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Philip Ideson
Managing Director at Art of Procurement
Orlando, United States
Philip Ideson is passionate about the role that procurement professionals and leaders can plan in creating a competitive advantage for their organizations.
Over a two-decade career spanning the entire procurement value chain from Buyer to Head of Procurement, as a practitioner and consultant, Philip observed first hand the challenges that procurement professionals face in fighting the status quo, and ultimately in fulfilling their potential.
Philip founded Art of Procurement in 2015 as a way to empower procurement professionals at all levels to deliver change with confidence; whether from the inspiration of the popular weekly podcast that he hosts, or with targeted solution offerings that guide clients on their journey to transform the impact of procurement.
Philip Ideson
Points
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Author
1015
Influencer
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Entrepreneur
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Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.
How Agentic AI Can Transform Procurement Outcomes
Art of Procurement
June 22, 2025
“The way we start looking at every unit of work in a workflow flips from being something that's truly human-led to something that can be increasingly human-reviewed and driven, but not necessarily initiated as a human."
Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
AOP Introducing… Tonkean Enterprise Copilot
Import from wordpress feed
July 17, 2024
Procurement intake processes are often misunderstood by other areas of the business, and having to constantly guide distributed buyers through...
The post AOP Introducing… Tonkean Enterprise Copilot appeared first on Art of Procurement.
3 Perspectives on Procurement and Risk for Mid-sized Organizations
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April 01, 2024
Procurement’s ability to have the desired impact is dependent upon a combination of knowledge, skills, technology – and relationships. Misalignment,...
The post 3 Perspectives on Procurement and Risk for Mid-sized Organizations appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Great Shortages Make Great Opportunities: Shifts in the Manufacturing Workforce
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April 01, 2024
A combination of factors, including retirement rates, lower birth rates, and generational differences in worker preference have led to particularly...
The post Great Shortages Make Great Opportunities: Shifts in the Manufacturing Workforce appeared first on Art of Procurement.
When Third Party Risk is a First Tier Priority
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April 01, 2024
Risk is everywhere, all the time, and it takes many forms. Despite the fact that procurement and supply chain professionals...
The post When Third Party Risk is a First Tier Priority appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Case Study: Measuring Global Supplier Contributions to ESG Impact
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April 01, 2024
Procurement organizations all over the world are being tasked with driving and measuring the impact of investments in ESG: environmental,...
The post Case Study: Measuring Global Supplier Contributions to ESG Impact appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Augmenting P2P and ERP with Intake Orchestration and AI
Import from wordpress feed
April 01, 2024
Most procurement organizations use P2P/ERP platforms to facilitate procurement intake, triage, and coordination. These are important and powerful tools, but...
The post Augmenting P2P and ERP with Intake Orchestration and AI appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Analyzing the Global State of Services Procurement
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March 20, 2024
Services spend is becoming an increasingly important strategic category for procurement to manage as more and more businesses rely on...
The post Analyzing the Global State of Services Procurement appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Achieving a Winning Difference
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March 17, 2024
“It’s really nice to have a bigger purpose and actually see the communities that you are changing, the lives that...
The post Achieving a Winning Difference appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Announcing the Launch of Art of Procurement SpendPros
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March 10, 2024
“In procurement’s operating model of the future, internal teams are delivery leaders, relationships builders, and the ones who understand what...
The post Announcing the Launch of Art of Procurement SpendPros appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Art of Procurement Launches SpendPros, Expert-guided Category and Sourcing Enablement
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March 10, 2024
“If our experts succeed, if the processes we build succeed, it will train the client’s team in what best in...
The post Art of Procurement Launches SpendPros, Expert-guided Category and Sourcing Enablement appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Transparency is the Antidote for Rising IT Costs
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March 03, 2024
“There is always room for negotiation around IT spend. The worst they can do is say ‘no,’ but at least...
The post Transparency is the Antidote for Rising IT Costs appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Challenging Traditional Thinking with Nemawashi
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February 25, 2024
“Nemawashi is generally something we do on a yearly basis. Is it tedious? Yes. Is it easy? No. Does it...
The post Challenging Traditional Thinking with Nemawashi appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Procurement 6 – February 23rd, 2024
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February 22, 2024
Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday...
The post Procurement 6 – February 23rd, 2024 appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Redefining Procurement’s Value and Shifting Mindsets
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February 18, 2024
“Given all the things procurement is doing, it does seem that a lot of their work tends to go unnoticed...
The post Redefining Procurement’s Value and Shifting Mindsets appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Top Priorities for IT Spend in 2024
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February 13, 2024
Technology spend poses a unique set of challenges for procurement. Cost increases, waste and inefficiency, a crowded marketplace, and the...
The post Top Priorities for IT Spend in 2024 appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Escaping the Services Procurement Comfort Zone
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February 11, 2024
“We have to incentivize the supplier to collaborate with us in a way that creates a different way of doing...
The post Escaping the Services Procurement Comfort Zone appeared first on Art of Procurement.
The ESG Imperative: Balancing the Attainable With the Aspirational
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February 04, 2024
“I think a large part of the ESG model is about bringing each other up together – capacity building –...
The post The ESG Imperative: Balancing the Attainable With the Aspirational appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Procurement 6 – February 2nd, 2024
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February 01, 2024
Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday...
The post Procurement 6 – February 2nd, 2024 appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Debunking Common Software Procurement Myths
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January 28, 2024
“There is this misconception that procurement pros are paper-pushers – that we are not strategic, or we are not business...
The post Debunking Common Software Procurement Myths appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Three (3) Indispensable Skills for Today’s Procurement Leaders
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January 21, 2024
“In procurement, we have a perception of the world we’re in, and we put boundaries around ourselves. But we have...
The post Three (3) Indispensable Skills for Today’s Procurement Leaders appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Procurement’s Data Dream Team
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January 14, 2024
“Once you have clean data, it becomes a business asset. You can now answer questions from it. When it’s sitting...
The post Procurement’s Data Dream Team appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Procurement 6 – January 12th, 2024
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January 11, 2024
Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday...
The post Procurement 6 – January 12th, 2024 appeared first on Art of Procurement.
Communicating Procurement’s Value Up the Chain
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January 09, 2024
Procurement often feels like they are increasingly asked to ‘do more with less,’ and there seems to be no shortage...
The post Communicating Procurement’s Value Up the Chain appeared first on Art of Procurement.
2024: Pride Of Purpose For Procurement
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January 07, 2024
“If procurement wants to have an outsized impact, they need to provide value in a way that alters how decision...
The post 2024: Pride Of Purpose For Procurement appeared first on Art of Procurement.
