The Procurement Software Podcast

In the second part of our series of live interviews recorded at Procurement Summit in Hamburg, Germany, we dive this time into the practitioner side of digital transformation.

Discover how digital transformation and procurement tech is shaping modern procurement leadership, through the captivating stories of three great professionals who joined me in my VW camper van on the exhibition floor.

Tanja Ridder,  Head of Commodity Group Procurement at ThyssenKrupp Bilstein

Tanja shares her story about how she grew her career starting out as a purchasing clerk and working her way up through internal promotions. She's proof that it's possible to grow without going down the traditional university degree straight after school route. We discuss how that mix of operational and strategic experience has helped shape her career. Tanja has only been in her current role a few months, so we also explore some of the considerations for how to approach shaping a digital procurement strategy when starting a new role.

Nina Bomberg, Director of Global Indirect Procurement at dormakaba

Nina and I have known each other for a while and she changed jobs in September last year. Our conversation looks at her journey of starting in a greenfield role in a relatively immature procurement organisation, especially from a digitisation standpoint.

Mario Bruggmann - Social Procurement

Mario is based in Switzerland and is a freelance interim manager, typically taking on senior procurement & supply chain roles for a few months at a time to bridge hiring gaps or to manage special project requirements. Mario's other passion though is what he calls Social Procurement - leveraging the power of social media to both build a personal brand and also to raise awareness of the procurement profession.

Through their stories, we witness the fusion of operational prowess and strategic vision, illuminating the multifaceted landscape of success in this dynamic field.

As the procurement landscape continues to evolve, their experiences provide invaluable insights into shaping digital strategies and propelling the profession forward.

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In this episode of the Procuretech Podcast, host James Meads welcomes Leo Cavalcanti, CEO and founder of Linkana, a vendor master data management startup from Brazil.

The conversation revolves around the challenges and opportunities in the procurement and supply chain technology industry in Brazil and Latin America. Cavalcanti talks about the need for standardised supplier data management and explains how Linkana addresses this issue.

In this episode, the focus is on the growth and investment in procurement and supply chain technology in Brazil and Latin America. Leo Cavalcanti from Linkana confirms this growth and highlights the emergence of local solutions in Brazil's ecosystem.

The Brazilian market, previously dominated by SAP Ariba, now faces competition from Coupa and GAP, indicating a promising future for procurement and supply chain tech in the region.

Leo introduces his company, Linkana, specialising in supplier data management solutions with a focus on Latin America and Brazil. He discusses the limitations of current approaches to handling supplier data in procurement technology and shares Linkana's strategy to address these challenges. He also explores the unique obstacles and advantages faced by procurement tech in Latin America, drawing comparisons to the European and North American markets.

[00:01:50] Introducing Leo Cavalcanti, CEO of Linkana.

[00:03:22] Procurement technology in Brazil.

[00:08:37] Slow adoption of procurement technology.

[00:17:04] Localisation key for successful expansion.

[00:20:23] Localisation is key for expansion.

[00:25:31] Implementing procurement technology is challenging.

[00:31:30] Future of procurement is data-driven.

And that wraps up another episode of The Procuretech Podcast.

Thanks to Leo for joining us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there!

If you want to learn more about our guests, Linkana, or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

Connect with Leo Cavalcanti on LinkedIn

Check out Linkana online

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In the world of cross-border supply chains and procurement processes, innovation is revolutionizing the way businesses operate.

In this exclusive interview series recorded live at the Procurement Summit, we dive into the minds of some visionary procuretech startup founders who are at the forefront of driving change in the industry.

First up is Romain Fayolle, Founder and CEO of Holocene

Holocene is a startup that optimises and automates logistics processes for cross-border supply chain. As I touch on in the interview, this has traditionally been a very manual process. Automation AND visibility in this space is much-needed, and it's great to come across innovation for this topic.

Next up is Christoph Moll of beNeering. We often get frustrated as procurement professionals about incumbent ERP systems, and how inflexible or complicated they are to use because of their front end interface and vast array of features. The reality is though, companies aren't going to abandon them overnight. This conversation looks at making life easy with an intuitive front-end that seamlessly works in tandem with a SAP environment.

