My guest on the Art of Procurement this week is Lara Nichols. Lara is the Head of Procurement for insurance company NFP Corp, and is also leading the conference organizing committee for ISM2017, the largest procurement related conference of the year.
Prior to NFP, Lara enjoyed roles of increasing responsibility across Fortune 100 organizations such as Wachovia (now Wells Fargo), Tyco and Merck.
Our conversation today is broadly split into three different parts. Lara shares her experiences switching the comfortable surroundings of a Fortune 100 procurement organization for a mid-market firm in procurement start-up mode.
We then discuss the impact that the current anti-globalization political environment is impacting her procurement strategies, with an increased focus on risk mitigation.
Finally, we talk conferences. What does it take to plan a conference with the depth and breadth of ISM2017, and what, as an attendee, can you do to maximize your experience.
Today I am joined on the Art of Procurement by Jim Butler, the Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) for my home State of California
Prior to joining the State of California, Jim enjoyed a successful career as the CPO for Levi Strauss, and held a number of senior procurement leadership positions with Dell Computer.
In today’s conversation, I wanted to learn about the leadership role that the State of California is taking in building sustainability into its supply chain, and in providing opportunities for small and local businesses.
Sustainability is often a topic we talk about in procurement, but I think it is fair to say that best practices are not widely implemented. Jim shares some of his experiences in California, along with the added dimensions – which create both opportunities and challenges – of doing so within a public body.
Brian Bancroft, the Vice President of Direct Procurement at The Coca-Cola Company joins me today as my guest on the Art of Procurement.
The diversity of our conversation today matches the depth and breadth of Brian’s career. Brian has enjoyed multiple VP of Procurement and CPO roles at companies such as Kellogg's and Coca-Cola covering both Direct and Indirect spend, while also having P&L and operational responsibility for other business segments.
Listen in to hear Brian’s perspective on a wide range of topics, from how to be successful moving between Indirect and Direct procurement, why global sourcing strategies are often setting buyers up for failure, and how working with procurement as a stakeholder shaped Brian’s approach as a CPO.
How does the role of procurement differ in a mission driven organization? Today on the Art of Procurement, I explore how procurement can help save lives with Brian Kyle, Managing Director of Strategic Sourcing and Contract Management at the American Cancer Society.
Kyle shares his experiences of moving from a profit-driven to mission-driven organization, and the journey that American Cancer Society has taken to elevate the role of procurement from a sourcing to category management led organization - at zero incremental cost.
Today on the Art of Procurement I am joined by Kevin Giblin, Head of Global Sourcing & CPO of data analytics company Dun & Bradstreet.
In today’s episode, I start by asking Kevin for his perspective on creating value beyond savings, and towards the end of our conversation Kevin gives some great advice to procurement pro’s looking to stand out from the crowd.
However, the purpose of our conversation is for Kevin to share a real-life example of how to significantly increase internal client satisfaction, and how reducing stakeholder friction on transactional activities leads to increased early engagement on more value added projects.
Pardon the interruption!
It has been a busy couple of weeks here at Art of Procurement Towers, and so I wanted to share details of a couple of new shows that have launched is week.
For more information, visit:
http://artofprocurement.com/evenbiggerideas
Welcome to 2017! In this first show of the year, I share details of Art of Procurement's publishing schedule in 2017, invite applications to a new AOP Circle of Experts, and share thoughts on facilitating innovation following a recent visit to a startup accelerator program.
For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/ep116
The makeup of the workforce is changing rapidly. Statistics show that organizations are looking to hire part-time, temporary words more than ever before, as they look to become more agile and reduce their fixed costs.
At the same time, the service industry and enabling technology that underpins the flow of contingent workers is undergoing a revolution. It feels like hardly a week goes by before I read about the launch of another platform, technology or partnership in the space.
So how can we make sense of all these moving parts, and enable our organizations take advantage of the future of work?
This is the topic of today’s show, with contingent workforce expert Terri Gallagher. This is the third in a three part series on contingent labor and procurement, and definitely the most thought provoking!
If you are a procurement professional with responsibility for shaping continent labor strategies, or a consultant who wants to learn how organizations will be buying your services in the future, today’s show is a must listen!
For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/futureofwork
Alan Mulally led arguably the greatest turnaround in corporate history. He saved Ford Motor Company from bankruptcy amid the chaos of the 2008 recession, and architected and led the transformation of Ford's product line, brand reputation and financial performance.
I had the opportunity this week to sit in on a keynote with Alan at the ISM2016 conference in Indianapolis. In today's Friday show, I want to share what Alan described as "all I know". The 11 steps that he used to drive the transformation. In my mind, these can be applied successfully to any project, and they are just great pieces of business advice. I hope you agree!
For more, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/ford
How can we make procurement less boring? That is the question I recently posed based on the perception that we hear that procurement is a boring profession. As you can imagine, it led to a lively debate within the procurement profession!
In this episode I explore why others may feel that procurement is boring, when practitioners believe it is anything but. I share three listener voicemails, and give my opinion on the actions and mind shift that we need to take to increase the reputation of the work we do.
For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/boring