- to inspire the art of the possible by thinking differently about the impact that procurement can achieve.
- to help you build and execute your transformation roadmap.
- to help you rapidly deploy teams of experts that deliver sustainable cost savings
- to help you tackle complex problems, categories, and sourcing events to unlock new sources of value.
- to provide you with the insights, tools, and coaching to succeed day in, and day out.
We strive to achieve these goals through our podcast, consulting, and microlearning offerings.
Episode 25: How to be a Procurement All-Star
World of Procurement
October 21, 2020
Philip Ideson is the man behind Art of Procurement, the number one Procurement Podcast in the world. In addition to this, Art of Procurement provides Education and Consultancy Services. Philip recently hit an incredible milestone of 500,000 downloads over five years of running his Podcast.
Philip has a wealth of experience as a Procurement Practitioner and has spoken with over three hundred Procurement Professionals on his Podcast. As you can Imagine, I was keen to get his views on what the Best Procurement Pros do.
We covered a lot in this thirty minute Podcast episode:
Football, Why Running is incredible for mindset, the traits of Procurement All-Stars, Why focussing on Procurement Technical Skills will only get you so far, why we hate the term “seat at the table” and the challenges COVID 19 has posed to Procurement Teams.
PAT Chat: Art of Procurement’s Phil Ideson on Elevating the Role of Procurement
SAP Ariba
February 06, 2020
How do we elevate the role of procurement? Meet Phil Ideson, the founder and managing director of Art of Procurement, who has dedicated himself to precisely that task.
Tags: Customer Experience, Digital Transformation, Procurement
Out of the Mouth of Babes
ProcuRising
June 03, 2019
Art of Procurement Founder Philip Ideson shares his entrepreneurial journey, and why the future of procurement relies on a combination of both art and science.
806: Building a Leading Services Procurement Capability at Mastercard with Pratik Patel
Philip Ideson
May 26, 2025
Services procurement can be a rewarding field, but it also has some unique (and fairly complex) challenges that require procurement to develop a strong approach to spend and performance management.
In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Pratik Patel, Director - Category Management - Labor/North America Technology Spend at Mastercard, about his own experience transforming technology services procurement from a decentralized, inefficient process into a streamlined, data-driven program that delivers unprecedented business value.
Pratik walks listeners through:
- Four key requirements for successful outcome-based contracting
- How to use lean methodology to identify pain points in the procurement process and build buy-in for transformation
- Steps to build scalable services procurement processes that create efficiency, stakeholder trust, and value for the business
Links:
Pratik Patel on LinkedIn
Business Waste: The Silent Value Killer W/ Pratik Patel
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804: Strategic Services Sourcing in an AI-Driven World with Amy Fong
Philip Ideson
May 19, 2025
Service categories are experiencing unprecedented change driven by generative AI, which is shifting workforce models and evolving commercial structures across the business.
Procurement has to be continuously focused on how these changes are affecting the business. For procurement leaders managing these services categories, navigating this transformation requires new ways to think about areas like contracting, relationship management, and value measurement.
In this episode of Art of Procurement, Philip Ideson speaks with Amy Fong, Partner, Sourcing and Vendor Management at Everest Group, about the rapid evolution of business services sourcing. Amy brings unique insights from analyzing thousands of contracts and observing what leading companies are doing to adapt their sourcing strategies and their approach to output- versus outcome-based contracts.
In this episode, Amy explains:
- Why outcome-based contracting remains an aspiration, not a reality, for many companies (and how to change that)
- How generative AI is fundamentally changing service delivery models and what that means for performance measurement and cost structures
- What procurement teams must bring to the table to earn their place in strategic make-or-buy decisions
Links:
Amy Fong on LinkedIn
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
802: A Journey of Continuous Transformation at IKEA with Joel Andersson
Philip Ideson
May 12, 2025
Building a mature indirect procurement function that’s strategically aligned with the rest of the business is a journey filled with problem-solving, stakeholder relationships, and continuous learning. It requires a ‘thinking-on-your-feet’ approach and a willingness to adapt as the business and its priorities evolve.
For IKEA, this transformation began about five years ago when they moved from a self-organized approach to a centralized, strategic function that drives measurable value beyond just cost savings.
In this episode of Art of Procurement, Philip Ideson speaks with Joel Andersson, Process development and digitalization project leader - indirect procurement at IKEA, about the company’s indirect procurement transformation journey.
Joel shares insights on how his team built credibility through early wins, implemented foundational technology, and is now exploring advanced capabilities including services procurement optimization and generative AI.
Listen in to hear:
- Why establishing visibility through spend analytics was their critical first technology investment before implementing a source-to-pay suite
- How demonstrating value through early "low-hanging fruit" wins created the business case for expanding the procurement function
- The unique challenges of indirect procurement compared to direct, particularly around stakeholder management and services procurement
Links:
Joel Andersson on LinkedIn
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800: Procurement’s Communication Superpower with David Yarkin
Philip Ideson
May 05, 2025
Long before "DOGE" became a buzzword in government efficiency, the state of Pennsylvania led a pioneering strategic procurement transformation that saved taxpayers millions… $140 million to be exact (and on a recurring basis, at that). The key to their success wasn't just smart buying strategies, but highly effective communication that helped secure executive support and turn resisters into supporters.
In this episode of Art of Procurement, Philip Ideson speaks with David Yarkin, CEO of Procurated and former Chief Procurement Officer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. David brings a unique perspective influenced by his background as a former press secretary and in procurement leadership.
In this episode, David shares how he led Pennsylvania to unprecedented savings through strategic sourcing initiatives and a powerful approach to communication:
- How to build support for procurement transformation, even against significant resistance, while also staying aligned with company leadership
- Why supplier performance management should be a high priority for procurement and how a lack of visibility into early warning signs can lead to major failures
- How procurement leaders can break through organizational barriers by getting out from behind their desks and experiencing operations firsthand
Links:
David Yarkin on LinkedIn
Pennsylvania Did DOGE Before Elon Musk Made It Cool
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808: Revisiting the Catalyst LA Experience with Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson
Philip Ideson
May 05, 2025
Now that Art of Procurement's first-ever in-person event, Catalyst LA, is in the rear-view mirror, co-hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner sit down for a candid debrief about what it took to launch a new kind of procurement event and how it may impact procurement’s approach to learning, community, and collaboration going forward.
From their initial vision of creating something different in the procurement event space to the unexpected challenges on the May 6th conference day itself, Philip and Kelly share the behind-the-scenes story of how they transformed their digital-first community into a world-class experience focused on procurement operating model transformation.
