Talent Talks Podcast

In an increasingly global business environment, there is a growing necessity to focus on Supplier Risk Management. The impact of reputational risks, data security breaches and issues within the supply chain have evolved over the course of 2020 in particular.

In episode 24 of Talent Talks, Martin Smith is joined by Oliver Mountain and Avnish Patel, whose decades of experience with Revive Consulting and Air Products respectively have provided key insights into how you can increase the resilience of your supply chain, and formulate a plan to mitigate supplier risk before it materialises. Oliver and Avnish share some of the trends in SRM to which the industry has had to react, and the impact that social media has had on the importance of reputational risk.

This episode of Talent Talks covers:

• The current impact of Supplier Risk Management
• Trends in SRM
• Effects of globalisation on risk
• Increasing cases of ransomware and data security breaches
• Mitigating reputational risk
• Developing supply chain resilience
• The evolution of analytics in inventory management

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

“If you're collaborating and networking with your peers, you're probably getting better insights and better knowledge into what you do for a day to day job.”

Michael Cadieux is the Founder and CEO of an exclusive, free network of procurement professionals called The Procurement Foundry which, over the course of the past year, has transformed the way people define networking. 

Given the current restrictions on travel, events and socialising, this particularly pertinent episode of Talent Talks sees Martin Smith delve into how creating an online networking platform achieves its goal more effectively, the benefit of opening The Procurement Foundry up to a global community, and maintaining a level of exclusivity on a free platform.

This episode of Talent Talks covers:

• Improving the quality of your online interactions
• How to be more connected in the procurement industry
• Operating outside of your comfort zone
• Nurturing business relationships over time
• Quality over quantity in thought leadership

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

There’s a key difference between viewing procurement as a cost-saver and as a driving force for business growth, and the chance to take this optimistic approach is occasionally overlooked. 

In episode 22 of Talent Talks, Martin Smith welcomes Jeremy Bowley, Managing Director of Insider Pro and Tom Lewers, former Commercial Director of Network Rail, CPO Royal London & LV= and now MD at Procurement Potential. With experience on both sides of the procurement equation, Jeremy and Tom offer tips to maximise the impact that you can offer to a business by improving faith in the procurement functions, as well as boosting the reputation of CFO’s. 

This episode of Talent Talks covers:

• Delivering tangible strategic value
• Making interventions to ensure sustainable growth
• How procurement can support CFO’s in reputational matters
• Showing confidence to better identify client needs
• The procurement approach to risk diversity
• Sharing ‘best practice’ with fellow professionals
• Improving the chances of acquiring funding from the boardroom

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

Martin head’s across the Atlantic this episode with a North American panel to discuss how to improve the revolving door in procurement and supply-chain, the impact of COVID-19 in the American market and the increase in content marketing and personal branding movement in the industry.  

Our panel includes:

• Richard Ham - CEO at Fine Tune: 
• Sarah Barnes-Humphry - CEO of Shipz - Host of “Lets Talk Supply Chain” 
• Mark Raffan - Host of Negotiations Ninja Podcast and Head of Marketing at Content Callout 

This episode of Talent Talks covers:

• The art of negotiation
• Handover and CRM management between accounts
• The impact of COVID-19 on the procurement industry in America
• Improving hiring processes
• Content marketing and personal branding in procurement
• The rise of entrepreneurship and innovation

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

2020 has accelerated diversity and inclusion in procurement through the impact of the global pandemic and BlackLivesMatter protests. In this special episode of Talent Talks, Martin welcomes another incredible line-up who discuss how their own companies are encouraging diversity and inclusion and how we can continue this momentum within the procurement industry.

Our panel includes:

• Laura Grant. Former VP of Procurement at Virgin Atlantic
• Tunde Adeniyi, Clinical Sourcing Lead for Salisbury NHS
• Caroline Lloyd, Head of Procurement Operations North/Central Europe at DS Smith

This episode of Talent Talks covers:

• What is the meaning of diversity and inclusion?
• Examples of embracing diversity and inclusion within Virgin, NHS, DS Smith 
• How to ensure it is actively implemented throughout your team
• The impact of the #blacklivesmatter initiative on businesses
• How the procurement industry can improve
• Supporting women into leadership roles
• Tips & advice to be proactive in diversity and inclusion

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

Did you know that 50% of the workforce in procurement is now female? There’s been a tremendous sea of change in the last 10 years, but the board level and leadership teams don’t yet represent this at the higher levels. 

In episode 19 of Talent Talks Martin Smith welcomes an excellent panel who discuss how to attract, nurture and develop female talent within the procurement and supply-chain industry;

• Rebecca Lonsdale, Director of Procurement at Britvic Soft Drinks
• Victoria Sargeant, Head of Category and Supplier Management at BAE Systems
• Sarah-Jane Ellis - Former Director of Procurement at Heathrow and Head of Sourcing at the BBC, now founder of Procurement Presence

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

What is the impact of digitalisation on modern day procurement? In this episode of Talent Talks, Martin Smith, Founder of Talent Drive is joined by three procurement leaders in the tech and digital area;

- Dave Jones - Indirect Procurement Senior Leadership Team at John Lewis Partnership
- James Meads - Consultant & Host of The Procuretech Podcast
- Dr. Thierry Fausten - Consultant at Informed Decisions

They discuss their experiences of engaging with tech partners, which areas of tech will be expanding in the near future and the changing role of a Buyer & Procurement Manager.

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

For this very special episode of Talent Talks, I’m delighted to be joined by three well-known leading experts in the world of procurement consultancy for a panel discussion;

• Simon Whatson - Principal - Efficio Consulting
• Simon Geale - VP - Proxima
• Jeremy Smith - Managing Partner - 4C Associates

We discuss using external consultants versus hiring procurement talent in-house and what the mindset and skills  it takes to succeed as a Procurement Consultant. 

We also flip the questions and discuss CPO’s experiences on when working and engaging with procurement consultancies hasn’t worked and why, the importance of empathy and understanding, and the future of the profession. 

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/category/talent-talks-podcast/
Get in touch: [email protected]

Your role in procurement is to achieve and to promote the aims of the business.” 

Daniel Barnes, Founder of World of Procurement and host of the World of Procurement Podcast works across all sectors of procurement, which in itself is pretty niche. Starting his career with a degree in Commercial Law and a Masters in IT and Commerce Law, Daniel truly found his passion within the world of procurement.

Martin and Dan touch on a variety of topics but mostly around the need to humanise and change mindsets of those working in procurement. As professionals in the industry, they need to be acting more like business people - considering the business as a whole, realigning business goals and targets to that of the CEO’s or your Directors. 

This Episode of Talent Talks covers: 

• What makes a good procurement employee
• Neglect of contract management 
• Differences in the global approach to procurement
• Problems in procurement networking and conferencing
• The future of procurement through Daniel’s lense

Links and references at: https://talentdrive.co.uk/ Get in touch: [email protected]

“Get it right now and you're saving yourself some more time down the line.” 

Susan Walsh Classification Guru set up her own company three years ago when she left her job in data classification, and wasn’t sure where to turn next. Her confidence and ability to classify spend data for businesses solidified her decision to start up on her own. 

In episode 15 of Talent Talks, Martin and Susan Walsh dive deep into the meaning of spend data and classification, as well as winding back to last weeks’ topic of personal branding, which Susan has worked on a lot over the last year… this includes talk of her love of pyjamas and pink. 

This Episode of Talent Talks covers: 

• The definition of Spend Data 
• Money saving in monitoring and data entry
• Future of the procurement industry
• Underestimating procurement as a skill 
• Importance of data quality

Get in touch: [email protected]