The combined challenges of the global economy and digital competition are very real for most executive leadership teams. While many of the decisions they must make are focused on short term agility and operational resilience, they can’t allow themselves to lose sight of the investments required to fuel longer term growth.

In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson are joined by Yatin Anand, Principal and Procurement Leader at KPMG, and Michael van Keulen (“MVK”), Chief Procurement Officer at Coupa. They address how procurement can increase overall business resilience for the sake of short term agility and long term growth.

Yatin and MVK answer questions about:

• How CEOs and leadership teams are approaching the challenges and opportunities they face today and the steps they are taking to prepare for the future
• Ways to enable companies to make better decisions across a range of strategic objectives by achieving better control over their spend 
• Where ESG targets fit into supply chain programs that are constantly being forced to emphasize risk and cost

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 sooner procurement is engaged in a business need, sourcing project, or contract process, the better the outcome will be for the business. This principle is widely accepted within procurement as truth, but has it ever been proven? If procurement could provide data to support earlier engagement and stronger upstream relationships with the business, the entire value equation would change.

Brian Peters is the Senior Director of Global Procurement Services & Delivery at Gilead Sciences, and he has a theory. He believes that if procurement has better upstream relationships, he will be able to measure the benefits in terms of:

• Higher savings
• Improved business outcomes
• Increased stakeholder satisfaction
• Shorter cycle times
• Improved supplier experience

In this conversation with host Philip Ideson, Brian talks about his theory regarding the ROI of procurement’s upstream relationships and the process he and his team are going through to prove it is true.

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.

Many leading procurement professionals started out in completely different fields. And while they manage spend and suppliers today, those past practices, skills, and perspectives are still available to them. That diversity of perspective is part of what makes procurement teams so creative and resilient.

In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Fadi El Mouallem, a global procurement executive and digital transformation advocate. Fadi has experience working at companies like Salesforce and Apple, but his original field was architecture… something that has come in particularly helpful in a field that is constantly balancing art and science.

When it comes to building and enabling amazing teams, Fadi has plenty of advice to share:

• The importance of being able to step back and take in the big picture while also keeping an eye on the details
• Purposefully pursuing a broad range of talent and backgrounds when introducing someone new the team
• The many forms that organizational influence can take, and why it always starts with human connection

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 four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap.

In the fourth and final episode in this series, he is joined by Sammeli Sammalkorpi, CEO and Co-Founder of Sievo, to bring the whole series together by looking at how procurement can cross the data to action gap.

They take this opportunity to discuss: 

• What the next frontier in procurement analytics may look like 
• Whether automated decision making will replace procurement professionals 
• How procurement decision makers should think about procurement data assets

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap.

 In the third episode, he is joined by Deep Singh, a Presales Manager at Sievo, to talk about the current state of human decision making and the tools available to drive decisions into actions.

 They take this opportunity to discuss: 

• How procurement can connect global sources of spend data with existing decision making processes
• What the decision making process looks like today with regards to managing risk
• Whether companies spend sufficient time cleaning and interpreting their data so they can improve their decisions

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap.

 In the second episode, he is joined by Heta Pirttijärvi, a Product Manager at Sievo, to talk about ESG analytics.

 They take this opportunity to discuss: 

• Why ESG topics are becoming more important and receiving more attention 
• The main obstacles companies struggle with as they try to translate their ESG vision into an actionable strategy 
• Procurement’s likely future role in ESG initiatives

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the Sievo team. In each episode, we discover a unique way that differentiated decision making can help procurement 10X their impact: procurement as an information hub, ESG analytics, investments in talent, and crossing the data to action gap.

In this first episode, he is joined by Heta Ruikka, VP of Product Management at Sievo, to talk about how procurement’s role has adjusted in response to differentiated decision making.

They take this opportunity to discuss: 

• How the last few years have altered procurement’s role
• The new challenges that are increasing procurement’s visibility and responsibility
• Examples of how increased complexity affects procurement’s analytical and sourcing work

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.

Art of Procurement recently passed a major milestone for any podcast - but one that is particularly exciting for a niche business podcast… our one-millionth download!

Philip Ideson recorded the first episode of the podcast back in 2015 (he and Kelly Barner connected for the very first time to record episode 6!). Over time, the podcast has evolved and matured just as much as the procurement community has, and today it is the #1 downloaded procurement podcast in the world. 

But if you thought that was our whole story, you would be missing out on a lot…

To mark this occasion, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner recorded a special episode to share behind-the-scenes stories and answer listener Q&A. Here are just a few of the things they cover in this unprecedented and unfiltered episode:

• The master plan (or lack thereof) that motivated Phil to give up a perfectly good job to host a podcast
• Some of the low points on the journey, and what the team learned from them
• Episodes that were surprisingly well received… or didn’t resonate at all.
• Why the secret to this podcast’s success may actually be another unrelated podcast

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 often talks about visibility and transparency. Data turns abstract goals into actionable insight. Having greater visibility makes it possible for procurement to negotiate maximum savings while making sure the company has what it needs to operate competitively in a digital world. 