In this episode, Philip and Kelly reflect on:
- Why they chose to focus on experience for AOP’s first in-person event in the company’s 10-year history
- What the response from procurement executives reveals about the evolution of today's CPOs
- How pairing attendees based on procurement maturity, organization size, and roles maximized event-based learning
- Unexpected moments that tested the team’s stress levels (but ultimately enhanced the attendee experience!)
Links:
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
798: Bridging the Gap Between Procurement and Legal with Paul Bagley
Philip Ideson
April 28, 2025
Procurement and legal often find themselves at odds, despite the fact that they’re usually working toward the same goals for the business. We can usually trace this tension back to a few key areas like contract cycle times, risk management approaches, decision-making processes, or contract negotiations. But, when procurement and legal are true collaborators and combine their expertise, they can create measurably better outcomes for the business.
To get to that point, both sides need to get to the root of the tension and develop workable processes and expectations that leverage the strengths of both teams without creating bottlenecks or roadblocks… for anyone.
In this episode of Art of Procurement, Philip Ideson speaks with Paul Bagley, Director of Commercial Contracting at Acosta Group. Paul has a unique perspective as both an attorney and an experienced procurement professional. Because of that, he is able to directly challenge the notion that conflict between procurement and legal is inevitable, and he advocates instead for a more collaborative, supportive approach between the two.
In this episode, Paul explains:
How effective category management is the key to creating alignment between procurement, legal, and business stakeholders
- The importance of empowering procurement with clear contract guidelines and fallback provisions so legal doesn’t become unnecessarily overinvolved
- Best practices for working with outside council or third-party legal teams
- Practical ways procurement can level-up their knowledge about legal’s role, improve their contracts, and stay current on what risks to look out for
796: How Should Procurement Respond to Tariffs? with Richeek Maitra
Philip Ideson
April 21, 2025
With tariffs dominating the news cycle and sending global markets on a wild ride, procurement is scrambling to figure out the practical implications of tariffs on global supply chains and their own organization’s procurement strategy.
In this timely Art of Procurement podcast episode, host Philip Ideson welcomes Richeek Maitra, a Director at AlixPartners and an expert on tariffs and their effects on the global supply chain and procurement operations. As Richeek advises, procurement shouldn’t (over) react to every single news story about tariffs, but everyone should be planning both short- and long-term strategies to safeguard their organizations from negative tariff-related fallout while still maintaining a competitive advantage.
In short, procurement shouldn’t act as if the sky is falling, but they shouldn’t stick their heads in the sand and pretend it’s just business as usual either.
In this episode, Richeek explains:
- How procurement should interpret new tariff announcements and estimate potential impacts on specific spend categories and supplier relationships
- A practical response framework to tariffs that includes immediate tactical moves (like duty engineering) to long-term supply chain restructuring
- How to adopt a rational approach to China sourcing decisions that balances global trends with company-specific circumstances
Links:
Richeek Maitra on LinkedIn
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
794: What Matters Most in Modern Procurement Hiring with Derek Lutz
Philip Ideson
April 14, 2025
“Procurement isn’t just a cost center; it’s a true value driver. So when they’re recruiting, CPOs and heads of procurement are looking for someone who's current and who is bringing ideas to the table. They’re not just hiring buyers anymore.” - Derek Lutz, Founder and CEO, Lean Six Search
As economic and geopolitical instability sends ripples of doubt across global supply chains, the question of which procurement skills will remain valuable, as well as which ones are becoming obsolete, has never been more relevant.
In this episode, host Philip Ideson talks about the evolving challenges of procurement talent acquisition and retention with Deerek Lutz, Founder and CEO of Lean Six Search. Derek has filled roles in over 50 countries (and has himself travelled to 173), and he offers a truly global perspective on procurement talent trends.
Derek shares his perspective on the shifting nature of procurement leadership, as well as what makes candidates stand out in today’s job market.
His insights include commentary on:
- The most resilient (and recession-proof) procurement jobs that remain in high demand, even in uncertain markets
- The ways CPOs are looking beyond traditional backgrounds to level-up their teams, including recruiting from adjacent functions like finance, sales, or operations
- The evolution of procurement’s most valuable skills, and storytelling and commercial innovation have eclipsed technical experience
Links:
Derek Lutz on LinkedIn
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
792: Catalyst LA Sneak Peak: Procurement’s New Transformation Playbook with Natasha Gurevich
Philip Ideson
April 07, 2025
“Transformation is not just about how it's going to impact procurement, but about how it's going to impact the entire enterprise through the efforts that will be happening within the procurement function.” - Natasha Gurevich, Founder & CEO, Candor Procurement
Going through procurement transformation without the right approach in place and without support from the business is a bit like sailing into a storm… with a blindfolded crew. Your chances of making it to the other side in better shape than you started are slim to none.
In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, co-hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner speak with returning AOP guest Natasha Gurevich. Natasha is a former CPO of Nike and Salesforce, and she is currently the Founder and CEO at Candor Procurement.
This wealth of procurement leadership makes Natasha the perfect mainstage guest at Art of Procurement’s upcoming live, in-person event – Catalyst LA – taking place on May 6, 2025, in Los Angeles, California.
In this episode, Natasha explains why Catalyst LA promises to be one of the most unique and value-generating procurement events she’s ever attended and what attendees can expect to take away from the event.
Natasha also discusses:
- The difference between business-as-usual changes and full-scale transformation, and why transformation is such an urgent priority for so many procurement teams this year
- How CPOs and CFOs look at transformation differently, including ways to bridge that perception gap
- Why rethinking the current operating model is top of mind for most procurement leaders right now, and what Catalyst LA can do to help
Links:
Catalyst LA - May 6, 2025
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
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Leading Through Change with Former Fortune 100 CPO Natasha Gurevich
Natasha Gurevich on LinkedIn
790: The Key to Doing More with Less? Evolve Procurement’s Operating Model with Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson
Philip Ideson
March 31, 2025
Procurement teams are facing unprecedented and compounding pressure to “do more with less,” and, because of that, it’s more important than ever for procurement’s operating model to evolve and mature to meet these growing demands.
In this podcast episode of the Art or Procurement, co-hosts Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson explore why procurement operating models have become such a top-of-mind topic in 2025 and what this reveals about process change, talent needs, and digital transformation. They’ll examine how procurement’s organizational approach has changed over the years and the pendulum swings we’ve seen – from decentralized buying to centralized control, then from center-led and now to a kind of “invisible” procurement model.
