and Lance Younger is the CEO of ProcureTech. They spoke at a live event co-created by Art of Procurement and LevaData earlier this year: Navigating the Decision Abyss: Managing Direct Spend in Chaotic Times.

In this session, moderated by Philip Ideson, they address:

• What the decision abyss is and what it means to procurement, supply chain professionals, and category managers in today’s uncertain economic conditions
• The level of urgency being experienced by today’s corporate leaders, and how each decision making team is converting that urgency into action
• How LevaData is investigating the decision abyss to learn more about its causes and effects

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

There will always be things procurement does not know. Even if all of the data in the world were magically made available, there would be quality issues and analytics challenges to overcome. Data has to be validated - at scale - before the business can be confident making decisions based upon it. 

In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Florin Tufan, Co-Founder and CEO of Veridion. Florin was recognized by the 2020 Romania Forbes 30 under 30 program for his willingness to take on the entrepreneurial risk associated with tackling the problem of firmographic data on an enterprise scale.

During this conversation, Philip and Florin discuss:

• Why a company’s age impacts the data quality challenges they are likely to face through layers of legacy systems
• What firmographics are and why procurement should be investing in them
• The role that AI needs to play for robust firmographics data to be made actionable quickly and at scale

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

According to research conducted by CADDi, 28.1 percent of procurement professionals know what should-cost analysis is, but only 4.6 percent use it. Given the critical importance of efficient direct material sourcing to manufacturing companies, these numbers justify further investigation.

In this episode, Kelly Barner is joined by Yushiro Kato, Co-Founder and CEO of CADDi. He is an advocate for should-cost analysis based on his first hand experience leveraging it as an effective cost reduction strategy and also for its potential to serve as a catalyst for collaboration with key suppliers.

Yushiro and Kelly take this opportunity to discuss:

• Why there is an understanding gap around should-cost analysis
• How accurate should-cost analysis needs to be in order to be actionable
• What it looks like to conduct a collaborative should-cost analysis exercise with suppliers, and what results such an effort can deliver

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Years of supply chain disruptions have caused global organizations to rethink the role of procurement - and procurement teams are doing some reflecting of their own. This is the time for procurement leaders to reexamine their operating model in preparation for the next potential crisis. 

In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Art of Procurement’s Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Jake Taylor, Senior Director of Advisory at ProcureAbility. He provides his view on how leading procurement organizations are realigning themselves with the business and reinforcing that alignment with their operating model. 

Jake answers questions on topics such as:

• The pros and cons of various procurement operating models
• Change management considerations that will put operating model adjustments into context
• Actionable insights that will help you make purposeful changes to your procurement operating model

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Procurement teams are tasked with moving the ball on so many ‘important’ projects in parallel that it can be hard to put them in priority order. In fact, procurement could ask five executives which effort - cost savings, risk mitigation, or ESG - is the most important to the company and get five different answers. Clearly, building a mechanism to decide is the right place to start.

In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Chris Riley, a Principal in Supply Chain and Procurement at Deloitte Consulting based in Perth, Australia. Chris has experience in a variety of procurement roles in the UK, Singapore, and Australia, with companies such as Ford, Cap Gemini, Lloyds Banking Group, and Rio Tinto. 

During the conversation, Chris and Phil have the opportunity to discuss:

• Where procurement should go next, after the elevated role they have taken on over the last couple of years in response to supply and cost pressures
• How portfolio management and leadership strategies based on operational excellence can drive significant short and long-term improvements in procurement performance
• The role procurement can take on to support the corporate desire to spend with a social conscience

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Effective today, Art of Procurement has a new brand: an uploaded logo, look, and feel that align with our vision for procurement and the expanded content and events that are available to the AOP community.

This rebrand comes after eight years of gradual shifts. Starting with the launch of the podcast in 2015, Art of Procurement has grown to become the leading source of trusted, actionable insights for forward-thinking procurement leaders.

In this bonus episode, Partners Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner explain the intent and process behind this change:

• How our rebrand goes beyond just sporting a ‘new look’
• The need for procurement advocacy across the executive suite
• How this brand update aligns with our larger mission to 10X the impact of procurement

Supplier.io recently analyzed $1.4 trillion in spend looking for supplier diversity benchmarks that can be used to identify top performers and aid the advance of these programs regardless of maturity, size, or industry.

In this episode, drawn from an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Aylin Basom, CEO of Supplier.io, and Lois Eichacker, their Vice President of Customer Success. They share the findings of the 2023 Supplier Diversity Benchmarking Report and discuss the importance of having an accurate, reliable, and consistent way to measure supplier diversity program results. 

Listen to this interview to discover:

• Why actionable data and benchmarks are critical to advancing the mission of the supplier diversity movement
• What the data reveals when small supplier spend and diverse supplier spend are studied separately
• The role industry plays in determining relevant supplier diversity benchmarks

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.

Despite the efforts that have been made to eradicate slavery, the practice has adapted. People all over the world are being held against their will and forced to provide labor, endure inhuman treatment, and are even subject to forcible organ harvesting.  

Tim Nelson is the CEO of the charities Hope for Justice and Slave Free Alliance. He was working in the banking industry when he met a ‘slave hunter’ through a friend - a chance encounter that started his mission to expose and address the slavery and human trafficking that exist within today’s supply chains. Today he is fighting both worldwide through an ever-expanding network of team members and partners.

In this episode, Tim shares his knowledge and and advice with Philip Ideson about:

• Some of the products, services, and supply chains that are at high risk of involving modern slavery 
• Internal and external drivers of change that are starting to move the needle on modern-day slavery
• The role that procurement professionals can - and must - play in working to protect human rights and protect companies from reputational risk

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time.

Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement.

Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.