How's the 'Great Resignation' affecting Procurement?
LinkedIn
January 28, 2022
Either the pandemic has led us to reevaluate, with many striking a better balance between work and family, or we may be seeing the result of pent-up demand after more than a year of repeated lockdowns and uncertainty. Either way, the result is the same. Job vacancies rose to record highs at the end of last year as employers struggled to attract new workers.
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Tags: Procurement, Marketing, Project Management
My journey to Strategic Procurement
LinkedIn
January 23, 2022
I'm a child of the 1980s and it was clear from an early age that I'd go into tech. I was very curious about how things work and I would walk off whilst at the shops, ending up in the window display after following power cables. Getting my first Sinclair Spectrum at home and working with BBC BASIC at school got me into coding - it was a very manual and frustrating process but ultimately very rewarding to see basic images appear on a screen based on your instructions.
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Tags: Innovation, Procurement, Project Management
Sustainable Procurement and COP26
LinkedIn
November 23, 2021
Now that COP26 has ended, discussions have started about whether or not the climate conference was a success. ‘Success’ here is a subjective term, but the consensus seems to be that while action is being taken, it’s nowhere near enough. Everyone knows what needs to be done, but too few people know how, or are willing to take the necessary steps.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
How procurement can better engage the C-Suite post-pandemic
LinkedIn
October 27, 2021
Procurement is having a moment. While globalisation and digital transformation have brought about rapid change in supply chains, COVID-19 accelerated and disrupted this process in equal measure. And the long tail of this – from fuel shortages to supply issues to talent challenges – has put procurement in the spotlight. And into the daily vernacular of the C-Suite.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, COVID19
Let's Target the Root Cause of Overwork: Poor Systems and Processes
LinkedIn
October 15, 2021
The topic of burnout has been rising up the agenda for employers across the board in recent years, with workers complaining of increasing workloads not being matched by investments in extra headcount or pay. Then the pandemic happened.
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Tags: Procurement, Mental Health
Three tips for Procurement Digital Transformation
LinkedIn
October 07, 2021
Here at Acada, we have spoken about the need for digital transformation of the procurement profession for years now. However, in spite of the huge benefits that digital transformation can bring, many teams are still early in their adoption of digital products and practices.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement
Digital transformation is about people, not technology
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October 06, 2021
The key to doing digital transformation right is making sure the process is all about the people Perhaps the most common mistake we see people make when going through a digital transformation programme is focusing too much on the … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Supply Chain, Procurement
Digital transformation is about people, not technology
LinkedIn
September 15, 2021
Perhaps the most common mistake we see people make when going through a digital transformation programme is focusing too much on the tools and forgetting about the people they are supposed to help.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Project Management
How to Find the Right KPIs for Your Procurement Team
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April 06, 2021
Performance tracking is key to the success of any business process. As the legendary consultant Peter Drucker once said, ‘what gets measured gets managed’, and improvement relies on knowing where you are and where you want to get to. But … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
2020 Recap – Business Tech News
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January 15, 2021
2020 was indeed a very unique year. Many of would say passed so quickly, and yet with so little new memories and experiences. However, we managed to get business done, to invent, to transform. Below we present you with 20 … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
Five Ways to Ensure Early Engagement in Procurement Projects
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November 02, 2020
Do your stakeholders ask for your involvement in a project too late for you to make a difference? Perhaps when the selection has already been made and they just need help with a contract? Within the profession it is widely … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
Increasing Procurement Effectiveness Through Digital Transformation
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April 27, 2020
Speaking with members of my network I hear many similar stories. Organisations are looking to Procurement teams to deliver more, both in terms of bottom line savings but increasingly top line growth through marketplace innovation. Often, this is without any … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
Mastering Procurement Digital Transformation
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April 22, 2020
Digital Procurement is critical to the success of a modern day procurement team and something that many organisations will have embedded to some extent. The success of their efforts will have been dependent on how effectively their teams have embraced … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
Onboard New Procurement Recruits More Quickly
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March 11, 2020
Bringing in new recruits is a great way to get new ideas and outside knowledge into your team. However, as most procurement functions work in different ways, it can be challenging to get a new team member up to speed … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
How Excel Is Harming Your Procurement Team
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March 08, 2020
Do you rely heavily on Excel to track your team’s procurement projects and activity? Let’s face it, Excel was first released back in 1985 and yes, it’s great for tables of numbers and working out a TCO. But as your … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
How to Manage your Team Remotely
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March 02, 2020
Whilst some of us are able to go back into offices, a number of firms are continuing to request that their teams work from home. It’s something we should be very practised at now, but moving from an emergency way … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
What’s Wrong with our Supplier Relationships?
