Art of Procurement

Despite their reliance upon legacy systems, manufacturers are all about efficiency. This, combined with the pain caused by those same legacy systems, is finally starting to build momentum for procurement digitalization – especially among larger manufacturers. Sundar Kamak is the Global Head of Manufacturing Solutions at Ivalua, and his background in manufacturing is largely concentrated in the aerospace and automotive industries. In this podcast, he shares his perspective on the move towards digital procurement in the manufacturing space as well as the overall trends he has observed. Sundar provides additional insight on topics such as: · The limitations of ERP systems in the face of inter-enterprise collaboration projects · Going beyond balancing cost, quality and supply assurance to drive competitive advantage · Closing the gap between product development and strategic sourcing, especially in the case of direct materials · Continuing movement away from the use of Excel in favor of increased speed and collaboration

If 2019 was the year of emerging technology hype, then 2020 holds the potential to be the year that we turn our attention to the work that needs to be done to derive concrete value from that technology: blockchains included. In late 2019, Remko Van Hoek, Clinical Full Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Arkansas – Sam M. Walton College of Business and a Member of the CSCMP Board of Directors, co-authored a book titled Integrating Blockchain into Supply Chain Management: A Toolkit for Practical Application. He and his three co-authors were looking to combine the understandable enthusiasm for distributed ledger technology with the knowledge we have about emerging technologies of the past. Their goal: to provide actionable insight and realistic use cases. In this conversation, Remko answers questions about: The use cases he and his co-authors had the opportunity to study and what they learned from those leading companies The role of third party advisors in blockchain pilots and implementations How to increase the likelihood of success with a blockchain pilot project, including project scope, partner selection, and setting internal expectations

As we begin to wind down for 2019, Art of Procurement host Philip Ideson shares the three themes that are at the forefront of his mind when considering the health of the procurement function and the opportunities that await in 2020.

This week's podcast is based on our recent AOP Live session with Pierre Lapree and Jason Treida. They joined us last month to take live audience questions about how procurement can maximize the value potential of automation while ensuring that performance management is not lost in the 'noise' of technology. Most of today's technology focuses on either the transactional aspects of procurement (P2P) or shiny new toys (RPA/AI/Blockchain). It does not necessarily provide a holistic view our activity and performance. And yet, it is those activities and that performance that determine procurement's impact and influence now and in the future. In this live session, we discussed: Procurement's Fascination with 'Shiny' Technology The stages of procurement maturity, and how performance should be measured and incentivized as we progress The power and importance of corporate 'rituals' How a careful consideration of procurement performance management requires us to approach technology selection and implementation differently

Whether you call it supplier performance management or supplier relationship management, procurement has always understood that we need supply partners at their best for us to realize the maximum ROI from each contract. Usually, however, that boils down to a meeting where we point out where they could be doing better or ask a bunch of questions that imply the same thing and send them on their way to figure out how they should improve. It basically amounts to procurement making a wish list and throwing it over the wall. Needless to say, this delivers questionable results. Procurement doesn't have the time required to follow up with as many suppliers as we should, and the suppliers don't have an incentive to put more energy than absolutely necessary into a contract they have already signed. Besides, they're often not sure exactly what we want from them. In this disconnect, Amanda Prochaska, President and CEO of HPP Coach, and Jonathan Townsley, a Business Transformation and Supply Management Advisor, see an opportunity for procurement to meaningfully and sustainably change the way we manage our suppliers.

Having the opportunity to reflect back on a successful career in its entirety is a gift, and in "A Procurement Compendium", Peter Smith shares that gift with the whole procurement community. From being found by procurement (either because he could play tennis or because he was lousy at sales), to his time as a consultant and then 8+ years with Spend Matters, he's experienced nearly everything. Peter shares stories from his career that capture the things he'd done differently. He wishes he'd insisted upon having better talent. He would fight for the budgetary resources to get his team the resources they needed. He would be less cautious and spend more time connecting on a personal level with fellow executives. In this conversation, Peter talks about: · The importance of competition and the dangers of supplier dependence · Why procurement is not in decline (yet) · What new CPOs should do to succeed early on

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (General Manager of AOP and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from November's news, industry topics and podcast interviews. Note: This is a special - early and shortened - version of our This Month in Procurement podcast due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. We would like to thank you, our listeners and followers, for sharing your time and energy with us during the year. The procurement community is amazing. We continue to be enthusiastic about being part of your network and having you in ours!

In this week's podcast, Philip Ideson is joined by two members of the Procurement Leaders team, David Rae, their Chief Product Officer, and Geraldine Craven, Head of Research. They recently completed a study in cooperation with Bain Consulting to understand what is changing in advance of the arrival of 2020 and what remains the same. In this conversation, David and Geri talk about the key recommendations in Procurement Leaders' 2020 CPO Planning Guide, including: • The need for procurement to connect with the broader C-suite agenda • The organizational differentiation that Procurement Leaders is seeing among companies that focus the customer experience, innovation or risk management • Whether it is easier to drive transformation when change is already underway or when a team is at the beginning of their journey • The skills that leadership teams need to make sure are in place within procurement, and why it is critical that procurement recruit from outside the function

"A good procurement person has two qualities: One is they're curious. They want to know how things are made. How did we get it here? Why is the supplier doing that? What is the price? What is the cost? So, curiosity is the number one thing and the number two thing is emotional intelligence. Do they have the capability to build relationships inside and outside the business?" In this week's podcast, Philip Ideson is joined by Bill Michels, Vice President of Operations Americas at CIPS. They discuss the global nature of today's supply chains and the impact that shift has had on the professional procurement community: specifically, they discuss the ongoing impact of trade tariffs around the world, and the proactive actions that can be taken to prepare for economic recession. In this conversation, Bill talks about: • Why procurement needs to start focusing on influencing buyer behavior, not their spend • The destabilizing impact of tariffs, and whether it is possible for them to represent an opportunity as well as a challenge • How procurement leaders can begin to proactively plan for an economic recession. • How procurement skills development is being impacted by the very different interests and needs of the four different generations making up the current workforce

In this episode, AOP Host Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner (General Manager of AOP and Owner of Buyers Meeting Point) discuss their major take-aways from October's news, industry topics and podcast interviews. In October, we heard a total of seven podcasts: A solo show from Philip Ideson on Getting Executive Buy-in for a Procurement Change Initiative A five-part series with leadership team from Efficio, titled "A CPO's First 100 Days" An interview with Ryan Flynn, a Principal at Deloitte Consulting, about their 8th annual CPO Survey This month's discussion topic is one that most procurement professionals – most people, in fact – think about this time of year… How can I set myself up for success in the new year? With less than 60 days remaining in 2019, there isn't a minute to waste. The AOP team is already actively engaged in the planning process, and we are positive 2020 is going to a much brighter – and bolder – year!