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.

“One thing is very clear from our research: the skill sets for procurement are changing. Whatever the skill sets are today, they are not going to be the skill sets that are needed tomorrow.” -Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP SAP recently released the 2024 results of their annual Economist Impact survey. It contains insights into the overall health of procurement and provides a look at C-suite perspectives on procurement’s role and reputation in the business and the most pressing challenges and opportunities facing them today. This year, they surveyed over 2,300 C-suite executives across procurement and other functional areas and C-suite positions. To unpack the survey results, Philip Ideson is joined in conversation by Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Market Strategy, Procurement Solutions at SAP.   In addition to discussing key findings and insights, they talk about: How this year’s responses differ from previous years and what these new trends say about the future of procurement Major factors impacting the procurement operating model, including new reporting structures, compliance demands, and sustainability expectations How digitization is putting pressure on (and opening new opportunities for) traditional procurement organizations Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Read the 2024 Sap Economist Impact Report Baber Farooq 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.

Category management has been around for decades - so why hasn’t it become ubiquitous?  Many of the objectives procurement needs to satisfy - both qualitative and quantitative - can be addressed by a category management program. Taking a more comprehensive approach to spend and supplier management can deliver improved cost flexibility, more leverage in tightly held markets, and a closer alignment with the priorities of the business. Despite all of these benefits, category management struggles to secure broad adoption.   In this solo episode, Philip Ideson speaks about his personal experience with category management and the challenges and opportunities he sees. Listen in to discover: The roadblocks that prevent category management from living up to expectations Advancements in procurement technology that will enable everyone in the company to play a larger role at the category level Why he still believes category management IS the future of procurement Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Philip Ideson on LinkedIn Category Management: How Far We’ve Come, How Far We Can Go featuring Mark Webb What is Category Management? (According to the Experts) Build Your Category Management Framework with Five Evergreen Principles Learn from the 4-step Category Management Process Refined by Novartis

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.

“What ultimately drove all of us – leadership team, colleagues, and people in procurement – was the excitement about the future. The ability to contribute very differently to the success of the company, ultimately impacting the patient journey, is a great purpose that we have – curing and helping patients.” - Patrick Foelck, Head of Strategy & Transformation and Head of Insights & Enablement Procurement at Roche How procurement prepares for the future, one that includes accelerating digital innovation, may determine whether they have a future at all.  In this episode, Philip Ideson discusses the importance, if not existential necessity, of procurement transformation with Patrick Foelck, Head of Strategy & Transformation and Head of Insights & Enablement Procurement at Roche. As Patrick said, “There must be more than running this singular, one-dimensional process and chasing the savings as a one-dimensional outcome. I think that is also our future. If we don’t get out of it, or if we don’t build on it, procurement will be dead to an extent, or replaced by technology or by an external party.” In this episode, Patrick and Philip tackle the ‘big’ questions around the future of the procurement operating model and the role of procurement transformation in securing that future, while also discussing:  How to build the procurement operating model of the future, pulling together insights and enablement, delivery, business partnering, capabilities, and digitization Roche’s own transformation journey and what success looks like post-transformation Defining, measuring, and achieving transformation success with KPIs beyond savings Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Patrick Foelck 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.

“What’s interesting in financial services is that third-party risk management is very different than supplier risk management. When a financial institution looks at risk, they look at risk at the relationship level, not just at the supplier level.” - Arnaud Malardé, Director of Product Marketing, Ivalua In the highly-regulated financial services industry, effective third-party risk management is non-negotiable. It can make or break operational success, not to mention client trust. Even though avoiding risk altogether is not realistic, it doesn’t have to feel like an uphill battle.  In this episode, Kelly Barner speaks with Arnaud Malardé, Director of Product Marketing at Ivalua, and Vivek Jayaraj, Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, about how procurement can turn third-party risk management into a strategic advantage for the business.  As they explain, streamlining business practices and supporting them with well-integrated digital platforms can create the best environment for managing third-party risk and achieving successful outcomes for the business.  They also share their ideas about: What a ‘single source of truth’ for third party risk looks like in practice How to align risk management with supplier management  Best practices for leveraging AI in third-party risk management platforms Links: Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Arnaud Malardé on LinkedIn Vivek Jayaraj on LinkedIn Watch Again: Establishing a Single Source of Truth for Third Party Risk in Financial Services

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.

“You always really need to look at people, process, and technology. If you don’t look at all three and understand where you are and where you need to be in those areas, you are just going to be chasing.” - Sherry Ulsh, Director, Indirect Procurement, The Hershey Company At the CoreTrust Conference in April 2024, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to sit down with Sherry Ulsh, Director of Indirect Procurement at The Hershey Company, about a wide range of topics, including her own journey from finance to procurement, the evolving role of GPOs, and the changing skill sets required in modern procurement roles.  Sherry shared her views on the importance of supplier relationship management and stakeholder management, both of which are reflected in her belief that procurement’s value and influence in the business are best realized when they achieve a balance of people, process, and technology. In this episode, Sherry also shares her views on:  How to define procurement’s value proposition across different industries and organizational models The evolving role of GPOs, and how utilization of the GPO model today differs from in the past Shaping internal and external perceptions of procurement’s value, and how, for example, CFOs and other C-suite leaders can influence procurement’s perceived value beyond cost savings Links: Sherry Ulsh on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement