Art of Procurement

Today I welcome onto the show Ted Olshefski.  Ted is responsible for Direct Procurement at Panasonic North America. I’ve come to know Ted well over the past 18 months or so, and I’m delighted to finally be able to welcome him to the show! I had the opportunity to sit down with Ted in preparation for his upcoming presentation at ProcureCon Direct 2018 in San Diego on the topic of single source suppliers. Our discussion turned into an introduction to some of the considerations at play when developing risk mitigation strategies for scenarios where you have a single source supplier - either because they enjoy a monopolistic position, or because of our own business decisions.

Gordon Donovan is one of the leading thinkers in procurement on the topic of skill and behavior development, and I’m also honored to call him a good friend!  In today's podcast, we continue our recent theme of procurement capability development with a focus on how we can actually scale the behaviors that we want to drive in our teams. We start by talking more broadly about capability development, before arrowing in on capability frameworks. A good capability framework is as much of an art than a science, they can be too simplistic, but more often than not get way too complex to be actionable. In our discussion, we explore how to create an effective capability framework that is integrated into the employee assessment process and mapped into the job roles across your procurement group.

The deal is done, the contract signed, and the supplier starts supplying. Then the invoices roll in. But how much time do we invest in making sure that the supplier is invoicing the right amount? In a world of competing priorities, I am afraid to admit that I trusted my suppliers to be billing the correct amounts. Yet, mistakes happen. In fact, as today's guest Ben Evans shared, between 40%-60% of suppliers whose invoices his firm, Auditec, review contain material billing errors. Categories with a lot of SKU's, line items, or a high volume of transactions are particular areas of focus. In today's pod, Ben and I explore what a procurement professional can to do minimize the risk of overbilling and ensure compliance with contractual terms - from creating a culture of compliance with suppliers to the steps needed to reactively identify and recover cash after the billing has occurred.

I’m joined on the pod this week by Odelle (Brown) Bell, Managing Director of 8 Consulting.  Odelle is well known within procurement across Australia and New Zealand, having previously owned and led the procurement recruiting firm Evolve People.  Now at 8 Consulting, Odelle is focused on helping her clients cultivate workplaces that enable greater employee engagement - and ultimately more impactful teams. Our conversation spanned the topic of workplace behaviors and effectiveness. Odelle is a big believer in the power of choices, and our ability to create our own paths rather than wait for others to show us the way. We discussed in detail about self-awareness and the importance of understanding both our surroundings and how we are perceived as the cornerstone of our personal growth, and of our ability to drive change. Odelle also shares what a "typical" procurement professional looks like from a behavioral perspective, and highlights the blind spots that we need to overcome if we are to have the impact we desire. Odelle is very engaging, and I really enjoyed our conversation! Odelle provides a ton of actionable advice on how we can identify opportunities for growth - if you are prepared to be vulnerable and seek to understand your weaknesses.

This episode marks our first serious foray into understanding why people do the things they do. Our guest, Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and founder of Ogilvy Change looks at consumer behavior, media and communications through the twin lenses of Behavioral Economics and Evolutionary Psychology. We sought Rory out because we believe the implications of his work go well beyond how to better sell consumer products and services. His is a powerful perspective for us to incorporate into our collective work elevating the procurement function in terms of the value we create, how we create that value and how we are perceived by our stakeholders. Rory is one of the most interesting, irreverent and generous guests I have had the pleasure of interviewing. While this episode clocks in at about one hour and thirty minutes, I was so engaged with Rory’s ideas and how he expressed them that the time just flew by. I trust you have the same experience.

Today’s guest on the pod is Jonathan O’Brien. Jonathan is the CEO and a founding member of Positive Purchasing. He has over 25 years’ experience of working with household name companies around the world to help transform procurement capability. Jonathan works with executive teams to shape and implement procurement strategies, he also trains, coaches and develops procurement teams to perform and realize their potential. Many listeners may recognize Jonathan as the author of a number of procurement-related books including Supplier Relationship Management: Unlocking the Hidden Value in Your Supply Base. Jonathan just published the second edition, and so I invited him on the show to talk about advanced supplier relationship management strategies.

Back in 2016, I interviewed Jimmy Ankleseria over the course of two podcasts, on the topic of strategic cost management. They were very popular at the time, and contain a number of timeless insights into how we can be more strategic about understanding and managing the input costs of the products and services we buy. With today being a holiday week here in the US, I have combined the original two shows - which clocked in at over 2 hours - into a single 40-minute episode. Listen in to hear Jimmy share ideas of how to build cost models for both products and services, and then his approach for partnering with your supplier to manage total cost once the contract is signed.

The quality and accessibility of master data is a critical but often overlooked pillar of all successful procurement teams. Complex and difficult to master, it's often left to the side while we pursue "easier" transformation and improvement initiatives.  Technology is now opening up a new world of possibilities for converting seemingly disparate data into useable intelligence by taking new approaches - leading to more effective sourcing and category strategies. I’m joined on the show today to discuss the mastery of your master data by Doug Paul, a GM of Sourcing at General Electric's Global Operations Group. Doug has responsibility for developing, improving & standardizing shared sourcing processes, operations & tools across all of General Electric. I've got to know Doug well over the past 12 months - as you will hear in the interview, he is passionate about the role of procurement, but also the need to continually improve, challenge our assumptions, and to take control of our own destiny. Towards the end of our discussion, we also try out a new feature - the quickfire round.  I’d love to know if you think this should become a regular feature!

I’m joined once again on the show by Jeanette Nyden.  Jeanette is a well-renowned contracts and negotiations specialist, who approaches her work with a focus on building win-win, sustainable, agreements.    I interviewed Jeanette recently – AOP173 – where we discussed the topic of contract negotiations.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to listen in to that interview, you should check it out!    But, in the time we had scheduled to chat, we didn’t get to all of my questions.  And so I invited Jeanette back onto the pod to finish our conversation.     And so in today’s podcast, we discuss the art of a balanced deal.  What is a balanced deal, when do you need one – and when do you not.  I also dig to understand what are some of the prerequisites for a balanced deal, and Jeanette shares her advice for those looking to start the process with one of their suppliers or potential suppliers.

Today I am joined on the show by Charlotte de Brabandt.  As you will hear in the show, Charlotte was recently honored by ISM, as part of their 30 Under 30 Awards program, as the Megawatt winner, and for good reason! In her day job, Charlotte leads Energy Procurement for Johnson & Johnson.  But that only tells half the story!  Charlotte is also a prolific public speaker, TEDx organizer, charity worker, and she is passionate about the intersection of procurement, technology and the future of jobs. In our conversation, we talk about the project that led to Charlotte’s 30 Under 30 Award, I ask for advice on how to improve my own public speaking, and Charlotte shares some of her habits that allow her to fit everything in!