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March 01, 2020
Are some of your suppliers not behaving as you would like? Do you get the feeling that they may just not like you or your firm? It’s likely to be nothing personal, but how you treat your suppliers at an … Read More
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, Supply Chain
IT and Procurement leaders: How to minimise Coronavirus impact on IT hardware supply
LinkedIn
February 08, 2020
The Coronavirus epidemic is both tragic and alarming and has highlighted how dependent the tech industry on concentrated manufacturing centres in and around China. So how is this affecting IT supply chains and what should leaders do to minimise business impact?
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement, COVID19
Procurement In The Next Decade
LinkedIn
December 30, 2019
We need to ensure that procurement is seen as a strategic enabler of business change, not a process speed-bump designed to slow down the spending of money. A key skill for the workforce of the 2020's will be effective stakeholder management - facilitating the business to deliver in the right way with the right partners. This will require developing deep relationships with stakeholders at the appropriate level - getting the right balance between execution, constructive challenge and bringing valuable market insight, whilst doing the right thing for your organisation.
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Tags: AI, Digital Transformation, Procurement
Procurement Digitisation ≠ Excel
LinkedIn
September 23, 2019
Let’s face it, Excel was first released back in 1985 and yes, it’s great for tables of numbers and inputting costs. But as your team grows and develops, relying too heavily on Excel for reporting can do more harm than good. Excel wasn’t designed for this and can quickly become error-ridden, chewing up employee time, all without providing a proper audit trail or appropriate security.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement
Frustrations within your procurement team
LinkedIn
August 28, 2019
However, Millennials are the generation most likely to change roles and to look for new opportunities. According to Deloitte's Millennial survey 49% would quit their current job in the next two years if they had the choice. Therefore, potentially a quarter of your team could be looking outside your organisation or even the profession for their next career move. This job hopping isn’t about lack of loyalty. Millennials are impatient and eager to find new ways to innovate and grow.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Procurement
Procurement Leaders: Five ways to be more effective and deliver more with less resource.
LinkedIn
June 17, 2019
There's been a number of articles and papers over the last few months highlighting a key issue facing Procurement Leaders in 2019 - organisations are growing at a faster rate than the investment in additional procurement resource.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement
Lessons from Silicon Valley
LinkedIn
February 20, 2019
I spent some time in Silicon Valley last week to attend the Startup Grind conference in Redwood City. It was a fantastic two-day conference with a number of founders and CEOs of VCs and tech businesses speaking such as Box, Stripe, Qualtrics, Airbnb, Airtable, Sequoia, YCombinator plus the former US CTO Megan Smith and Google CMO Lorraine Twohill. I learnt such a lot from this trip I thought it would be good to share some of the main points.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement
CPO Conversations
LinkedIn
September 15, 2023
Over the last year, I've spoken to CPOs from M&S, Ocado, Santander UK, Amazon Fresh, Grant Thornton UK, Bibby Financial Services, Inmarsat and Proxima.
I've gained insights into the ways they lead and motivate their teams, where their focus is, what the future holds for procurement, their biggest mistakes, and how they attract talent their teams.
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Tags: Procurement
How Self Service Can Save Your Team From Burnout
LinkedIn
September 08, 2023
Too many Procurement professionals are overwhelmed by workload.
In today's fast-paced business environment, professionals find themselves walking a tightrope - the Procurement Paradox - where the demands on their time and expertise continue to increase, but without corresponding additional investment in heads, training and systems.
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Tags: Procurement
Becoming Excellent in Procurement
Procurement Weekly
August 18, 2023
This was the point when I knew that Acada's Procurement Performance Management software was delivering real value to clients.
Since then, we've grown to become a Procurement Experience Platform - measuring the stakeholder experience, ensuring process consistency and managing resource allocation to provide a software that helps Procurement leaders to effortlessly run their functions.
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Tags: Procurement
What the Best Procurement Teams Do
Procurement Weekly
July 14, 2023
The highest performing procurement teams are operating at a different level.
Deeply respected by their organisations, delivering twice as much value as the average function, and attracting the best people from the profession and the wider business.
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Tags: Procurement, Project Management
Attracting the Best Talent to Procurement
Procurement Weekly
June 23, 2023
Procurement - a profession that many know little about until they fall into, and in love with, it.
Traditionally, this has appealed most to those of us who are more detail-oriented, analytical, organised and passionate about doing the right thing for our organisations by ensuring they are lean, mean and risk-free.
But with Procurement developing into a more strategic functi
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Tags: Procurement, Business Strategy, Project Management
High Performance Teams
Procurement Weekly
June 16, 2023
In Procurement, effective teamwork is essential for achieving successful outcomes.
Being able to bring together cross-functional teams quickly, agree common objectives and function efficiently is a vital skill for procurement professionals.
