Art of Procurement

According to 2022 research conducted by Economist Impact and commissioned by SAP, risk reduction is a top priority for corporate leadership.  38 percent of C-suite executives view risk reduction as a way to deliver increased value through procurement. Do the other 62 percent recognize the role procurement plays in risk management? In this episode based on an AOP Live session, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Gordon Donovan, Global Market Research Director, Procurement and External Workforce at SAP, and Matthew Montgomery, Solution Management Director, Supplier Lifecycle & Third Party Risk Management at SAP.  They answered live audience questions about: How C-suite executives view procurement’s role in managing risk         Why procurement talent and skills shortages may be part of the risk management challenge  How companies are leveraging supplier management technologies to address these challenges   

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 talent space has been on a rollercoaster over the last couple of years.  First the pandemic disrupted everything, then companies started making a grab for procurement talent - in many cases hiring people before meeting them. Demand and salaries shot up in parallel. Then, at the end of last year, economic headwinds led to a correction and hiring slowed. There have even been layoffs in some sectors. Where does all of that leave the procurement talent market today? In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Andrew Daley, Managing Director of Digital Procurement and Supply Chain at Edbury Daley and a returning guest. Edbury Daley is a specialist recruitment consultancy formed in 2005, and Andrew is one of the most well-connected procurement professionals in the UK.  Andrew shares his up-to-the-moment perspective on: What he has heard at recent conferences season about digital literacy for procurement professionals Outlook and advice for provider-side procurement professionals who may recently have been impacted by company layoffs  Why CPOs continue to consider procurement talent such a struggle, and why they are allowing training budgets to go unused in some cases  

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 concept of a ‘business ecosystem’ has changed over time. In the early days, a business ecosystem would bring together enterprise technology and implementation partners, easing the transition and accelerating value realization. Today, however, business ecosystems are far more expansive. They include both software and service partners that are able to support a company on its digital maturity journey. At SAP Sapphire 2023, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to sit down with Claus Gruenewald, Global Head Partner Business SAP Intelligent Spend Solutions, and Conor Mullaney, Business Advisor, Sustainability, Procurement and Supply Chain Lead at excelerateds2p.  In particular, they focused on the importance and accessibility of business ecosystems for mid-market companies: The ability to accommodate the unique localized nature of a business that is geographically or functionally dispersed Unique challenges and opportunities for procurement organizations in mid-market companies How the business ecosystem makes it possible for companies to combine an enterprise solution that addresses 90 percent of their needs with partners who handle the rest  

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.

Supply chain and procurement professionals are used to supporting informed decision making, but the last few years have been far from ordinary. Decisions are being made more frequently with less time to prepare, and each one has a far greater impact on business continuity and supplier relationships. This is even more true for direct materials. Sophisticated supply chain models and mature procurement strategy have been put to the test - each time the team must cross the ‘decision abyss’ could make the difference between competitive advantage and operational disruption. Keith Hartley is the CEO of LevaData and Lance Younger is the CEO of ProcureTech. They spoke at a live event co-created by Art of Procurement and LevaData earlier this year: Navigating the Decision Abyss: Managing Direct Spend in Chaotic Times. In this session, moderated by Philip Ideson, they address: What the decision abyss is and what it means to procurement, supply chain professionals, and category managers in today’s uncertain economic conditions The level of urgency being experienced by today’s corporate leaders, and how each decision making team is converting that urgency into action How LevaData is investigating the decision abyss to learn more about its causes and effects  

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 will always be things procurement does not know. Even if all of the data in the world were magically made available, there would be quality issues and analytics challenges to overcome. Data has to be validated - at scale - before the business can be confident making decisions based upon it.  In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Florin Tufan, Co-Founder and CEO of Veridion. Florin was recognized by the 2020 Romania Forbes 30 under 30 program for his willingness to take on the entrepreneurial risk associated with tackling the problem of firmographic data on an enterprise scale. During this conversation, Philip and Florin discuss: Why a company’s age impacts the data quality challenges they are likely to face through layers of legacy systems What firmographics are and why procurement should be investing in them The role that AI needs to play for robust firmographics data to be made actionable quickly and at scale  

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.