In this episode, Phil and Kelly also discuss:
- The major trends and changes in procurement operating models and how, at each stage, this has affected procurement’s reputation and role in the business
- How to create more capacity by maturing your operating model and the different stages of operational maturity
- The CPOs role in establishing a strong operating model, including how and when to leverage orchestration platforms and AI
Links:
Positioning Procurement for Strategic Success in 2025 w/ Samir Khushalani
Mastering the First 100 Days as a CPO w/ Darshan Deshmukh
The Hackett Group's 2025 Key Issues Study: Insights on Procurement Priorities, Technology, and Operating Models w/ Chris Sawchuk
788: The Hackett Group's 2025 Key Issues Study: Insights on Procurement Priorities, Technology, and Operating Models
Philip Ideson
March 24, 2025
“We are seeing a labor-for-technology swap as organizations become much more dependent and scalable, and what's driving that scale and that productivity is technology.” – Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group
Procurement is no stranger to change. Over the last decade or more, procurement has seen significant shifts in priorities, in their role in the business, in how they are measured, and even in their daily processes and workflows. This change has brought countless new opportunities for impact, but it has also brought disruption, uncertainty, and challenges.
In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with long-time procurement colleague and regular AOP guest Christopher Sawchuck, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group.
Chris shares key findings from The Hackett Group’s 2025 Key Issues Report, which reveals how procurement leaders are responding to today’s most pressing challenges, like balancing increased workloads with lean teams and a growing demand for technology investment.
In this episode, Phil and Chris discuss:
- The evolution of procurement in the 21st Century, from basic supply assurance to cost management and now to broader value value creation and the demands this puts on CPOs to redesign their operating models
- The critical gap between increasing workload and decrease in staffing and how procurement is leveraging technology to keep their heads above water
- The ways AI and automation will transform procurement within the next 3-5 years, driving both efficiency and effectiveness gains
Links:
Christopher Sawchuk on LinkedIn
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Mastering the First 100 Days as a CPO with Darshan Deshmukh
Philip Ideson
March 17, 2025
“For anybody getting into the CPO role, whether internal or external, you ultimately have to start with your own assessment of the organization and quickly come up with what your priorities are.” – Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility
The role of Chief Procurement Officer has changed significantly over the last decade, with the focus shifting primarily from cost savings to value generation. In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Philip Ideson talks with Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility, about why CPOs need to strike the right balance between their ability to influence and their technical expertise.
Darshan has extensive experience working with procurement leaders across multiple industries, and in this episode, he lays out a structured approach newly-minted CPOs can take in their first 100 days to set themselves and their teams up for success.
Understanding business priorities, creating strong stakeholder relationships, and aligning procurement’s initiatives and processes with organizational goals should all be top priorities.
Philip and Darshan explore:
- How the CPO role has evolved over time, including strategic priorities and reporting and incentive structures
- How CPOs can drive positive change by balancing speed with purpose-driven change management, all while preserving critical stakeholder relationships
- The features of a practical process and organizational framework that CPOs can establish in their first 100 days
Links:
Darshan Deshmukh on LinkedIn
Overcoming Procurement’s Fear of AI
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Real Talk about Supplier Diversity in 2025 with Kelly Barner and Philip Ideson
Philip Ideson
March 10, 2025
“For anybody in procurement that’s ever uttered the phrase ‘seat at the table,’ it’s not always a comfy seat. This is one of those moments where, if we want to be a part of the leadership discussion on the directional momentum of the company, we have to find the way, find the person, and find the time to have this conversation about supplier diversity.” - Kelly Barner, Co-founder and Head of Operations at Art of Procurement
Is this the end of supplier diversity as we’ve known it? As the political and economic landscape continues to evolve, many supplier diversity programs are facing unprecedented scrutiny and rollbacks, forcing procurement to confront sensitive organizational shifts and rapid changes in corporate priorities and communications.
While no one can be sure exactly what the future looks like for supplier diversity, it’s clear that procurement teams and business leaders have reached a critical inflection point.
In this special episode, Art of Procurement co-founders Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner have what will likely be the first of many conversations about how procurement can approach these changes thoughtfully, maintain focus on their core values, and lead the business through important conversations during this period of intense transition.
In this episode, Philip and Kelly discuss:
- The current state of supplier diversity and its disappearing act across organizations
- How understanding the original “why” behind supplier diversity programs is crucial for determining how to proceed
- Practical advice on how procurement can have productive internal conversations with leadership while also maintaining strong supplier relationships
Links:
Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
Diversity Goals are Disappearing from Companies’ Annual Reports
782: Measuring What Matters: Transforming Services Spend Management with Gordon Donovan
Philip Ideson
March 03, 2025
Services spend makes up a large, strategic part of the value procurement provides to the business. But, it’s also an area that’s ripe for improvement.
Building off of services spend management research we started in 2023 with SAP, we recently updated the survey data, gathering timely new perspectives on how procurement can drive greater value through services spend by collaborating with the business and optimizing processes.
In this episode, Kelly Barner talks with Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Workforce at SAP, about the key findings and recommendations from this updated research into services spend management.
Gordon shares his perspective on how procurement’s rising confidence levels and scope of responsibilities within the business require teams to challenge the status quo when it comes to services spend management and move beyond cost metrics to more strategic considerations.
Gordon and Kelly discuss:
- The importance of aligning services spend contracts with end-customer needs
Why it matters what technology procurement is using to manage services spend
- How companies can differentiate their strategic approach based on service types to improve performance metrics
- The critical gaps in services spend management performance measurement
780: The Art of Trust Building: Inside Unilever’s Procurement Success Story with Ashish Dhongde
Philip Ideson
February 24, 2025
Unilever has built a notoriously well-integrated procurement program, and they are widely recognized for the strong partnership between procurement and the rest of the business.
In this episode, Philip Ideson explores what procurement excellence looks like in practice with Ashish Dhongde, Associate Director of Procurement, Beauty and Wellbeing North America at Unilever.
Drawing on Unilever’s success, Ashish explains how procurement can transcend traditional boundaries of cost savings to become an integral part of business decision making, innovation, and revenue growth.
Ashish also discusses:
- How procurement can build trust and credibility with stakeholders by ‘speaking the language of the business’
- Balancing long-term supplier relationships with the immediate need for supply chain resilience
- Having constructive conversations with stakeholders about risk without being seen as a roadblock
778: Business Waste: The Silent Value Killer with Pratik Patel
Philip Ideson
February 17, 2025
Understanding how to address skeptics, overcome objections, and communicate procurement’s value will ultimately determine how much buy-in (and resources) procurement receives. This holds true whether you are building a business case to establish a new procurement function or lobbying corporate leadership in a well-established team.
In this episode, Philip Ideson talks with Pratik Patel, Director - Category Management - Labor/North America Technology Spend at Mastercard, about how procurement can use everyone’s desire to eliminate waste to build a strong business case for investment and support.