I then spoke to one of the industry stalwarts and one of the major sponsors of Procurement Summit, Jan-Hendrik Sohn, country manager DACH for Ivalua. Even though I'm a huge fan of best-of-breed tech, this was actually a conversation I really enjoyed. It was really cool to get an understanding of how one of the established suites is positioning itself in such a rapidly changing market, and where they see their advantage and USP over some of their fierce competitors.

Keeping on the topic of Source-to-Pay, next up is Eberhard Aust, CEO of ebidtopay. They're a niche provider of S2P solutions for mid-market manufacturing businesses and their software does a LOT for its price point. They've been around a while but are really focusing on offering a suite-like set of features at a price point that doesn't require an enterprise software budget. Full disclosure, ebidtopay is one of our software partners at ProcurementSoftware.site, and you can reach out to me if you'd like to learn more about them.

Christoph Kunel, COO of e-procurement platform Crowdfox is next up. Catalogue procurement is not new technology. However, using generative AI - the same technology that powers ChatGPT - to assist and enhance the requisitioner's front end experience, is a simple but huge value add enhancement. He explains how "ProcureGPT" works in their platform.

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this episode of the Procuretech Podcast, host James Meads is joined once more by Ward Karson, Chief Operating Officer of Raindrop – an enterprise spend management suite based in California.

Today they discuss the pros and cons of tackling supplier risk management from within an S2P Suite.

Supplier Risk Management Within an S2P Suite – Ward Karson from Raindrop

Introducing Raindrop.

UI, UX and speed of implementation.

The grand fallacy of the procurement industry.

It takes 12-24 months to deploy a piece of software.

Deployment takes forever money.

The grain fallacy of the procurement software industry.

How to prevent legacy providers from changing.

Rising tide lifts all boats.

The tech foundation of the company is important.

S2P and P2P software is complex.

The letter 'P'.

Challenges of integrating with multiple technology solutions.

How to integrate with each technology solution provider.

Implementation of P2P tools for procurement and finance.

Procurement resource per minute.

The importance of quick and painless solutions.

How to make the procurement process quicker and easier.

User experience and why it matters.

B2B and B2C adoption of UX.

UI/UX is what is going to drive the industry.

The ERP industry needs more modernity.

Nobody gets fired for recommending IBM.

The age old conundrum. 

Mindset problem, not a capability or leadership issue.

B2B vs B2C, ease of use.

Benefits of ease of use solutions.

Reduce maverick spend, increase addressable spend and manage spend.

Self-service from stakeholders.

Reduce the transactional workload of procurement.

Why the industry has not shifted.

Time and materials businesses need consultancy.

Risk cap, 20-30% risk factor for projects.

How do you fix the problems with legacy providers?

World class talent and the right change management strategy.

How to get in touch with Ward.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast!

Thanks to Ward for sharing his insights with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there.

If you want to learn more about Ward, Raindrop, or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

 

Stay in touch!

Connect with Ward on LinkedIn

Check out Raindrop

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

Host James Meads is joined by two guests, this week. Nick Vekroost is the CEO of procurement tech company Canopy. Anna Williams is head of procurement at the office design and build organisation Unispace, where Canopy has been successfully implemented.

This is a rare opportunity to speak to a procurement tech provider and one of that provider's clients at the same time. We'll talk about their implementation journey, share their successes and hopefully give you some ammo for making a business case to your CFO or CEO.

Anna's journey in the early stage tech space.

Challenges and advantages of working with a smaller organization.

A huge learning curve.

Implementing canopy as a solution.

The reach of Canopy within Unispace.

How many staff will eventually have access to Canopy?

No business would survive without a supply chain.

The most important supplier in 2020.

Accounting for the system and building structures.

Integrating with different ERP systems.

ERP systems are rigid and need to be flexible.

Working with an API or third-party system.

Granular details of the Canopy platform.

What Unispace is all about.

Evolving towards a full-stack supplier risk management tool.

Risk is at the heart of every single profile on Canopy.

How Canopy connects with third party credit agencies and risk management platforms.

Bridging the gap between cloud-based and on-premise solutions.

The journey of using Canopy.

What Canopy means by data, and why they break it down.

How Canopy works with customers.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast.

Thanks to Nick and Anna for joining us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there!

If you want to learn more about our guests, Canopy, Unispace or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

 

Stay in touch!

