Art of Procurement

“If you think of it simplistically, orchestration is a whole art form. You have to learn what it all means. But in so many words, it is nothing else than acting as if it is your own company. How cool is that?” - Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence, SVP, Head of Procurement Governance and Enabling, Bayer When procurement is decentralized, it is difficult to achieve the visibility they need to proactively manage risk and compliance, identify savings, and create value and opportunity for the business. In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes a heavy-hitting panel of Fortune 500 procurement leaders to discuss how procurement orchestration can help create optimal digital experiences across the organization and level-up procurement’s tech stack. He is joined by Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence, SVP, Head of Procurement Governance and Enabling at Bayer; Chris Vessey, Executive Director, Global Product Strategy & Transformation at Goldman Sachs; Shachi Rai Gupta, Global Head of Strategy, Intelligence and Digital Transformation at Bristol Myers Squibb; and Lance Younger, CEO of ProcureTech. They discuss: Links: Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementElisabeth Schlag-Lawrence on LinkedInChris Vessey on LinkedInShachi Rai Gupta on LinkedInLance Younger on LinkedIn

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.

“I think we are headed for human-centered AI where we have the human at the core, and you are going to augment your capabilities with technology to make your work better. That is where it is going.” - Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility Procurement is acutely aware that emerging technologies like AI are already having an impact on the profession and will change the role and function of procurement even more in the years to come. While some in procurement are embracing, or, at the very least, accepting the new AI-powered future of procurement, others are somewhat more resistant or even fearful of the changes ahead. To explore how procurement can and should be thinking about and integrating AI into their delivery model of the future, Philip Ideson recently spoke with Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility, while they were at ProcureCon Indirect West in Las Vegas, NV. As a part of their wider discussion on how AI is impacting procurement, they talk about: Links: Darshan Deshmukh on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementVisit ProcureAbility’s Website

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.

“What we have to do from day one is engage the business, sell the value of procurement, communicate the value of procurement, and make quick wins with the suppliers.” - Salvador Serra de Paz Procurement transformation can sometimes feel like a daunting undertaking, especially when there are voices within the business that are hesitant (or downright resistant) to change and view any improvements to processes, workflows, ownership, or technology as threats to their own function. In this podcast episode, Philip Ideson welcomes Salvador Serra de Paz, who has extensive experience leading successful global transformation projects in a variety of different industries and settings. Salvador reveals the most common challenges he’s faced with each transformation project, the tactics he used to overcome them, and what years of experience in procurement transformation have taught him about the important role that communication, marketing, and perceptions play in getting it right. Specifically, Salvador discusses: Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Salvador Serra de Paz on LinkedIn

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.

“2023 was the year of the ‘dabbler.’ We all heard about AI, and we were all playing around with ChatGPT. We were dabbling around, but we were not integrating. I think 2024 is the year that we actually integrate AI and start to create workflows around it.” - Heather Murray, AI Trainer and Advisor at Beesting Digital and Founder of AI for Non-Techies Since the release of ChatGPT in 2023 brought generative AI technology to the masses and ushered in a wave of new AI-powered solutions, companies have been scrambling to figure out how to harness AI to their advantage and wade through all the new solutions on the market. At Digital Outcomes, Art of Procurement’s annual technology-focused virtual event, Heather Murray, AI Trainer and Advisor at Beesting Digital and Founder of AI for Non-Techies, joined the opening session for a discussion on the potential for AI in procurement and how procurement leaders, and businesses in general, should be approaching creating and sustaining their AI strategies in a world where the technology is evolving at break-neck speed. In this podcast episode, we revisit Heather’s session, “Straight Talk About the Potential of AI,” where she and Kelly Barner discuss: Links: Heather Murray on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

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 job market is back. That’s great! But, as it regains momentum, both job seekers and companies are going to have to adapt, and I think the road ahead promises growth and transformation and opportunity for anyone who is willing to embrace this change.” -Mark Holyoake, Managing Director, Procurement Recruitment at Holyoake Search After nearly 5 years of what seemed like a rollercoaster of ups and downs in labor trends – from salary inflation to hiring to economic downturn and then back again to recovery (whew!) – the procurement job market seems to be showing signs of stability and steady, reassuring growth that should benefit candidates and employers alike. To better understand where the procurement job market has been, where it stands now, and where it is headed, Philip Ideson welcomes Mark Holyoake, Managing Director, Procurement Recruitment at Holyoake Search, back to the podcast. Mark explains why he feels more optimistic about the job market than he has in years, but he also cautions employers against allowing favorable hiring conditions to lull them back into old bad habits. In this episode, Mark gives his take on: Links: Mark Holyoake on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementRiding the Rollercoaster of Procurement Recruiting

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.