In categories where it is easy for distributed buyers to act independently - like cloud software for instance - visibility also provides procurement with opportunities for improved savings leverage and the centralized oversight required to stop ‘shadow spend’ in its tracks.

In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson is joined by Emily Campbell, Director of Product Design & Research at Vendr, and Nick Pinkman, Sr. Cloud Manager at Vendr. 

Emily and Nick share their perspectives about:

• The importance of centralizing workflows for managing spend and headcount
• The different types of cloud savings procurement should pursue during contract negotiations
• What data procurement should have in hand before entering a cloud software negotiation

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.

So much of what procurement does is about change management. Whether it is adopting new technologies, ensuring that soft skills continue to evolve, or understanding how procurement can best align with the business given their changing needs… something is always changing.

Paras Sood has broad senior-level experience across the entire procurement value chain. He has worked as a practitioner, at a procurement tech company, and in procurement consulting. Most recently, Paras was the Global Head of Strategic Procurement Transformation for Deutsche Bank, until he made the move back into consulting at Future Purchasing. 

In this episode, Philip Ideson taps into Paras’ experience in driving transformation to better understand his approach and how it has evolved to meet changing C-suite expectations. 

• How procurement can take a broad range of experiential and functional perspectives when planning a transformation journey
• Changes he has seen companies make to the business case required for both short and longer term funding for transformations
• Why successful transformation efforts require segmentation of transformational phases, stakeholder interests and enthusiasm, and technology implementation

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.  

Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

To support this need for balance, the Art of Procurement team brought together a broad range of experts to speak at Digital Outcomes 2023: one of our largest virtual events of the year. We heard about technical challenges and human growing pains… in addition to technical triumphs and human evolution.

In this episode of the pod, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner share their combined takeaways from this fast-paced two day event:

• How to take new ideas from a relatively safe incubation phase to full scale corporate programs
• The risks that exist for procurement teams that are not able to successfully leave the status quo behind and embrace new ways of working and thinking
• The opportunity that exists for procurement organizations that use digital platforms as impact multipliers, delivering expanded forms of ROI

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.  

Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Like most other companies, manufacturing companies have a problem with data. Many of them don't centralize much of the data they produce through regular transactions, and even when they do, they struggle to contextualize that information so that it becomes actionable. When procurement professionals in these companies sit down with engineers and supply chain planners, they need to be able to harness that data as the ‘common language’ for value.

Keith Hartley is the CEO of LevaData - and a passionate surfer, a brand new combination for the Art of Procurement podcast. Keith joined the LevaData team in 2022, but he isn’t new to procurement - and he has deep experience helping manufacturing companies drive better decision making through the use of data. 

In this episode, Philip Ideson and Keith discussed:

• The current state of direct material sourcing 
• How procurement and engineering teams can foster greater collaboration to everyone’s benefit
• How leading companies are using increased data visibility to differentiate their decision making - even in chaotic times

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.  

Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

All companies are works in progress, as are the many professionals dedicated to their operational performance and efficiency. Since today’s business conditions are far from being straightforward, having a better read of the macro landscape can represent a significant competitive advantage.

In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Art of Procurement’s Philip Ideson was joined by Rujul Zaparde, Founder and CEO of Zip, and Colin Glazier, VP of Solutions Consulting at Zip. They regularly hear different perspectives on the challenges and opportunities that will be presented to all of us, as well as suggestions about what we can start doing now to make the most of the new year.

Rujul and Colin answered questions from the Art of Procurement community about three key areas:

• How macro-economic trends and pressures will affect providers and practitioners differently, and exhibit themselves in each group’s work
• The impact that no-code platforms and automation may have on user friction and compliance
• New approaches procurement can take to influence specific categories and relationships today and in the future

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.  

Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

The procurement job scene has been a wild ride for the last few years. Conditions are standing to change, and no one ever should have expected otherwise. As procurement begins to enter a new phase of recruitment under very different economic conditions, there are still plenty of op[portunities - but it may require a new approach to find them.

Mark Holyoake is the Managing Director of Holyoake Search, a recruitment specialist focused on procurement. Mark joined host Philip Ideson for a discussion about the general health of the procurement job market and how it has evolved over the past couple of years, along with his tips for any listeners who have been impacted by workforce reductions.

In this interview Mark and Philip discuss:

• How the spike in demand for procurement professionals during the pandemic caused years’ worth of overdue salary increases to hit hiring companies all at once
• Why recent news of mass layoffs, especially within the tech sector, should not be seen as a proxy for the market as a whole - and certainly not for procurement
• Why hiring managers and candidates all have to keep an open mind about which skills and experiences can apply to which open positions

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.  

Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.