Connect with Nick and Anna on Linkedin

Check out Canopy

Check out Unispace

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this episode of the Procuretech Podcast, host James Meads is joined by a multiple published author, procurement training business owner and SaaS entrepreneur - Jonathan O'Brien, CEO of Positive Purchasing.

Jonathan is here to talk about the big changes he's witnessed in the industry over the last 20 years, and to look forward to the future of digital procurement.

Training to procurement SaaS – Jonathan O’Brien from Positive Purchasing

Timestamps

Biggest changes in procurement over the past 20 years.

Cost focus and recognition.

Mitigating price rises and deflation.

Conversations with procurement and sales teams.

Transition from in-person negotiation to digital transformation.

Sustainability, supply chain risk, digital transformation and visibility.

Building a broadcast studio for live online instructor-led training.

Adoption of technology during the pandemic.

Online training needs to be high-energy and engaging.

The backlash against remote work.

Making travel essential rather than nice.

Budgeting for training and digital transformation.

How to convince CFOs to invest in procurement.

The 10% of value from procurement.

The snakes and ladders board of digital transformation.

Five books on procurement.

Category management is the first step.

A tool that combines artificial intelligence and category strategy.

Adoption of category management is still early.

Why most companies are first-base on category management.

Changing hearts and minds to do category management.

The most painful thing about category strategies.

How technology can help procurement professionals embed sustainability principles.

Sustainability in the supply chain.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast.

Thanks to Jonathan for sharing his thoughts with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there!

If you want to learn more about Jonathan, Positive Purchasing, or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

Stay in touch!

Connect with Jonathan on LinkedIn

Check out Positive Purchasing online

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this episode of the Procuretech Podcast, host James Meads is joined by old friend and procuretech founder Sheldon Mydat - CEO of Suppeco.

Sheldon is here to talk about ESG and sustainability, as well as sharing his thoughts on the current digital procurement landscape.

ESG and Sustainable Supply Chain – Sheldon Mydat, CEO of Suppeco

Timestamps

A quick overview of Sheldon's career.

How Sheldon became a startup founder.

Nailing the jelly to the wall.

How Suppeco differs from other ESG platforms.

The differentiator for Suppeco is relationships.

Working with smaller organisations in the supply chain.

Current challenges in the industry.

Creating a truly collaborative platform.

Stakeholder mapping to control the flow of data.

Third-party auditors brought straight into the platform.

Creating a different experience for the user.

Getting auditors involved in the negotiation process.

Keeping confidentiality in a modern supply chain.

Using live data to drive compliance.

Keystone functionalities to make this work.

The value of process automation.

Two approaches to implementation, fast implementation or end-to-end solution.

E-sourcing platforms in the procurement landscape.

Partnerships and alliances are the future of procurement technology.

Examples of use cases for Suppeco.

Examples of big systems driving relationship-driven performance improvement.

Examples of smaller systems driving value.

How to get in touch with Sheldon.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast.

Thanks to Sheldon for sharing his thoughts with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there!

If you want to learn more about Sheldon, Suppeco or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

 

Stay in touch!

Connect with Sheldon on LinkedIn

Check out Suppeco

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this week's episode of The Procuretech Podcast, Clive Heal, CEO of LavenirAI is my guest.

Clive is here to introduce a cool new startup idea he's been working on, as well as sharing his thoughts on the current digital procurement landscape.

Procurement and the Metaverse – Clive Heal from LavenirAI

2:36

From R&D to sales and marketing

Lavenir AI, his startup, uses AI and virtual avatars for ongoing negotiation training.

7:02

What the metaverse is, and how it works.

What the procurement metaverse will be like.

Clive's prediction that all procuretech will have an existence in the metaverse.

The metaverse is being developed on both consumer and commercial sides.

11:45

VR is just one example of the metaverse from a procurement perspective.

The future of VR, and how it will change the world.

Adoption of the metaverse on the consumer and the socialising side.

The future of procurement, sourcing, contract management and risk assessments in a world of VR and the metaverse.

18:10

Innovation chasm between innovators and early adopters.

Procurement people tend to be risk adverse.

Technology is a great catalyst for change.

Procurement can often feel ultra-conservative.

22:54

The first cell phone and the first laptop.

How technology changes over time.

24:45

Lavenir.AI touches on negotiation and negotiation training.

Will AI take over from humans?

Factors to consider when negotiating with alternative suppliers.