Pratik also discusses:
- How procurement can utilize the “DOWNTIME” acronym to tackle waste and apply lean principles to procurement
- Ways to build stronger relationships and contracts by level-setting expectations and avoiding over-specifying
- Refining your approach to problem solving by focusing on the root cause and minimizing unnecessary steps
776: Putting Stakeholder Priorities First with Ryan Bradford
Philip Ideson
February 10, 2025
Procurement is in the midst of a transformative period, but at the heart of all this change is one thing that is always relevant: the customer experience.
Procurement has traditionally done itself a disservice by approaching the source-to-pay process with their own goals, needs, or processes in mind. But, by taking a more customer-centric approach and prioritizing their internal stakeholders, they can actually drive more value for the entire organization.
In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with experienced procurement leader and seasoned executive Ryan Bradford about how procurement can refine their approach to customer engagement. In many cases, this creates an opportunity to challenge conventional thinking about how procurement should interact with their customers to achieve the best outcomes.
As Ryan says, it starts by putting the customer experience first.
Ryan also discusses:
- How to create a customer-centric S2P model by engaging with stakeholders, understanding their needs, and pushing back in constructive ways
- The role technology and AI play in enabling simple, and seamless procurement experiences while still maintaining compliance and governance
- How to build on strong internal relationships and also win over the skeptics and resistors
774: Closing the ‘Inspiration to Action’ Gap with Remko Van Hoek
Philip Ideson
February 03, 2025
It’s time to make procurement fun again.
That’s what Remko Van Hoek, Full Professor of Practice SCM, Executive Director CSCMP Supply Chain Hall of Fame, hosted by Walton, University of Arkansas - Sam M. Walton College of Business, told Philip Ideson when they sat down together at DPW Amsterdam 2024.
In this episode, Remko shares insights from the 10X Procurement survey he led in conjunction with DPW, and what it reveals about how AI and digital transformation are injecting opportunity, value, and, yes, even fun back into procurement.
The survey also uncovered a troubling ‘inspiration to action’ gap between procurement’s AI readiness and their ability to successfully execute at the pace required by the rest of the business.
Along with discussing digital transformation pressures, Philip and Remko also explore:
- What 10X growth actually looks like in practice and how procurement can take the idea of exponential growth and turn that into tangible, bottom-line results for the business
- What it means to be “digitally literate” and why focusing only on technology is actually not the right approach to digital transformation
- The fundamentals procurement needs to have in place to 10X their growth and impact in 2025
772: 2025 Outlook: Procurement’s ‘Year of Convergence’ with Nick Heinzmann and Matthew Hardin
Philip Ideson
January 27, 2025
Procurement is continuously improving and maturing, but over the past few years, a series of distinct trends has gathered momentum. 2025 is looking more and more like the pivotal year when all of these trends will converge, transforming procurement and their role in the business.
This is a defining moment for procurement, bringing with it a significant opportunity to finally solve some of procurement’s most systemic pain points.
In this episode, Philip Ideson is joined in conversation by Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research at Zip, and Matthew Hardin, Director of Advisory at Zip. Nick and Matt explore why they’ve dubbed 2025 as the “year of convergence” for procurement.
Nick and Matthew discuss:
- How the convergence of AI, orchestration, transformation, and changes to procurement’s operating model are setting the tone for 2025
- Ways AI is changing procurement’s role in the business, while also enabling them to focus more on strategy and relationship building
- Why monitoring the stakeholder experience and capturing satisfaction metrics are key to procurement’s success
- How to find new and better ways to create value, even in a “do more with less” environment
770: Positioning Procurement for Success in 2025 with Samir Khushalani
Philip Ideson
January 20, 2025
Procurement is in a unique position right now. They have to balance immediate priorities and meet the needs of the business today while also navigating new realities and an uncertain future shaped by generative AI, geopolitical turmoil, shifting macroeconomic pressures, and an increasingly volatile global supply chain.
Procurement must reinvent themselves to find their footing in this rapidly changing environment, but they can’t stop generating value in the here and now.
In this episode, Philip Ideson talks about the nature of all this change and how procurement should respond to it with Samir Khushalani, Partner at McKinsey & Company. Samir explores how perceptions about procurement have changed and the ways their reputation has shifted from “bargain hunter” to strategic business partner.
But, there’s still significant opportunity for procurement to evolve and mature in response to all of the changes afoot.
In this episode, Philip and Samir discuss:
- How the combination of post-COVID supply chain stabilization, geopolitical changes, and trends in generative AI requires us to rethink procurement operating models and skill sets
- Why being agile and flexible are critical for procurement’s ability to demonstrate their value and secure their future
- Why innovative approaches to supply chain collaboration and relationship building will be just as valuable markers of procurement success as cost savings or risk management
768: Celebrating 25 Years of ProcureCon US with Frank Musero, Michael Dunlap and John Ward
Philip Ideson
January 13, 2025
For 25 years, ProcureCon has served as a cornerstone for procurement education and community-building with their well-known annual conference series.
In this episode, Philip Ideson talks about the evolution of ProcureCon (and procurement in general) with Frank Musero, Divisional Director, Content and Strategy, ProcureCon, B2B and Finance Events at Worldwide Business Research; Michael Dunlap, Portfolio Director, Worldwide Business Research; and John Ward, Portfolio Director, ProcureCon North America, Worldwide Business Research.
They discuss procurement’s evolution from cost center to strategic partner over the last two decades and how ProcureCon events have adapted in order to meet changing practitioner needs and expectations.
In this episode, they discuss:
- How perceptions about procurement as a profession and a career path have changed
- The ways ProcureCon has changed their approach to events to meet new realities in procurement, like AI and procure tech, shifting demographics of practitioners, and category-specific challenges
- How ProcureCon balances their coverage of emerging trends like AI while emphasizing interactive experiences that still address fundamental practitioner pain points
766: Procurement’s Inflection Point: What to Expect in 2025
Philip Ideson
January 06, 2025
“As we stand here at the start of 2025, it's clear that this moment isn't about minor tweaks or incremental gains. It's about embracing fundamental shifts that challenge our long-held assumptions.” - Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement
As we head into 2025, which also marks the 10th anniversary of Art of Procurement, Founder and Managing Director Philip Ideson pauses for his annual look at the state of procurement. This year, he examines five critical trends that are reshaping procurement and redefining their role in the business, including labor trends, the role of AI and automation, the return to stakeholder-led buying, and growing geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Drawing from hundreds of conversations with procurement leaders and subject matter experts over the last year, Philip explores how procurement teams can best position themselves at what feels like an existential and transformative inflection point for the profession.
