Art of Procurement

"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

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 four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the LavenirAI team about the current and future impact of AI on procurement. In each episode, they explore key aspects of the topic to prepare procurement for the changes to come, and for the changes that are already here. In this fourth and final episode in the series, Philip Ideson speaks with Clive R. Heal, Founder and CEO, and Bill Michels, Chief Commercial Officer, both from LavenirAI, to bring all the concepts discussed in the series together and consider the overall impact AI is and will have in shaping the future of procurement. Key topics include: How AI will change procurement-stakeholder and procurement-supplier relationships The rise of virtual reality, augmented reality, and conversational AI in procurement How procurement can embrace a new AI-powered reality Links: Clive R. Heal on LinkedIn Bill Michels on LinkedIn [POD] Special Series: AI-Empowered Procurement

In this four-part special series, host Philip Ideson speaks with members of the LavenirAI team about the current and future impact of AI on procurement. In each episode, they explore key aspects of the topic to prepare procurement for the changes to come, and for the changes that are already here. In the third episode, Philip Ideson is joined by Bill Michels, Chief Commercial Officer at LavenirAI, to talk about how procurement can leverage automation to be more successful. Key topics include: Embracing automation to achieve next-level efficiency and stronger data sets Stronger predictive analytics, forecasting, and planning through automation The rise of data scientists and automation specialists as key players in procurement Links: Bill Michels on LinkedIn [POD] Special Series: AI-Empowered Procurement

Bill Michels, Chief Commercial Officer at LavenirAI, joins the podcast to discuss the impact of automation on procurement and the skills needed for success. They cover topics such as the most valuable skills for procurement, where to invest in skills development, and the impact of AI on job functions and hiring.

Clive R. Heal, Founder and CEO at LavenirAI, discusses the procurement metaverse, how to leverage it, and the transformational impact it is having on procurement. Topics include the future skill set of procurement, embracing AI opportunities, and facing fears around AI.

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 have the opportunity to do more, to shape the role of the procurement, shape the expectations that the C-suite has of procurement, define what procurement can do, and link that to the other capabilities that procurement has. That's what a good procurement roadmap should do." - Len Prokopets, Managing Director, Procurement and Outsourcing Advisory at KPMG Procurement has experienced unprecedented change and disruption in the past several years. Procurement operating models and priorities continue to evolve as new trends take hold, including economic turmoil, ESG, supply disruptions, shifting workforce dynamics, new regulatory requirements, and technology innovations such as generative AI. Procurement must navigate these changes to help the broader organization adapt, innovate, and deliver. To help their clients understand this changing environment and benchmark their strategies and investment priorities, KPMG recently conducted a survey of 400 global procurement leaders. The study captured insights on procurement's current challenges, goals, and priorities as well as the path forward. In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Dipan Karumsi, Principal and Leader of Procurement and Outsourcing Advisory at KPMG, and Len Prokopets, Managing Director, Procurement and Outsourcing Advisory, discuss key market insights from the survey with Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner. Their guidance for forward-looking procurement leaders includes: The key investments that procurement leaders are making in response to today's challenges and priorities What savings levels procurement organizations are targeting going forward How procurement budgets and headcount are likely to change Emerging technologies being adopted and implemented Links: Dipan Karumsi on LinkedIn Len Prokopets on LinkedIn Watch Again: Rising to the Challenge: Driving Procurement Excellence in 2023 Subscribe to This Week in Procurement