Episodios
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“No matter how strong or how solid your foundations might be, the environment in which we operate is changing at such a pace that if we do not evolve with it, we will become obsolete.” - Sebastien Bals, EVP, Chief Procurement Officer at Merck Group
As technology – AI in particular – continues to transform the way we work and live, the future of procurement hangs in the balance.
In this episode, Philip Ideson and Sebastien Bals, EVP and Chief Procurement Officer at Merck Group, talk about the “two roads” facing procurement: one, defined by opportunity, innovation, and transformation, and the other marked by disruption, outdated roles and practices, and far more uncertainty.
They confront the larger, existential questions that keep many procurement leaders up at night, while recognizing that procurement’s willingness to adapt and adjust could be the very skills that keep them from traveling down the path to extinction.
They also discuss:
Overcoming procurement’s inferiority complex and demonstrating value in new digital contexts How procurement can keep and leverage that long-coveted “seat at the table” they now enjoy Securing procurement’s future in an increasingly digitized, AI-powered worldLinks:
Sebastian Bals on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube -
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.
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“The visionary leaders can see the opportunities but also recognize that, while traditional skills in procurement still remain very, very important, they need to evolve to realize the true value of technology.” - Andrew Daley, Managing Director, Digital Procurement & Supply Chain, Edbury Daley
The skills and operating models procurement prioritizes are key to their success whether they are facing a single, large-scale transformation or if they are on a steady, continuous digitization journey.
Philip Ideson recently spoke with Andrew Daley, Managing Director, Digital Procurement & Supply Chain at Edbury Daley, in-person at SAP Spend Connect Live in Las Vegas.
Along with discussing insights from a recent research report on procurement technology skills, they explore the importance of centers of excellence, upskilling, and automation. Andrew also shares his views on:
Why digital literacy, change management, and strategic thinking skills are critical for both practitioners and procurement leaders Strategies for attracting and developing top talent in procurement How AI and automation will impact traditional procurement roles, and the skills that will become more valuable in the processLinks:
Andrew Daley on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube -
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.
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“You have to build a business case and be mindful and purposeful about your continuous improvement and your education around the art of what is possible.” Joël Collin-Demers, Consulting Principal at Pure Procurement
The rapid expansion in the procurement technology landscape in recent years has left many procurement leaders feeling overwhelmed by choice and complexity and second-guessing themselves about how to successfully take advantage of all the opportunities that technology provides.In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Joël Collin-Demers, Consulting Principal at Pure Procurement, about why continuous improvement, rather than transformation, might be the key to successful procurement digitization.
Joël explains how the tendency to view transformation as a means to a clearly defined endpoint often leads to overwhelmed teams and unrealized value. Instead of a one-off digital transformation overhaul, he advocates for a measured, strategic approach that starts with understanding business processes and builds technology capabilities incrementally over a sustained period of time.In this episode, Joel and Philip explore:
Practical steps on how to embark on a digitization journey and develop an effective procurement technology roadmap, no matter where you’re starting from How to navigate trends and changes in the procure tech market, including full-suite versus single-point solutions How to leverage the relationship between procurement and IT to overcome constraints to digitizationLinks:
Joël Collin-Demers on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube -
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.
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In the final part of this four-part special series, we compare and contrast the actual policy positions of Democratic Candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Candidate Former President Donald J. Trump.
With less than two weeks until election day, procurement and supply chain professionals must have plans in place for the eventuality of either candidate being voted into office, focusing on the areas where they agree as much as where they differ.
Listen in as Kelly Barner describes where the two major party candidates actually differ (and where they have a lot in common) based on their own campaign websites, policy platforms, and statements from publicly available interviews:
The differences we can expect when supply chain policy is focused on critical industries versus an emphasis on keeping production domestic Looking at a diverse range of energy sources as well as the overall cost and supply of available energy Corporate tax rates that may go up or down And one thing both candidates agree upon: ChinaLinks:
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement -
In part three of this four-part special series, we will cover the policies and plans of Republican Candidate former President Donald Trump.
