Governments and regulators across the globe are stepping up their oversight of corporate operations so they can drive more ethical and environmentally sustainable business practices. Each effort to uncover harmful and unethical business practices - such as environmental degradation, unfair or unsafe working conditions, and modern slavery – increases the challenge for procurement and supply chain professionals increases.

One such example, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, takes effect on June 21, 2022. It states that all goods made in Xinjiang, China will be presumed to involve slave labor unless the company can prove otherwise. Like other ESG laws, the Uyghur FLPA will require companies to increase visibility into first-tier suppliers as well as sub-tier suppliers. What do we need to do to prepare for this act and other ESG laws and regulations?

In this livestream-based episode of Dial P for Procurement, Kelly Barner and Scott Luton welcome Constantine Limberakis, Senior Director of Global Product & Solutions Marketing at riskmethods, to discuss:

• Who the Uyghurs are and why they and the autonomous region of Xinjiang are they being singled out for international oversight

• What products and commodities are exported from this region, and how many industries and/or supply chains will be affected by the new law

• The questions that remain open about how this law will be enforced and what the penalties will be for those who do not comply

Additional Links & Resources:

Riskmethod's Supply Chain Laws You Should Know: https://bit.ly/3vV6ipE

In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner answers the question so many of us have been thinking since the news broke on April 25th that Elon Musk and Twitter had come to an agreement to allow the company to be taken private: What happens now?

We'll leave the social and journalistic implications to the pundits, but buying a company as big as Twitter is far more complicated than buying a Tesla. There are layers of review, votes, and a few unknowns before the deal is completely done.

By examining primary sources and recent news coverage, Kelly explains all of the business details and behind-the-scenes machinations that will have to come to pass before the world's richest man becomes the outright owner of Twitter.

In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner wonders whether CEOs have to – or even can – love their customers. What does that require from executives and what happens if they are unable to muster such a personal emotion in the workplace?

In most B2C companies, but especially in retail, there are some key differences between the 'typical' CEO and his or her customers. From age to gender, annual salary to the place they call home, CEOs and the average middle American have very little in common. And while CEOs can't make themselves like their customers, they can certainly understand what appeals to them about the company's offerings and why… and give them more of that.

Using real life examples – both good and bad – we will see what CEO love looks like and what the opposite earns them. Building a community, even a community of one, based on value, respect, and communication, is a foundation. But as LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program member Nicky Saunders asked in a recent post, "Have you celebrated and talked to your people or are you too busy chasing more?"

In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner thinks back through one of the core concepts from the March livestream featuring Koray Kose and Rik Vera: moving from the old economy to the new economy – and making the most of the time between. As you might guess, the old economy was marked by transactions, economies of scale, and clear boundaries between what was 'in scope' for corporations and what was not. The rules were clear but the potential for innovation was constrained.

In the new economy, opportunities will abound, but success will not be easily won by the faint of heart. If you're looking for proof of that, consider Elon Musk. He is a confirmed time traveler from the new economy who has arrived to shake things up and give us a look into the future.

In the new economy, everything is far more interrelated and interdependent, and the lines are blurred between companies, governments, and humanitarian organizations.

Will you have the courage, vision, and energy to succeed in the new economy? Only time will tell. In the meantime, just don't say 'digital.'

The distance between the United States is far, and that statement remains true whether you are describing geography, culture, or business practices. But how much of what we have been led to believe about the country with the world's second largest economy is true and how much is hype?

We decided to ask someone who is there, making a living bridging the gaps in supply chains and understanding between Chinese companies and their Western customers.

In this week's Dial P for Procurement interview, Kelly Barner is joined by Jeffrey Goldstein, Founder & President of ONWARD Global. More important than his title though, is his location. Jeffrey has been based in Shanghai, China for the last 12 years. He works with international startups, brands, and retailers, serving as their on-the-ground representation in China, managing their sourcing, manufacturing, and ethical compliance.

In this interview, Kelly asks Jeffrey frank questions about:

• How companies have partnered with firms based in China over the last couple of years despite the strict travel restrictions imposed as part of China's 'Zero COVID' policy

• Whether commonly held notions of what a 'business relationship' means in the West versus China are compatible

• Procurement investments in digital transformation – have they improved interactions with Chinese suppliers?

• The risks Western companies may be creating for themselves if they push Chinese suppliers too hard on price

In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner gets back to basics to address one of the dominating news stories and business concerns today: inflation. What is it, what causes it, and isn't there SOMETHING we can do to make It stop??? Listen in for a refresher on the basics, some examples of how it connects all of the different major forces in the economy, and some strategies and tactics you can employ as a corporate employee to get through today's heavily inflationary times.

People and companies talk about technology constantly, but they don't know what to do with it. Fortunately, procurement is in a position to be an initiator of supply ecosystem relationships that are trust-based even though they are distributed. To achieve this, we will have to de-hype technologies by looking beyond the surface - which, in most cases, is a thin digital frosting on the same old cake.

If we want to escape the old economy, we have to root out everything that serves as a connection to old ways of thinking: experiences, KPIs, language, and thinking of our supply chains from the bottom up.

Everyone in a supply chain wants to have contact with the customer, so the only way to win is for everyone in the ecosystem to work together. That said, change can be deceptive; in many cases, the things that change fastest do not indicate meaningful change.

In this Dial P for Procurement livestream, Rik Vera, international thought leader and author of the Guide to the Ecosystem Economy, and Koray Kose, Senior Director of Supply Chain Research at Gartner, joined co-hosts Kelly Barner and Scott Luton to discuss:

- What the 'old economy' means in terms of systems, thinking, and language

- What we are likely moving towards and what is driving it

- How open-minded thinkers and innovators can work in the space between old and new to design a future for themselves

In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner shares a special interview with Constance Jones, Senior Director of Network Delivery Services at NMSDC. NMSDC is the National Minority Supplier Development Council. They are responsible for certifying minority-owned business so that they can strengthen their partnerships with corporate supplier diversity programs.

Kelly conducted this interview as part of the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program she was selected to participate in as a member of the first creator group. Listen in as Constance shares her passion and ability to present a business case in equal measure.

In this week's Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner takes two ideas, both desirable, and asks if they can co-exist. One is paradigm shifts, and the other is expertise. It is easy to see that people don't like change, but are we rewarded for building up expertise in the exclusion of new ideas? Do we build walls around our mindset and point of view that make us impervious to paradigm shifts?

To underscore the need to find inspiration from a number of sources, Kelly quotes and pulls perspectives from John Dominic Crossan, Jennifer Ulrich, Malcolm Gladwell, Charles Darwin, Max Planck, Thomas Kuhn, Rita Gunther McGrath, and Barbara Kingsolver.

In this first Dial P audio podcast, Kelly Barner takes the newspaper dominating conflict in Ukraine and looks at the active role some companies and leaders from private industry have played so far. While companies have gotten involved in armed conflicts before, it has usually been indirect – as suppliers to the government or respondents to official orders and sanctions. In 2022, however, large global corporations have the ability to enable or disable communications, shipments, and access to funds with the click of a button – changing the course of history much more quickly than governments can make policy decisions. And in the ESG era, consumers expect the companies they buy from to act in accordance with their values, not stand by idly.

While we are all watching from the sidelines, some of us are sitting closer than others to the action. Each set of circumstances is an opportunity to think through what we would do… because we never know when the call will come, and a decision will be ours to make. What would you do?