Art of Procurement

You can’t build a community based on the power of a podcast if you don’t love listening to them yourself. All year long, the Art of Procurement team is interviewing, producing, and promoting podcast interviews with some of the most interesting people in the field. In this episode, Helen Mackenzie, Head of Sales and Community at Art of Procurement, takes over hosting responsibilities to share the five interviews she thinks of as 2023’s chart toppers. She also enlists a bit of help from our Procurement 6 announcer to count them down. Listen in for a recap of Helen’s picks of the year: Stephane Morel and his category workbench, a place where all the tools procurement needs are in one place, making work so much easier. Advice on shifting priorities and procurement’s ability to adjust from Matt Reddington and Mu Wagh from Procure Analytics  Vendr’s Emily Campbell and Nick Pinkman digging into the darkness to address the topic of shadow spend Katherine McCleery, a B2B brand marketing expert, on how important procurement’s brand is to getting engagement and making an impact. And her #1 pick - A powerful example of using procurement as a force for good: Tim Nelson, CEO of the charities Hope for Justice and Slave Free Alliance, talking about how we can help combat slavery in today’s supply chains    Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Navigating the Perfect Storm Using Category Management with Stephane Morel Strengthening Your Corporate Culture to Survive Challenging Economic Times with Mu Wagh and Matt Reddington Stop Shadow Spend in Its Tracks With Improved Data Visibility with Emily Campbell and Nick Pinkman How to Know When Procurement Needs a Rebrand with Katherine McCleery Enlisting Procurement in the Fight to Eradicate Modern Day Slavery with Tim Nelson

Long time listeners of the Art of Procurement podcast will know that the team hosts a related podcast, Dial P for Procurement, every Thursday. The show, which is hosted by AOP Head of Content and Operations Kelly Barner, is part of the Art of Procurement family, but runs in its own podcast feed.  Episodes air every Thursday and they have a different format than Art of Procurement. Most of the topics are pulled from the headlines and are covered as heavily researched solo pods. Don’t worry though - there isn’t a dull moment. Dial P for Procurement provides up to the moment storytelling about trending supply chain and general business news. Looking all the way back to the beginning of the year has a way of putting everything into perspective. In this episode, Kelly does just that - following the lead of the listening audience: Going back to the beginning of the year to see which Dial P for Procurement episodes had the greatest number of downloads. Taking some of the ‘honorable mention’ episodes topics and running a LinkedIn pulse poll to see which one the procurement social media community thinks best represented the general tone of 2023.  Listen to this week’s episode to find out the social media ‘business sentiment’ pick as well as the top 3 downloaded episodes of the year. Links: Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Listen to Dial P for Procurement on Art of Procurement Dial P for Procurement on Apple Podcasts  Dial P for Procurement on Spotify Dial P for Procurement on Google Podcasts    Episodes and newsletters referenced: The Power and Danger of Asking Good Questions Socrates: Ignorant Influencer or Disruptive Thinker? A GAAP in Judgement at Kraft Heinz I’ll Gladly Pay You Tuesday for a Hamburger Today Loss Aversion Theory and the Collapse of SVB We are Hardwired to Avoid Loss More than Risk Case Dismissed: Spencer Patton Prevails Over FedEx The Fine Line Between Free Speech and Commercial Speech Reading FedEx Ground the RICO Act  

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.

“ESG… should be integrated as much as possible into existing processes, structures, and policies because there are so many synergistic effects to be gained.” - Alexander Hellwig, Editor Sustainability & Compliance, IntegrityNext Historically, regulatory requirements drove most of the momentum and investment in ESG. It was another, albeit critical, corporate box to tick, but rarely considered in relation to revenue-driving areas of the business.  Pressure from consumers, investors, and business leaders is causing a shift in this mindset, and ESG is quickly becoming a top-line business priority, one that cannot and should not be ignored.  To learn more about how to build and scale a strong ESG program, Philip Ideson recently spoke with Alexander Hellwig, Editor Sustainability & Compliance, and Jared Ridgley, Head of Sales US, both from IntegrityNext.  They also discussed: Perceptions and misconceptions around what ESG really means today The most important ESG topics everyone should be aware of in 2024 How to leverage emerging technology to build supply chain transparency and integrate ESG into every facet of the business Links: Jared Ridgley on LinkedIn Alexander Hellwig 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.