Former President Donald Trump is 78 Years old, and a former businessman/real estate developer as well as the former host of The Apprentice. He became the nominee on July 18, 2024 when he accepted the nomination at the Republican National Convention
Listen in as Kelly Barner explores his policy positions and platform:
Detailed positions on global trade and China The lack of detail regarding his position on emissions and the environment Strong statements about both the cost and availability of energy, and the importance of emphasizing domestic production over imports from other parts of the worldLinks:
Donald J. Trump for President website Transcript of the September 10, 2024 Presidential Debate on ABC Transcript of the June 27, 2024 Presidential Debate on CNN Republican Party 2024 Platform Document Donald Trump Republican National Convention Speech Transcript Transcript of Donald Trump’s interview with Time Magazine Video of Bloomberg interview from October 15, 2024 Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement -
In part two of this four-part special series, we will cover the policies and plans of Democratic Candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Vice President Kamala is 60 Years old and a former Senator and Attorney General from the State of California. She became the presumptive Democratic nominee on July 21, 2024 when President Biden suspended his campaign for re-election, and the official nominee on August 22 when she accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention.
Listen in as Kelly Barner explores her policy positions and platform:
Detailed plans for renewable energy and the environment The lack of detail regarding her position on trade and tariffs Strong statements about China, specifically around the race to dominate AI, domestic labor protections, and intellectual property concernsLinks:
Kamala Harris for President website A New Way Forward for the Middle Class Transcript of the September 10, 2024 Presidential Debate on ABC Kamala Harris Democratic National Convention Speech Transcript Democratic Party 2024 Platform Document 60 Minutes Interview with Bill Whitaker Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement -
There are two weeks to go until the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. Interest, speculation, and tension have been building all year.
Most news coverage of the election is intended to sway voters, hyperbolic to a fault, and not tailored to the specific information needs of procurement and supply chain professionals. What we really need to know is what each major party candidate has said and what likely outcomes that would lead to.
In this four-part special series, we will cover the policies and plans of Democratic Candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican Candidate Former President Donald J. Trump as well as how they compare.
Listen in as Kelly Barner kicks off the series by explaining:
Why all procurement and supply chain professionals need to be prepared for either candidate to win The impact of tariffs, China, energy, and environmental policy on corporate strategy The rules of engagement and discussion that will apply in this series and the discussions that resultLinks:
Kelly Barner on LinkedIn Art of Supply LinkedIn newsletter Art of Supply on AOP Subscribe to This Week in Procurement -
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.
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“What we are seeing is companies have made the decision that they believe being more sustainable is good business. Therefore, that is the number one priority.” - Daniel Dorr, VP of Marketing at Supplier.io
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are core components of a strong supply chain, but these initiatives can also expose the business to unexpected areas of risk.
In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner talk with Daniel Dorr and Laura Noonan from Supplier.io and Alexandra Di Fabrizio from Impak Analytics to discuss the findings of over 200 in-depth ESG risk assessments that provide an unparalleled look into the current risks of supplier sustainability performance.
They break down the highest risk areas associated with ESG, share mitigation best practices, and elaborate on the opportunities procurement has to strengthen their role in the business by neutralizing ESG risk.
In this episode, Daniel, Alexandra, and Laura discuss:
The highest ESG risks currently impacting global supply chains and how to assess your company’s threat level Effective ESG risk mitigation strategies and lessons learned from other companies’ innovative approaches How highlighting areas where your suppliers are excelling in ESG performance can minimize risk, provide inspiration for your supply chain, and benchmark your organization’s sustainability initiativesLinks:
Daniel Dorr on LinkedIn Laura Noonan on LinkedIn Alexandra Di Fabrizio on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube -
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.
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“Procurement teams face increasing pressure to demonstrate value and drive business outcomes, but sometimes there's a disconnect between the skills that they have and the skills that they need to deliver at the highest level.” - Philip Ideson, Founder & Managing Director at Art of Procurement
A robust capability framework is the heart of procurement team development. It’s a powerful tool that teams can use to enhance their performance, better align with the business, and ultimately drive better outcomes across all initiatives, big and small.In this solo episode, Philip Ideson explains why capability frameworks have emerged as a critical part of building stronger, more impactful teams.
