Art of Procurement

Could there be any better qualification to compete in Ironman events than a 20-plus-year career in procurement?  We find out in this week’s podcast, as host Philip Ideson is joined by procurement leader turned Ironman Vytas Sliesoraitis.  Vytas has a diverse procurement background that includes time in procurement at Intel in his native Brazil, leading procurement at Google X (Google’s R&D company), and Global Head of Procurement at Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite.  In this conversation, Vytas and Philip discuss many of the lessons learned from his long and varied career in procurement: The balance he learned to achieve while in procurement at Intel, balancing global strategy with local nuance Building trust based partnerships while establishing the procurement function at Google X What made him want to train for Ironman competitions and the lessons he has learned that current procurement professionals can benefit from

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Do fish know they are wet? Every creature on earth has a natural habitat. Procurement’s habitat is digital. And yet, the digital aspects of procurement’s work are so pervasive, they surround us like the air we breathe. It is easy to forget to look at the nature of digital business when we are focused on individual technologies… just like fish may not notice they are wet. Digital Outcomes is an annual virtual event that creates a space for procurement to think about the macro trends associated with digital business. In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner reveal the topics, speakers, and session scope featured in this year’s agenda. Attendees to the live virtual event on February 15th and 16th will discover: Why procurement can only improve their results by making the user experience frictionless The context and terminology required for procurement to address cybersecurity concerns with stakeholders and suppliers The upsides, downsides, and disruptive complexities of today’s robust procurement startup landscape

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Category management has its fair share of supporters and detractors - and that is just within the procurement community. But rumors of its pending demise may be premature. Rather than rejecting category management because circumstances and strategies are constantly changing, procurement should embrace category management because circumstances will always change and strategies must adapt accordingly. In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes the first guest of 2023: Stephane Morel, a Global Process Owner within Strategic Procurement at Novartis. He is responsible for advancing, aligning, alleviating, accelerating, and automating strategic procurement processes. He also had the opportunity to lead Novartis’ highly successful stakeholder mapping exercise in 2016, an experience which shaped many of the perspectives on stakeholder partnership he shares in this interview. Philip and Stephane take this opportunity to discuss and debate: When and where category management should be applied, and how this connects to the future trajectory of the procurement operating model Whether digital maturity can address procurement’s previous failed attempts to engage the business in category management efforts The five essential workstreams that may make it possible for procurement to navigate the combined challenge of the economy, aggressive ESG targets, supply chain risk, and ever-evolving automation

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.

Over the course of the year, the Art of Procurement team is privileged to speak to a LOT of people from across the procurement ecosystem. In 2022, we created almost 200 podcasts, three multi-day events, ran a monthly webinar series, and facilitated a number of roundtables and CPO dinners. I personally traveled to eight procurement and supply chain conferences across North America. We see and hear a lot - the vast majority of it in candid, off-the-record conversations that can never be shared verbatim, but that inform our perspectives and opinions.  Based on these experiences, I want to share three key messages for procurement leaders to consider at the beginning of this new year.

In addition to being the Head of Content and Brand Partnerships at Art of Procurement, Kelly Barner is also the host of The Sourcing Hero podcast, a collaboration with Una. New episodes air every Wednesday at 6am ET and they cover a wide range of topics… everything from soft skills to sales, and category management to digital transformation. In this specially curated podcast, Kelly shares excerpts from three recent interviews featuring authors: Simon Horton, a negotiations expert, talks about persuasion.  Tim Hughes provides a lesson on Social Selling for procurement  Jonathan O’Brien talks about the challenge of sustainability - and how procurement can rise to meet that challenge. So get in your most comfortable book position, grab a cup of tea or coffee, and join us to hear Kelly’s selected highlights.

Art of Procurement is best known for our podcast, but did you know that we also host a number of virtual conferences each year as well? These longer form events allow us to have in-depth discussions about the opportunities and challenges procurement professionals face. All of those opportunities and challenges can be met with a combination of digital solutions, data, and powerful relationships - and we get to hear real world examples of how that works from our event speakers.  In this specially curated podcast, Helen Mackenzie shares her most memorable excerpts from this year’s virtual events: Melissa Drew, Associate Partner at IBM, speaking about how AI can elevate procurement's focus from tactical to strategic SpendHQ Chief Operating Officer Doug Van Wingerden talking about how technology is changing the ‘game’ of category management Tanya Manning-Grant, CEO of TMG Professional Services Consulting Firm, focusing on driving supply chain value in disrupted times

Procurement 6 is a new short podcast from Art of Procurement that will be published 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 will have 6 short segments that summarize this week in procurement.   Segments will range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that have captured our attention this week.