In this episode, Philip explores:
- How procurement will have to do more with less in 2025, and the role that AI and automation will play in making that happen
- The trend toward “invisible procurement” as stakeholders take back control of the purchasing process, aided by technology
- Why potential tariffs, inflation, and supply disruptions could present significant opportunity for procurement
- The four most important ways procurement can add value that machines and AI can’t compete with
763: Macro Clouds Gather on the Horizon: Mastermind LIVE 2024
Philip Ideson
December 23, 2024
“I think there's this dichotomy of two things that we always have to keep in mind in procurement. We don't want to create friction. We want frictionless procurement. At the same time, we want to be seen as the people who have ideas, who could come up with something that could be innovative and have influence in the business.” - Constantine Limberakis, CEO and Owner of Liberis Consulting LLC
In a session at AOP Mastermind Live 2024, Kelly Barner sat down with Constantine Limberakis, CEO and Owner of Liberis Consulting LLC, to discuss the macroeconomic concerns and trends that procurement will certainly need to keep an eye on in the coming year.
During the session, Constantine combined his Masters Degree in public and international affairs and more than 20 years in procurement to give his perspective on:
- How procurement needs to navigate this new inflationary environment with a different mindset
- The ways technology offers procurement an opportunity to create influence across the business and support a workforce pivot
- How de-globilization lets procurement shine, even in the face of changing regulations, as they plan for the future
761: The State of Procure Tech: Testing the Limits of What’s Possible
Philip Ideson
December 16, 2024
"Procurement organizations that are able to master knowledge around their workflows and categories, and bring that intelligence on demand into their processes and tech, are going to really be able to get that 5x, 10x, 20x kind of performance advantage. It’s a game-changer.” - Pierre Mitchell, Chief Research Officer and Managing Director, Spend Matters
Procurement technology is a fast moving target, and well-known industry analyst Pierre Mitchell is one of a handful of highly experienced people who can provide a nuanced perspective on the evolving landscape of procure tech, both looking back at what’s been accomplished while simultaneously predicting the trends that will drive us into 2025 and beyond.
In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Pierre, who is the Chief Research Officer and Managing Director at Spend Matters, about the critical factors impacting the procure tech market, how to avoid data paralysis, the road ahead for procurement and generative AI, and how procurement leaders can wade through a crowded, fragmented, (and still growing!) procure tech landscape.
They also discuss:
- The most important procure tech trends to pay attention to in 2025
- What procurement leaders should look for in an intake and orchestration platform
- The likely outcomes, key developments, and challenges for the procure tech market in 2025
759: 2024 AI Adoption Trends
Philip Ideson
December 09, 2024
“For procurement, now is the time to raise your hand and sit at the table where your company is deciding on AI use cases, because that is going to transform your trajectory in the industry and the company.” - Mary Purk, Co-Author of "Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI’s Early Years – AI Adoption Report" by AI at Wharton
It’s been two years since ChatGPT democratized AI technology access and became the most rapidly downloaded consumer application in history. Since then we’ve seen a steep acceleration of AI-driven innovation, opportunity, and concern.
Just like every other area of the business, procurement has their own unique story about the way AI continues to change the way they function and create value.
In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Mary Purk, co-author of the recently published AI adoption report “Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI’s Early Years” by AI at Wharton and GBK Collective. The report provides data on AI adoption trends within businesses and across functions and the impact that AI is having and will have in the future.
Mary and Philip discuss:
- How far procurement has come since ChatGPT’s release in 2022 and where they’re headed in 2025 and beyond
- Why procurement managers are better positioned than any other role in the business to drive AI transformation in the next 12-18 months
- The pros and cons of make versus buy when weighing your organization’s approach AI-driven procurement technology
- The perception of AI’s impact, and what that says about opportunity within procurement to demonstrate their success and secure their future
Achieving Your Objectives W/ Jan Griffiths
Art of Procurement
January 04, 2021
Despite the fact that Jan Griffiths has had a successful career as a tier-1 CPO and entrepreneur, she still wasn’t prepared for the personal and professional impact of the pandemic. After indulging in a full day of Netflix, she decided to push herself out of her comfort zone and into a non-judgemental accountability project with a pop-up group of peers.
What started as a ‘therapeutic’ accountability clinic evolved over time to become the accountability lab: a group of people that connect daily for 30 minutes at 6:30 a.m. to make commitments to themselves in the supportive presence of others. The learnings from this experiment have changed the way she feels about her own situation and will no doubt impact her leadership seminars going forward. As Jan tells Host Philip Ideson, “I love, love, love leadership.”
Assessing Supply Chain Risk: Building a Program to Identify High Risk Sources of Supply
Institute for Supply Management
May 11, 2020
While supply chain risk is more important today than ever before, no organization can manage all risks, all the time. In this webinar, Art of Procurement Managing Director Philip Ideson will share how to programmatically identify the products and services that you buy that should be subject to proactive supply chain risk identification, monitoring mitigation activities, and which you can leave for another day.
AOP Live: Placing Procurement at the Intersection of Corporate Culture and Employee Experience
Philip Ideson
February 10, 2022
Over the last few years, procurement has moved leaps and bounds away from being tactical and cost-driven to approaching our work with a big picture, value-oriented perspective. At the same time, there is still work to be done winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of distributed buyers and colleagues from other functions.
This places procurement’s current outreach efforts squarely at the intersection of corporate culture and employee experience, objectives that can either accelerate or stall our progress towards alignment with the business as a whole.
On February 10th, we will be joined by Joe Frederick, Senior Director of Procurement at Strategic Sourcing at Snowflake, and Colin Glazier, Vice President of Solutions at Zip Intake-to-Procure.
They will answer live audience questions about:
-What defines a world class procurement experience
-The most common friction points that exist in procurement processes (and how to fix them)
-A new take on the classic ‘make v. buy’ decision when culture and experience are paramount
AOP Live: How to utilize a data-driven mindset to supercharge your procurement organization
Philip Ideson
January 25, 2022
The common legacy of procurement software is one of overpriced technology that no one uses (if they can avoid it). Procurement technology is perceived as a tool intended for process enforcement rather than enabling insight or competitive advantage.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
And yet… for all of procurement’s talk about wanting to change, it still seems as though the desire for a new way of doing things is stronger outside of procurement than within. Before procurement can actively drive change for ourselves, through technology and analytics, we have to embrace a whole new mindset - one that creates a culture of insight by providing open access to actionable data.