“At larger traditional companies, there is a common theme in procurement that ‘I need a seat at the table, and I need to justify to you why I am in this room with you.’ But a startup is actually a breath of fresh air. There are not that many tables, so you are at the table, regardless of whether you like it or not.”- Liem Hua, Head of Procurement at Rippling Building and scaling a procurement team in a high-growth startup can look very different from traditional corporate environments. Procurement has to adjust their approach to almost everything, from stakeholder management to strategy building and hiring to the very role they play in the business. In this Art of Procurement episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Liem Hua, Head of Procurement at Rippling, about the differences between procurement’s role and scope at a startup or high growth company versus a large, traditional enterprise. Liem has held a number of different roles at startups and high-growth companies, but he has also worked for large corporations like Delta Airlines, and he understands the kind of code-switching procurement has to engage in depending on their environment. In this episode, Philip and Liem discuss: Links: Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementImproving Internal Perception of Procurement from Intake to Procure w/ Liem Hua, Michael Denari, and Rujul Zaparde

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.

“It’s really nice to have a bigger purpose and actually see the communities that you are changing, the lives that you are altering and impacting through the work that you do.” - Andrew Savage, Global Lead: Procurement Excellence at MTN No one would expect leading an award-winning procurement center of excellence across Africa and the Middle East to be easy, but when you’re bringing goods or services to hard-to-access geographies or communities, it gives an even deeper meaning to the value you are bringing to the business and entire populations of people. In this AOP podcast episode, Philip Ideson welcomes Andrew Savage, Global Lead: Procurement Excellence at MTN, to talk about his experiences building and leading a large procurement center of excellence across some of the most challenging geographic regions in the world and how that experience has informed his sense of procurement’s value creation. In the episode, they discuss: Links: Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementAndrew Savage on LinkedIn

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.

“If our experts succeed, if the processes we build succeed, it will train the client's team in what best in class approaches look like.” - Philip Ideson, Founder & Managing Director at Art of Procurement Art of Procurement is excited to announce the official launch of SpendPros, a new on-demand consultancy that connects businesses with the expertise and market intelligence they need to improve the management of high impact spend categories without the cost and complexity of traditional consultancies. In this special episode, Art of Procurement Founder Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner, Head of Content and Operations, introduce the new SpendPros model, explain the inspiration behind its creation, and break down how it can help procurement make an even greater impact on the business. They’ll discuss: Links: Visit the SpendPros websitePhilip Ideson on LinkedInKelly Barner on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement

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 is always room for negotiation around IT spend. The worst they can do is say ‘no,’ but at least you are making a solid case to improve this contract and your spend as much as possible.” - Logan Furbee, Senior SaaS Consultant at Vendr Most companies are facing rising IT costs and an increasingly crowded supplier marketplace. This means procurement has multiple hurdles to overcome on their path to eliminating SaaS spend waste - driving optimal performance, efficiency, and transparency with technology suppliers. To explore tactics for overcoming the most common challenges with sourcing and managing IT spend, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner spoke with Logan Furbee, a Senior SaaS Consultant at Vendr. Logan has negotiated hundreds of SaaS contracts in her own right, and is a strong advocate for transparency as the key antidote to problematic IT spend. In this episode, they discuss: Links: Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementLogan Furbee on LinkedInWatch Again: Driving the Best Business Outcomes From IT Providers

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.

“Nemawashi is generally something we do on a yearly basis. Is it tedious? Yes. Is it easy? No. Does it take a lot of time? Yes. Is it worth it? Hell yes!” - Réda Guiri, Head of Group Outsourcing & Procurement, Toyota Insurance Services Europe Everyone knows that getting stakeholder buy-in is critical for procurement, but it is not always straightforward – especially in large stakeholder networks paralyzed by red tape, over-thinking, and ‘decision-by-committee.’ Even when procurement does get stakeholder sign-off at some level, expectations and goals can still remain unmet when the final product or service is delivered. In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Réda Guiri, Head of Group Outsourcing and Procurement at Toyota Insurance Services Europe, about the nemawashi method of consensus building. He shares his view about how this approach is often better than the methods procurement has traditionally employed to gain buy-in. Philip and Réda discuss: Links: Subscribe to This Week in ProcurementRéda Guiri on LinkedIn

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.