Art of Procurement

Procurement’s role in integrations and separations is often overlooked – and understandably so. Corporate development teams and M&A professionals are chartered with identifying, negotiating, and closing the deal. Execution on the investment thesis is paramount. However, the untapped potential in procurement represents an opportunity to ‘sweeten the deal’. At its core, procurement is chartered with the management of third party spend and partner relationship oversight. The inherent supply base influence on profitability and risk is only magnified in a M&A environment. Thus, sidelining procurement in inorganic activities such as acquisitions or divestitures could mean missing the opportunity for deal upside and value acceleration. This episode of the podcast is based on an AOP Live session with Chris McCarney and Marcos Cortes from KPMG, LLP.  Chris and Marcos joined host Philip Ideson to explore… Procurement’s role at each stage of the deal cycle Overlooked and under-estimated procurement opportunities in integrations and separations Pre-deal, post-deal, and no-deal elements to consider

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.

There has been a lot of talk about ‘experience’ in procurement during the last couple of years, but how important is it really? Could it be that improving the employee experience is the only way for procurement to fully leverage their ability to drive value? We wanted to know more, so we partnered with the team at Zip Intake-to-Procure to run a survey that looked at how the procurement-created employee experience impacts procurement performance. The findings were really compelling, as you will hear.  In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner share their perspectives on the report findings as well as the changes procurement can make to improve experience and results in parallel: Increasing transparency so that buyers know the status of their purchases and also which functions other than procurement may be holding up their approval How the meaning of risk and compliance change when procurement expands from traditional indirect spend categories into technology and knowledge-based service spend Why procurement should stop worrying about maverick or rogue spend and instead invest in the convenience of digitally-enabled processes

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.

Some categories of spend are dependable and constant. Their reliability makes them seem like they’ve been the same forever, which gives procurement a comfortable opportunity to manage them with equally consistent strategies and results. It is hard to think they will ever change; until they do. How can you stay ahead when disruption strikes your spend category?  How can procurement introduce the required flexibility while continuing to achieve steady results? In this episode, we’re sharing a session from Categorypalooza 2022 during which SpendPro and marketing category expert Steve Trussell shares the core approaches that will serve you well during times of change. He also describes the strategies he uses to stay on top of evolving categories while continuing to deliver value. Listen to the conversation facilitated by Kelly Barner to learn: About the current state of marketing: what has changed and what has remained the same? Time-tested approaches that will serve you well during times of volatility and change, regardless of what category of spend you manage How to ensure that procurement’s strategies and execution align with what the business really needs

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.

Many of us work in what we consider ‘global’ organizations, but we do it from the comfort of our home or at a local office. Actually going global, relocating to an entirely different part of the world may not be for everyone, but the opportunities to broaden your perspective and have a lasting impact are second to none. Steve Ashcroft is the Director of General Services and Procurement for the African Development Bank Group. He has spent many years in the world of procurement, including time as a consultant, an educator, and a practitioner.  Most interestingly, Steve has vast global experience, and is currently based in Cote d'Ivoire, a country on the coast of Western Africa.  In this episode, Philip and Steve discuss: Working successfully across cultures The opportunities that exist when building a procurement capability that spans 44 countries across Africa  Why anyone thinking about a career in procurement should take the leap

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.

One of the industries most impacted by the pandemic was travel, and while leisure travel has rebounded in many parts of the world, how companies and employees see business travel has undergone a change as a result of multiple overarching trends.  In this week's episode of the podcast, Philip Ideson interviews Martin Biermann, Chief Product Officer at the HRS Group. HRS is a global tech company with a focus on business travel and one of the top hotel travel partners in the world.  Martin and his team are keeping a close eye on the megatrends affecting business travel today, looking for ways to optimize travel spend while protecting traveler safety and experience. In particular they focus on: Why leaders of corporate programs such as risk management and ESG/sustainability that are taking a closer look at business travel Why traditional hotel booking methods fail to leverage available data on security, sustainability, safety, and satisfaction  How AI can be applied to reduce the ‘paradox of choice’ during the purchase decision making process

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.