AI is about first insight.

29:06

AI creates the opportunity to create value in new ways.

Negotiation training is an ongoing process.

The difference between theory and practice in the sales process.

The future of the sales avatar.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast.

Thanks to Clive for sharing his thoughts with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there!

If you want to learn more about Clive, Lavenir.ai, or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

Stay in touch!

Connect with Clive on LinkedIn

Check out Lavenir.ai

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this episode of The Procuretech Podcast, host James Meads is joined again by Ward Karson, Chief Operating Officer of Raindrop – an enterprise spend management suite based in California.

Today they discuss the different considerations you should take when sourcing procurement technology, and what sort of questions you should be asking of your technology providers.

Sourcing Procurement Technology – Ward Karson from Raindrop

3:06

Getting started in procurement 30 years ago.

The third leg of the stool, the environment.

Raindrop as a full suite enterprise spend management solution.

Three steps to consider when buying a solution.

6:21

The first step back and answer to the question.

Risk is a big thing.

How the cost can creep up over the lifetime of the contract.

The typical payback or ROI: what to look for

11:28

Different providers and how they might be set up from a cost and implementation perspective.

The difference between the initial investment, and the cost for ongoing support.

13:30

Validate user experience, ease of use, lack of complexity.

Procurement experience, making UI right.

The new wave of procurement leaders and what they're looking for.

Deployment speed to value and overall ease of use.

17:13

How to know if a solution is right for you.

How to adapt to the needs of your business.

A more philosophical approach to procurement.

22:05

Are reports such as Gartner Magic Quadrants useful for research and due diligence purposes?

How the analyst firm is different from the wider market.

The great fallacy of defining a leader as a leader.

25:04

Comparing RFPs to online dating.

The risk of being too dependent on RFP.

Providing value to the potential customer.

Leadership of a procurement software company.

28:27

Authenticity is important in the procurement industry.

The second level discussions.

The gap between the CEO and the COO.

The importance of having procurement experience.

34:00

Technical implementation

How do newer best of breeds stand up to more established solutions?

The argument that full suites have lower overall implementation costs

40:42

Long term contracts reduce the risk of repricing at renewal

Why three years is Ward's perfect contract length

How to get in touch with Ward and find out more about Raindrop

And that wraps up another episode of The Procuretech Podcast!

Thanks to Ward for sharing his insights with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there.

If you want to learn more about Ward, Raindrop, or Procurement Software, check out the useful links below.

Stay in touch!

Book a demo with Raindrop here

Connect with Ward on LinkedIn

Check out Raindrop.com

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn

In this episode of the show, host James Meads is joined by LinkedIn "royalty" Tom Mills. Tom is Head of Procurement at Bibby Financial Services and runs his own Substack newsletter called Procurement Bites.

Personal Branding in Digital Procurement – Tom Mills

He's built a great personal brand online and has over 30,000 followers on LinkedIn. He's here to share some advice on personal branding, the digital procurement market and how building your brand can really help you to own and shape both your personal and career development.

2:04

A unique blend of direct and indirect buying.

How procurement can be done badly.

4:11

Building a personal brand in the procurement industry.

The personal brand is important.

6:39

Building a personal brand is about building a personality.

Personal brand is not fake.

9:27

Mentors and influencers in the early 2000s procurement space.

Formal learning and development.

Procurement professionals need to develop a network.

Prioritise and prioritise.

15:06

Virtual content, procurement & supply chain conferences and online resources.

The difference between 20 years ago and the situation now.

17:44

It's one option but shouldn't be seen as the only option.

Growth of CIPS in the Middle East and Africa.

Tackling the topic of the "procurement dinosaur".

20:21

The two-fold age metaphor for procurement.

The importance of being very clear.

22:54

Tom and James discuss a few things that they stand for and against.

What are the most lacking skills in procurement?

25:19

The biggest challenge in driving digital transformation in procurement.

The four options to drive digital transformation.

One wish to drive procurement into the 21st century.

How to connect with Tom.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast!

Thanks to Tom for sharing his insights with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there.

If you want to learn more about Tom or get in touch with us, check out the useful links below.

Stay in touch!

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn

Check out Tom on substack

Download our Tech Map for Enterprise

Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market

Download our Tech Map for SMEs

Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app

Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter

Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!

Connect with James on LinkedIn