In this AOP Live session, Heta Ruikka, Vice President of Product Management at Sievo, will take on the challenge of discussing ways for procurement technology to be user friendly - even in the midst of data heavy activities.
-Why collaborating with the business to leverage the power of data is where the magic happens
-The ‘people challenges’ that have to be resolved before any technical challenges can be addressed or deliver ROI
-What Sievo has learned from their clients about the power of self-service dashboards
AOP Live: Making the Case for Diversity in Public Procurement
Philip Ideson
November 09, 2021
The facts are clear - diverse and inclusive procurement programs are more competitive, able to unlock innovation faster, provide access to new markets, and deliver localized socioeconomic impact. Despite all of these benefits to a government entity and its constituents, most have yet to make a persuasive and actionable case for diversity in the public sector.
There are many challenges preventing governments from fully realizing the innovation and cost savings associated with supplier diversity. A preference for known suppliers and the complexity of onboarding suppliers into the government market are just two common barriers that limit the potential of the supplier pool.
As unprecedented federal funding flows to all levels of government, it is more important than ever that these resources are used to support diverse suppliers and build communities in alignment with federal and state stipulations. However, without modernized procurement processes it is nearly impossible for governments to track where every dollar is being spent and report back with certainty.
On November 9th at 11 am ET, join Ivalua and Art of Procurement for an AOP Live session featuring Sean Correll, the Head of Ivalua’s Public Sector team. He will answer live questions about:
-Making public sector supplier diversity discovery, onboarding, and management easier through fit-for-purpose digital procurement technologies
-The need for effective contract administration in response to new and changing regulations and legislation
-The advantage associated with making specific diversity spend commitments to incentivize municipalities and agencies to work with new suppliers and therefore drive innovation
Now is the time for all governments to implement technologies that will lower supplier barriers to entry into the government market, simplify onboarding processes, drive collaboration, and - most importantly - track and report on every dollar spent. Register today and submit your questions to our guest.
AOP Live: Partnership as a Service: Driving Change & Delivering Unconventional Returns at UMass
Philip Ideson
November 02, 2021
Each change journey is unique - and yet - can benefit from embracing the proven best practices that have been formalized by specialists with equally unique expertise. The benefits of taking such a journey are becoming clear at the University of Massachusetts, as they bring their print, marketing, and branded merchandise spend under management, through partnership with SupplyLogic.
David Cho is the Chief Procurement Officer and Managing Director at the University of Massachusetts. His team began their change journey with an investment in their partnerships (both internal and external), technology, and data that helped them achieve a deeper understanding of their marketing and print services spend. They worked at the category level to inform strategies and decisions that would have a lasting impact and deliver multiple forms of ROI for the university.
In an AOP Live session on November 2nd at 1pm ET, David will be joined by Phil Schoonmaker, CEO of SupplyLogic, to provide insight into the University of Massachusetts’ journey and answer live audience questions about what he and his team learned along the way:
-The importance of centralizing procurement so that there can be one ‘attack plan’ for managing large numbers of suppliers and transactions and one approach to influencing stakeholders
-When and why to leverage experts outside of the organization to advance the partnerships being built internally
-Insights and intelligence that can be used to advance corporate social responsibility in the form of local, diversity-owned, and environmentally friendly supplier partnerships
Attendees will learn how to modernize the process of buying by helping the sourcing process become more proactive, ultimately leading to engagements that deliver unconventional returns and allowing procurement to reposition themselves as agents of change.
Mastermind Fall 2021 Event: Reinventing the Procurement Experience
Philip Ideson
October 26, 2021
Gone are the days of gathering up low-hanging fruit, speeding up misinformed buying decisions, pushing suppliers away, and measuring our impact in terms of compliance. The future trajectory of procurement is dependent upon the experience we are able to create for stakeholders and suppliers.
If that seems like a lofty goal, you’re not alone. Join us at Mastermind LIVE Fall 2021 from 10am - 1pm ET on October 26 and 27 as we hear from a range of experts from companies like Deloitte, BT, The Hackett Group, Qualtrics, and more who can provide the insight needed to build the experience we’ve always wanted to deliver.
AOP Live: Learning to Succeed Despite Uncertain Market Dynamics
Philip Ideson
October 19, 2021
Companies in all industries and all over the world have accepted the reality that market conditions will remain uncertain for the foreseeable future. In fact, 62% of the companies in the S&P 1500 index did not provide an annual forecast this year - some even stating that there is just too much uncertainty to be accurate (WSJ, 9/22/21).
But while CFOs can decline the option to provide external annual guidance, procurement teams have to find a way to succeed - no matter what. In this AOP Live session, presented in cooperation with the team at ProcureAbility, we will provide insight into current and (likely) future market dynamics and then help you understand which mitigation strategies will be the most effective.
Join Sherri Barnes, ProcureAbility’s Director of Market Intelligence Services, and Kristen Rellihan, one of their Senior Advisory Managers, as they answer your live questions about:
-What is happening with inflation, which industries and categories are already being affected, and which ones are next?
-What signals should procurement watch for when deciding which market conditions they need to pay the most attention to?
-How to use mitigation strategies such as index-based pricing, deconstructed pricing, should-cost modeling, TCO, and more.
After attending this session, you will be able to pair market conditions that are beyond procurement’s control with strategies and tactics that at least re-establish effective management of the company’s supply chain - no matter what.
AOP Live: Roadmap to Savings: Partnering with the Business to Drive Progress w/ Dave Quillin (Alliant Credit Union) and Joe Payne (Corcentric)
Philip Ideson
October 05, 2021
There are multiple ways for procurement to achieve savings - and some are more collaborative than others. The more planful they can be about the overall process, the more opportunities they can create to work arm-in-arm with the business in pursuit of those savings.
Many companies are currently going through the budgeting process for 2022, which means that conversations about where to find savings have already started or will begin very soon. Questions like ‘Where will the savings come from?’ and ‘What will we have to give up to get them?’ abound, but there is one question that rises above all the rest: ‘What will happen to the savings - will they be clawed back from our budget or we will get to reinvest them in strategic efforts?’ The answer to that particular question can make or break savings potential.
In this AOP Live session, Joe Payne, SVP of Source-to-Pay at Corcentric will be joined by Dave Quillin, Senior Manager of Procurement at Alliant Credit Union (ACU), who will share his company’s unique and productive approach to delivering savings. ACU recently appointed a new CEO - someone who happens to have a background in sourcing. As Dave explains, ‘He gets it.’
