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 need to know your suppliers, what they can and what they can’t do, and what they’re ready to do on top of the relationship you have every day. In an unstable supply chain, you need to invent new rules.” - Olivier Berrouiguet, President & CEO, Synertrade

The increasing complexity and volatility in the global supply chain is putting more pressure on procurement to level up their approach to risk management. But resource-constrained teams and a varied network of stakeholders with different understandings of “risk” means procurement has to work smarter, not harder, to be successful. 

Philip Ideson recently spoke with Olivier Berrouiguet, President and CEO of Synertrade, to get his perspective on how procurement can improve their approach to third party risk management and, perhaps most importantly, how they can adjust their strategy to meet the needs of the moment, which is increasingly defined by instability, risk, and disruption. 

In this podcast episode, Philip and Olivier discuss:

• How sustained supply chain volatility is changing the way procurement should approach risk management
• The often overlooked connection between supplier relationship management and supply chain risk management
• Why a more holistic approach to risk management is needed for direct, indirect, and services procurement
• The role of technology and generative AI in shaping the future of risk management solutions

Links:

• Olivier Berrouiguet on LinkedIn
• 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.

“If you want to be successful in what you do personally or professionally, you’ve got to manage relationships because the show goes on. You need strong relationships with contractors and suppliers that you know can deliver.” - Matt Mehler, President of PROcurement Solutions

Have you ever wondered what it is like to manage procurement for a large, high-profile venue? According to Matt Mehler, former VP of Procurement for Madison Square Garden, it’s exciting, but there’s also a tremendous amount of pressure.

Madison Square Garden is a large corporate entity that hosts hundreds of sporting and entertainment events per year, welcoming millions of people to its facilities, which also include entertainment venues off site and even in other cities. In this podcast episode, the opening session of Categorypalooza 2023, Kelly Barner interviews Matt about the complexities and challenges that come along with managing procurement for a large venue with many different types of services.

They discuss topics like:

• How to manage services procurement in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment
• The pivotal role relationships play in large-scale services spend management
• Managing expectations and measuring success in a complex organization with multiple stakeholders
• Navigating the nuances of supplier relationship and performance management in an advertiser- or sponsor-supported organization

Links:

• Matt Mehler on LinkedIn
• Watch on demand: Categorypalooza 2023
• 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.

“When you can demonstrate short-term success and communicate it – both inside and outside the company – it helps to smooth the pathway to the funding, staffing, and commitment required for longer-term impactful change.” – Lois Eichacker, VP of Customer Success, Supplier.io Supplier diversity is one of the most meaningful, impactful, and important corporate programs led by procurement, and a growing number of organizations are making supplier diversity a top priority. But creating a scalable supplier diversity program that can grow with the business, withstand changing political and economic landscapes, and sustain itself over time requires a unique set of strategies and tactics.

To better understand how procurement can build a strong supplier diversity program, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner spoke with Daniel Dorr, VP of Marketing, and Lois Eichacker, VP of Customer Success, both from Supplier.io. As Daniel and Lois shared, a solid supplier diversity program is characterized by transparency, clear communication of expectations, and data-driven decision making.

In this episode, based on an AOP Live session, Daniel and Lois discuss: 

• The importance of a solid spend baseline for supplier diversity growth
• How procurement can secure buy-in from decision makers
• Category-specific strategies for supplier diversity growth 

Links:

• Daniel Dorr on LinkedIn
• Lois Eichacker on LinkedIn
• Watch the Replay: Simple Steps for Growing Supplier Diversity
• 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.

“Services are relationship-based from a procurement perspective, whether that means the relationship procurement needs to have with the business to be successful or the relationship the company has with the service provider.” - Philip Ideson.

This week’s episode of the podcast provides a behind the scenes look at Art of Procurement’s ongoing research into services procurement - research that everyone in our listening audience and social following is encouraged to participate in. 

Management of services categories has changed substantially in recent years, driven by the rise of contract work, freelancing, and contingent labor. With an increasing number of professionals working remotely, the barriers to accessing external talent are undergoing yet another adjustment.

In this conversation, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner talk through some of the data points that form the core of the survey, sharing their perspective on the business outcomes and procurement processes in question.

Procurement organizations in all industries and geographies will want to benchmark themselves against the following themes covered in the survey, which only takes 5-7 minutes to complete:

• Ownership over ‘make v. buy’ decisions related to talent and staffing needs
• Procurement’s consultative role in the process for establishing service specifications
• How companies decide which services are strategic - and which are not

Links:

• The 2023 Services Procurement Survey 
• Philip Ideson on LinkedIn
• Kelly Barner on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to AOP’s 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.

“If you look at the strategic sourcing process, I think it was made for complex categories. That’s one of the things that makes this so exciting as a potential lighthouse project. It’s a great opportunity for procurement to say, ‘This is why we do this. This is all of the value we can add.’” – Benjamin Lambert, Principal at Efficio

Navigating complex spend categories can be challenging for procurement – the stakes tend to be high, stakeholder resistance is real, and the category may be nuanced or unfamiliar to procurement. At the same time, complex spend categories give procurement some of the best opportunities to flex their strategic muscles and demonstrate the depth and breadth of value they can provide across the business. 

To understand how procurement should leverage the opportunity associated with complex spend categories, Philip Ideson spoke with Ben Lambert, Principal at Efficio. According to Ben, procurement needs a mindset shift when it comes to complex spend - it is time for procurement to get excited about complex spend categories rather than fearing the potential risks. 

In this episode, Ben and Phil talk about: 

• What makes a category “complex”
• How procurement can establish their reputation as a true strategic partner beyond tactical execution
• Ways procurement can deliver maximum value even when the category is unfamiliar 

Links:

• Ben Lambert on LinkedIn
• Whitepaper: Unlocking Procurement’s Opportunity in Complex Spend Categories