Specifically, he explains:
What a capability framework is and how to build one for your procurement team Key strategies for assessing your team’s skills and how to conduct a gap analysis to prioritize professional development needs How to account for diverse learning and working styles when building a tailored development plan, even if you’re working with limited resources
Links:
Philip Ideson on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube -
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.
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“When you have the ability to connect data and collaborate with teams, that collective intelligence you’re able to surface at different places is what causes generational change.” - Shachi Rai Gupta, Vice President of Strategy at ORO Labs
Procurement is in the midst of a transformational shift when it comes to technology and data, and many teams are now looking to procurement orchestration to unify their processes, improve spend and risk management, and position themselves as innovative and strategic leaders in the business.
In early 2024, Art of Procurement and ORO Labs partnered to conduct a study into the factors that are making procurement orchestration a top area of focus. The study also made it possible to gain a better understanding of how teams can use strategic orchestration to increase their visibility, effectiveness, and influence.
In this episode, Shachi Rai Gupta, Vice President of Strategy at ORO Labs, and Martin Ward, Digital Procurement Transformation at Roche, discuss the results of the survey and key insights learned about procurement orchestration, including:
The observations we can make about procurement organizations that consider strategic orchestration a top priority Why nearly half of procurement teams have low or very low real-time visibility into ongoing activities, and how that limits their impact The correlation between increased automation and how easy the rest of the business feels it is to work with procurement
Links:
Martin Ward on LinkedIn Shachi Rai Gupta on LinkedIn Watch Again: Seismic Shifts: Harnessing the Power of Procurement Orchestration Download the Research Report: Procurement’s Orchestration Readiness Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to AOP on YouTube -
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.
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“I’m madly passionate about procurement because I think it’s a hidden gem of the corporate world, and it’s a magical field for problem solvers.” - Natasha Gurevich, Founder and CEO of Candor Procurement
Natasha Gurevich, Founder and CEO of Candor Procurement, has a long track record of procurement leadership under her belt. Most recently, she was the first Chief Procurement Officer at Nike, and, before that, VP of Global Procurement at Salesforce. She has also enjoyed procurement leadership roles at McKesson, Paypal, Gap, and Visa.
In this episode, Philip Ideson talks with Natasha about her journey to becoming one of procurement’s most well-known change agents and how her decades of experience in leadership roles have shaped her approach to driving change at scale.
Natasha shares her perspectives on:
How to create change without causing too much disruption, fear, or resistance Adopting a specific, repeatable methodology to change in order to balance wider business goals with individual needs and concerns The ways procurement needs to evolve and improve, starting with a recognition that category management will be the #1 driving factor for success in the futureLinks:
Natasha Gurevich on LinkedIn Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Subscribe to the AOP YouTube channel -
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.
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“Procurement is at the point where they’re trying to figure out next steps on digitization, and it will be an immediate priority for everyone in the next couple of years.” - Gordon Donovan, Vice President of Research - Procurement and External Workforce at SAP
It is Gordon Donovan’s job to read every single piece of research that’s published on procurement, the workforce, and the supply chain. More importantly, it is his job to figure out what it means. As he told Philip Ideson, “I’ve got the best job in the world.”
All of this information gives Gordon a deep and comprehensive view of the global procurement landscape and the challenges and opportunities that it presents.
In this episode, Philip draws on Gordon’s depth of knowledge to discuss the findings of SAP’s recently published Economist Impact report, as well as what the research tells us about procurement’s vision, priorities, and opportunities for the future.
Listen in to hear Gordon and Phil discuss the report, which included some surprising findings, as well as:
Why digitization tops the list of procurement’s most important priorities How procurement can handle increased complexity and workloads, even as headcounts remain stagnant Procurement’s AI maturity journey and where they are on the path to acceptance and adoption compared to other business functionsLinks:
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement Gordon Donovan on LinkedIn Read the 2024 Sap Economist Impact Report Listen to Gordon Donovan in a previous episode: From C-Suite Priority to Procurement Unpacking SAP’s 2024 Economist Impact Report Strategy: Managing Risk at Scale - Mostrar más