Joe and Dave will share their lessons learned in pursuit of savings and answer your live questions about:
-How procurement can work with leadership to not only incentivize savings, but to minimize compliance problems as well
-Ways that procurement can increase their category-specific credibility with the business
-The critical step of defining - or redefining - addressable spend
-How to build and execute a sourcing roadmap to ensure annual savings targets are met
-Resources available to help meet savings goals
AOP Live: Creating Tail Spend ROI Through an Improved Buyer Experience w/ Jean-Baptiste Anne (Amazon Business) and Vishal Patel (Ivalua)
Philip Ideson
September 28, 2021
One of the reasons that tail spend continues to plague procurement is its complexity. The high number of low-cost transactions is just the beginning of the challenge. This spend often finds its way into the tail through multiple ‘wrong turns,’ each of which requires a different approach by procurement and a correspondingly different resolution. There is no one ‘cause’ of tail spend and therefore there is no one solution.
Companies that have mature tail spend programs leverage automation wherever possible and then dedicate a formal lead or tail spend manager to the effort. This person can ensure that each type or category of tail spend is addressed or reduced - ultimately generating an ROI that includes both savings and risk mitigation.
On September 28th, we will be joined for an AOP Live session featuring Jean-Baptiste Anne, Head of Enterprise Sales and Professional Services Teams for Amazon Business, and Vishal Patel, VP of Product Marketing at Ivalua. They will answer your live questions about
-The differences between a dedicated tail spend solution and integrating that same capability into a platform
-How to know that you are making the right investment to deliver a tail spend ROI for your company
-The criticality of understanding what is in your tail spend to being able to direct it through self-guided buying options such as Amazon Business, new procurement-led sourcing projects, or incorporation into existing contracts
AOP Live: Supplier Diversity: Advancing Together at Ahold Delhaize w/ Nancy Nicoll (Retail Business Services) and Carl Freeman (Ahold Delhaize)
Philip Ideson
September 22, 2021
Supplier diversity is one of the most pressing topics in executive boardrooms from all industries, but ensuring that those conversations turn into meaningful action requires planning, ownership, and guiding objectives.
In this webinar, Nancy Nicoll, VP of the Indirect Sourcing Center of Excellence at Retail Business Services, and Carl Freeman, VP and Campus Leader at ADUSA Distribution, will engage in a candid conversation about their journey toward enhanced supplier diversity, the significance of supplier diversity to retailers and service providers, and its impact on the rapidly evolving world of indirect sourcing and supply chain. This live event will answer audience questions and provide guidance on how diverse-owned suppliers can partner with the brands and entities of Ahold Delhaize USA.
Nancy and Carl will use this opportunity to share their experience with the following:
-Why now is the time to place an increased emphasis on increasing supplier diversity
-How Ahold Delhaize is investing in education, operating procedures, and tools to make a measurable difference in their supplier diversity
-All of the facets that should be included when measuring and celebrating supplier diversity
PAT Chat: Art of Procurement’s Phil Ideson on Elevating the Role of Procurement
Thinkers360
February 09, 2020
I recently had the opportunity to participate in an episode of ‘Pat Chat’ the video interview series hosted by Patrick McCarthy, Global Senior Vice President and General Manager of SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass. He gave me the opportunity to talk about the Art of Procurement podcast and my own perspective on our field as a whole…
What part of my job do I enjoy the most…
What I enjoy most is the work that is hard. These challenges present the best opportunity for procurement to impact the enterprise really showcase our capabilities. There's more value to be had in complex categories because they allow us to solve business problems as opposed to just rolling out a one-size fits all process.
How can we build sustainable procurement organizations…
There’s such a ‘boom and bust’ cycle in procurement. First, we’re just going after the low hanging fruit, saving money at all costs. Then we return our focus to transformation, because the successes of the savings cycle have allowed procurement to build a good story. Of course, some of the strategies or the tactics we've used to save money in the past may not be ones that endear us to the rest of the organization – especially when it comes to business partnering. That’s a sustainability issue we need to focus on more.
What does procurement’s real opportunity look like…
Procurement is at a bit of a crossroads today, but I think we have a tremendous opportunity to focus on spend that is material to the organization. We get involved in all kinds of spend because we want people to engage with us. We want to have an opportunity to make an impact.
When we get to the point that we are focusing on the most strategic 20% of enterprise spend, we’re not thinking about purchasing decisions anymore; we’re driving total commercial value. That work is incredibly exciting. I don't think we should aspire to have 100% of spend under management. We should focus on how to enable the business to transact as efficiently and as easily as possible. We have to focus on the stuff that matters.
Click here to view the full video interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV_GwyJDvLs&list=PLPs9vNA-XppTFxVuS3lIfo6Xxq_g482fT
Tags: Digital Transformation, Management, Procurement
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782: Measuring What Matters: Transforming Services Spend Management with Gordon Donovan
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778: Business Waste: The Silent Value Killer with Pratik Patel
776: Putting Stakeholder Priorities First with Ryan Bradford
774: Closing the ‘Inspiration to Action’ Gap with Remko Van Hoek
772: 2025 Outlook: Procurement’s ‘Year of Convergence’ with Nick Heinzmann and Matthew Hardin
770: Positioning Procurement for Success in 2025 with Samir Khushalani
768: Celebrating 25 Years of ProcureCon US with Frank Musero, Michael Dunlap and John Ward
766: Procurement’s Inflection Point: What to Expect in 2025
763: Macro Clouds Gather on the Horizon: Mastermind LIVE 2024
761: The State of Procure Tech: Testing the Limits of What’s Possible
759: 2024 AI Adoption Trends
Achieving Your Objectives W/ Jan Griffiths
Assessing Supply Chain Risk: Building a Program to Identify High Risk Sources of Supply
AOP Live: Placing Procurement at the Intersection of Corporate Culture and Employee Experience
AOP Live: How to utilize a data-driven mindset to supercharge your procurement organization
AOP Live: Making the Case for Diversity in Public Procurement
AOP Live: Partnership as a Service: Driving Change & Delivering Unconventional Returns at UMass
Mastermind Fall 2021 Event: Reinventing the Procurement Experience
AOP Live: Learning to Succeed Despite Uncertain Market Dynamics
AOP Live: Roadmap to Savings: Partnering with the Business to Drive Progress w/ Dave Quillin (Alliant Credit Union) and Joe Payne (Corcentric)
AOP Live: Creating Tail Spend ROI Through an Improved Buyer Experience w/ Jean-Baptiste Anne (Amazon Business) and Vishal Patel (Ivalua)
AOP Live: Supplier Diversity: Advancing Together at Ahold Delhaize w/ Nancy Nicoll (Retail Business Services) and Carl Freeman (Ahold Delhaize)
PAT Chat: Art of Procurement’s Phil Ideson on Elevating the Role of Procurement
