June 25, 2021

PitchLink: In Conversation with Philip Ideson

35 minutes

In Conversation with Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement.

Philip Ideson is the Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement. Art of Procurement provides procurement leaders with the insights, resources, and expertise they need to drive company growth. Prior to Art of Procurement, Philip led procurement transformation, category management, and sourcing programs for clients of Accenture. Previously, Philip was Head of International Procurement, Sourcing & Third-Party Risk Management at Ally Financial.

Philip Ideson

Twenty years ago procurement was transactional and tactical. Each deal had a single focus, without taking into consideration the big picture. Today procurement behaves more like an architect, trying to glean business solutions using a supply base, as opposed to dealing with a set of specifications or a scope of work.

The buyer is more informed. Once faced with a challenge, they will go out and do the research. Once they have a reasonably good idea of how they will solve the challenge, they will start talking to people. Twenty years ago, the buyer had to rely on a representative and did not have the full perspective on all the alternative solutions available in the marketplace.

Buyer organizations often recruit expertise from outside the organization. That decision is based on what the stakeholders perceive as the difference between what they already know and what they should know about the challenge and its corresponding solutions. They are also more likely to invest in outside expertise if they perceive the solution to be critical to running the business.

Except for the largest organizations in the world, most companies can’t afford to hire varied expertise across fields. Most critical purchases are long term solutions, and purchases are made only every five years or more. So, it makes more sense to hire experts when the need arises- in other words, hire external expertise as the need arises.

These and more insights you never find in the public discourse around Sales and Buying in this candid episode of The Buyer Side Chat.

Run time – 35.18 mins.

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