Art of 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.

In this seventh episode of the “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement” podcast series, Art of Procurement’s Philip Ideson and Fine Tune CEO Rich Ham take a deep dive into procurement history with Kate Vitasek, Faculty of Graduate and Executive Education at the University of Tennessee, and architect of the groundbreaking Vested methodology.  With over 15 years of research and eight books dedicated to buyer-supplier strategic partnerships, Kate shares her insight into how procurement has traditionally tended to extract value from suppliers through power plays, as opposed to creating value through collaboration and alignment around mutually ‘Vested’ interests. She traces the historical roots of this dysfunction back to the 1980s with the rise of the Kraljic Matrix and Michael Porter's competitive strategies, both of which further embedded power-based negotiations into procurement's DNA. Drawing inspiration from the Vested approach, Kate:  Advocates for moving away from transaction-based buyer-seller relationships to outcome-based strategic partnerships where both parties have a genuine vested interest in one another’s mutual success, and  Explains this dynamic by sharing examples of organizations that have transformed their supplier relationships by transforming how they measure success, structure contracts, and distribute value across their supplier network. This episode challenges procurement to recognize when they're spinning their wheels with outdated supplier management tactics and encourages them to reimagine what's possible when buyers and suppliers align their interests toward genuine value creation and purpose-driven procurement. Links: Kate Vitasek on LinkedIn Rich Ham on LinkedIn Learn more at FineTuneUs.com  

“Procurement isn’t just a cost center; it’s a true value driver. So when they’re recruiting, CPOs and heads of procurement are looking for someone who's current and who is bringing ideas to the table. They’re not just hiring buyers anymore.” - Derek Lutz, Founder and CEO, Lean Six Search  As economic and geopolitical instability sends ripples of doubt across global supply chains, the question of which procurement skills will remain valuable, as well as which ones are becoming obsolete, has never been more relevant.  In this episode, host Philip Ideson talks about the evolving challenges of procurement talent acquisition and retention with Deerek Lutz, Founder and CEO of Lean Six Search. Derek has filled roles in over 50 countries (and has himself travelled to 173), and he offers a truly global perspective on procurement talent trends.  Derek shares his perspective on the shifting nature of procurement leadership, as well as what makes candidates stand out in today’s job market. His insights include commentary on: The most resilient (and recession-proof) procurement jobs that remain in high demand, even in uncertain markets The ways CPOs are looking beyond traditional backgrounds to level-up their teams, including recruiting from adjacent functions like finance, sales, or operations The evolution of procurement’s most valuable skills, and storytelling and commercial innovation have eclipsed technical experience  Links: Derek Lutz on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

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.

“Transformation is not just about how it's going to impact procurement, but about how it's going to impact the entire enterprise through the efforts that will be happening within the procurement function.” - Natasha Gurevich, Founder & CEO, Candor Procurement Going through procurement transformation without the right approach in place and without support from the business is a bit like sailing into a storm… with a blindfolded crew. Your chances of making it to the other side in better shape than you started are slim to none.  In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, co-hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner speak with returning AOP guest Natasha Gurevich. Natasha is a former CPO of Nike and Salesforce, and she is currently the Founder and CEO at Candor Procurement.  This wealth of procurement leadership makes Natasha the perfect mainstage guest at Art of Procurement’s upcoming live, in-person event – Catalyst LA – taking place on May 6, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. In this episode, Natasha explains why Catalyst LA promises to be one of the most unique and value-generating procurement events she’s ever attended and what attendees can expect to take away from the event.  Natasha also discusses: The difference between business-as-usual changes and full-scale transformation, and why transformation is such an urgent priority for so many procurement teams this year How CPOs and CFOs look at transformation differently, including ways to bridge that perception gap Why rethinking the current operating model is top of mind for most procurement leaders right now, and what Catalyst LA can do to help Links: Catalyst LA - May 6, 2025 Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube Leading Through Change with Former Fortune 100 CPO Natasha Gurevich Natasha Gurevich 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.

It’s been a long, winding road that has brought procurement to its current state of flawed incentive structures and measurement challenges. Rob Hills, CEO of Hills Advisory Services and former Deloitte partner, has seen it all unfold firsthand.  But recognizing problems and how they were created is only half of the battle.  With over three decades of procurement experience that stretches back all the way to the formative days of strategic sourcing at A.T. Kearney in the mid-1990s, Rob has seen the classic procurement dilemma play out more times than he would have liked. CPOs “plant a victory flag” on savings while CFOs fail to see procurement’s win materialize on the P&L. In the sixth episode of “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement,” co-hosts Rich Ham and Philip Ideson speak with Rob about this measurement gap, how it has evolved over time, and why procurement’s measurement and incentive systems have remained largely unchanged over the years, despite their obvious flaws.  Rob also offers a unique historical perspective of the disconnect between negotiation and execution, especially as procurement grapples with balancing increasing workloads and larger portfolios of spend with shrinking resources.  Rob, Phil, and Rich also explore potential innovative thinking about incentives, metrics, and process design that could finally address the longstanding challenges in demonstrating procurement’s full purpose, value, and impact for the business. Links: Rob Hills on LinkedIn Rich Ham on LinkedIn Learn more at FineTuneUs.com  

“We’re seeing data around the acceleration of procurement having to ‘do more with less’ and this is compounding year over year, so at some point, procurement’s operating model is going to break.” – Philip Ideson, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Art of Procurement Procurement teams are facing unprecedented and compounding pressure to “do more with less,” and, because of that, it’s more important than ever for procurement’s operating model to evolve and mature to meet these growing demands. In this episode, co-hosts Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson explore why procurement operating models have become such a top-of-mind topic in 2025 and what this reveals about process change, talent needs, and digital transformation. They examine how procurement’s organizational approach has changed over the years and the pendulum swings we’ve seen – from decentralized buying to centralized control, then from center-led and now to a kind of “invisible” procurement model. In this episode, Phil and Kelly also discuss: The major trends and changes in procurement operating models and how, at each stage, this has affected procurement’s reputation and role in the business How to create more capacity by maturing your operating model and the different stages of operational maturity The CPOs role in establishing a strong operating model, including how and when to leverage orchestration platforms and AI Links: Positioning Procurement for Strategic Success in 2025 w/ Samir Khushalani Mastering the First 100 Days as a CPO w/ Darshan Deshmukh  The Hackett Group's 2025 Key Issues Study: Insights on Procurement Priorities, Technology, and Operating Models w/ Chris Sawchuk Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube  

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.

“We are seeing a labor-for-technology swap as organizations become much more dependent and scalable, and what's driving that scale and that productivity is technology.” – Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group Procurement is no stranger to change. Over the last decade or more, procurement has seen significant shifts in priorities, in their role in the business, in how they are measured, and even in their daily processes and workflows. This change has brought countless new opportunities for impact, but it has also brought disruption, uncertainty, and challenges. In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with long-time procurement colleague and regular AOP guest Christopher Sawchuck, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group.  Chris shares key findings from The Hackett Group’s 2025 Key Issues Report, which reveals how procurement leaders are responding to today’s most pressing challenges, like balancing increased workloads with lean teams and a growing demand for technology investment. In this episode, Phil and Chris discuss: The evolution of procurement in the 21st Century, from basic supply assurance to cost management and now to broader value value creation and the demands this puts on CPOs to redesign their operating models The critical gap between increasing workload and decrease in staffing and how procurement is leveraging technology to keep their heads above water The ways AI and automation will transform procurement within the next 3-5 years, driving both efficiency and effectiveness gains  Links: Christopher Sawchuk on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube