In this episode, we’re joined by Constantin Conquet, Head of Procurement at Monks – the global marketing and technology services provider that accelerates business possibilities and refines how brands and businesses interact with the world – and a seasoned Procurement professional with over 10 years of experience at companies like Adidas and Sanofi. 

Constantin joins Sam for a great discussion about how Sales experience can influence Buying, the role of brands in supplier negotiations, the differences between tech & material procurement, how Procurement should adopt technologies & build their tech stack, and much more! 

(00:39) - Introducing Constantin 

(01:30) - What does Sourcing & Procurement mean to Constantin?

(02:58) - How much does Constantin think that Procurement is commercial vs. soft skills? 

(03:58) - How did Constantin’s previous experience in Sales influence his work in Procurement? 

(05:03) - Did Constantin’s experience in Sales make him a better Buyer?

(05:50) - Did Constantin choose Procurement or did Procurement choose Constantin? And why did Constantin transition into Procurement?

(07:53) - Why does Constantin think that Procurement has become so hot today?

(09:20) - How can the nature of a company’s brand or product influence their Procurement? 

(12:42) - Should Procurement leverage their brand in their supply negotiations? 

(13:51) - Do Procurement pros have a harder time or easier time buying procurement technology when they’re also the user profile? 

(16:42) - Do Procurement teams ever get handcuffed by the process and focus on digitization instead of digitalization? 

(19:26) - How does Constantin stay ahead of the trends as a tech buyer?

(21:55) - Is Procurement focused on building a resilient tech stack? 

(24:12) - What does Constantin think is the best way to build a culture of learning, development, and change? 

(26:40) - When does Constantin think that a company needs IT or tech buying? 

(29:44) - How does tech & IT procurement differ from material procurement? And is there anything these disciplines can learn from each other? 

(33:40) - How do software providers maintain long relationships with Procurement and can Procurement use a software for more than 5 years? 

(36:00) - When is it the right or wrong time for Procurement to buy from a tech startup? 

(39:05) - Constantin answers Sam’s quick fire round of questions