“Purchasing has always been finally responsible for quality, cost, and delivery, but with some of the global challenges we’ve had in the last five years, purchasing has mutated into supply chain, and we have taken over a lot of those responsibilities.” - Stephen Tonks, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Fujikura Automotive Europe Procurement and supply chain are usually designated as two separate functions within organizations, each with different lines of reporting and operational structures. As procurement’s role has evolved and the value they bring to the business has expanded beyond sourcing or cost and into strategy, purchasing and supply chain are becoming more intertwined than ever before. To understand the relationship between purchasing and supply chain and what this means for the evolving role of procurement as a key strategic partner and relationship facilitator for the business, Philip Ideson spoke with Stephen Tonks, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Fujikura Automotive Europe.  Stephen emphasizes the importance of purchasing and supply chain being constantly aligned and focused on the overall goals, challenges, and needs of the business as a whole.  In this episode, he discusses:  How purchasing and supply chain can support each other and find greater alignment to deliver more value for the business The importance of relationships, both internal and external, to supply chain health and transparency How procurement can leverage customer insights and relationships to drive business value and optimize the supply chain Links: Stephen Tonks 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 most successful procurement teams have a strong ability to articulate what they’re doing in the context of overall business objectives.” - Aaron Addicoat, Senior Manager at Deloitte  We live and work in a time characterized by global supply chain disruptions, inflationary conditions, the pandemic, and a war for talent. As a result, procurement has come under increasing pressure to “do more with less,” and deliver value in areas where they have not traditionally made direct contributions.  To better understand the evolving nature of procurement and, in particular, what distinguishes the highest performing teams or, “Orchestrators of Value,” from the rest of the pack, Deloitte made this the focus of their 2023 Global Chief Procurement Officer survey.  Philip Ideson recently spoke with Aaron Addicoat, Senior Manager, and Ryan Flynn, Principal, both from Deloitte, about Orchestrators of Value and how procurement teams can adapt their strategies to increase performance and drive more impact.  In the episode, Aaron and Ryan discuss:  How procurement Orchestrators of Value outpace their peers in terms of savings, performance, and relationships How communicating procurement’s value proposition increases their reputation and influence within the business  Key areas of focus for procurement moving forward, including operating models, talent strategies, and digital maturity Links: Aaron Addicoat on LinkedIn Ryan Flynn on LinkedIn 2023 Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 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.

“Today, if we’re recruiting fresh talent, the right resource pool is not available. That talent incubation is not happening, which primarily means we need universities recognizing procurement as a discipline and making sure that individuals acquire a certain level of skills and are ready to be injected into the corporate setup.” - Nishish Saxena, Head of Terminals Procurement, India and Middle East, Maersk For years now, procurement has often been seen as a back-office function responsible for finding and managing suppliers and cutting costs, and not as a strategic superpower that can support the overall goals and growth of the entire business.  In part, procurement’s ‘perception problem’ and reputation as an undervalued and misunderstood function has to do with the way talent is, or isn’t, developed and how a lack of institutional and educational support is doing a collective disservice to procurement leaders and the discipline as a whole.  Philip Ideson recently spoke with Nishish Saxena, Head of Terminals Procurement, India and Middle East, at Maersk, about his personal views on why procurement is so often undervalued as a strategic partner. In this episode, they discuss:  The evolution of procurement’s value creation potential beyond supply chain and cost management How educational institutions can help establish procurement as a critical strategic business discipline and stop the perpetuation of misconceptions about their value potential The core skill set procurement needs to strengthen their capabilities and elevate their brand Links: Nishish Saxena on LinkedIn