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Tags: Procurement, Project Management
Taking the Jargon Out of Procurement
Procurement Weekly
May 12, 2023
Procurement is often seen as a necessary evil by business teams. A slow, bureaucratic process that gets in the way of getting work done - but one they have to go through.
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Tags: Procurement
Why Technology Comes Last
LinkedIn
May 05, 2023
Whilst I'm passionate about technology - it's just not everything. In Procurement (indeed, all business) People, Process and Data come first when planning, buying and implementing new technology.
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Tags: Procurement
Where's the Creativity in Procurement?
Procurement Weekly
March 24, 2023
Creative Procurement people will make up 50% of the profession over the next few years according to McKinsey. But what are the attributes of these people and where can we find them?
How important do you think creativity is to Procurement?
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Tags: Procurement
Measuring More Than Savings
LinkedIn
February 24, 2023
Procurement cost savings have a bit of a bad reputation and often serve to alienate the function from wider business objectives. By reframing procurement to align with the wider organisations goals, we can become a strategic partner rather than a tactical cost-cutting function.
In this article, I look at some other metrics we can use, how to measure them, and a process to continuously review and improve.
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Tags: Procurement
Proactive Procurement Planning Prevents Poor Performance
LinkedIn
January 18, 2023
How we can get the most out of the procurement activity planning process?
Effective, continuous planning is one of the best ways to ensure your team is proactive, rather than reactive, and focussed on the most strategic activities.
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Tags: Procurement
How can you make your digital procurement programme a success?
LinkedIn
December 16, 2022
Digital procurement can bring significant benefits, including increased efficiency, reduced costs, and improved supplier relationships. However, implementing a successful digital procurement programme requires careful planning and execution.
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Tags: Procurement
Let's Make Everyone Procurement!
Procurement Weekly
August 19, 2022
Outside of Procurement, who really understands what Procurement does?
If we're honest, the dark arts of Procurement are only fully understood by practitioners.
Stakeholders switch off as soon as we talk in 'Procurement Speak'.
Unfortunately, this holds us back, meaning we aren't delivering the right level of value for our organisations.
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Tags: Procurement
The RFP is Dead – Long Live Agile Sourcing!
Acada
August 12, 2022
The RFP has been Procurement’s approach to managing complex sourcing for many years, providing comfort that a rigorous and objective process has been run to select a supplier.
Many months of effort on all sides go into writing lengthy sets of requirements, asking and answering questions, crafting beautiful documentation and scoring.
We talk about ‘what’ we want suppliers to do and ‘how’ we want them to do it, judging them on how close they come to our singular view of the world.
We rarely provide more than a paragraph of ‘why’ we need this or what we want to achieve.
But is an RFP the most effective way of choosing the right supplier for the job?
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Tags: Agile, Procurement, Supply Chain
Realising Procurement's Potential
Procurement Weekly
July 29, 2022
Realising Procurement's Potential
Succeeding in the War for Talent
Digital Procurement - Putting People, Processes and Data First
Latest podcast episode with David Loseby
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Tags: Procurement, Agile
Doing more despite the talent shortage
Procurement Weekly
June 30, 2022
We're in the middle of a talent shortage, following on from two years of extremely hard work and whilst teams are under pressure to deliver inflation mitigation and more for their organisations.
How can we lighten the load, increase stakeholder satisfaction and focus on strategic priorities?
In this week's Procurement Weekly, I look at how self-service can help.
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Tags: Procurement
Inflation busting tips and self-service
LinkedIn
May 13, 2022
With double-digit inflation in some categories, having a strategic approach to mitigating the impact on your organisation is vital. By working through a structured process with all your existing supply base, you can simplify and speed up your review process.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Procurement
Key Digital Skills, the Talent Shortage and Easy Reporting
Procurement Weekly
April 14, 2022
This week we cover:
Key Digital Skills Procurement must master
A LinkedIn Live on the Procurement Talent Shortage
How we can make Procurement reporting painless
Five digital insights from the EY CPO survey 2022
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Tags: Procurement
Four useful things to help Procurement Teams - team, skills and planning
Procurement Weekly
March 25, 2022
Welcome to this week's four things for Procurement Professionals which are quick to read, thought-provoking, helpful but most importantly: actionable.
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Tags: Procurement
8 steps to your Procurement Digital Roadmap
Procurement Weekly
March 07, 2022
Many organisations are struggling with where they should go on their digital procurement journey. This article gives you actionable guidance and 8 steps you can take to get a clear digital roadmap for your team.
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Tags: Procurement
Procurement Weekly - #1
Procurement Weekly
February 18, 2022
Hi - and welcome to Procurement Weekly! In this Newsletter I give Procurement Professionals and Leaders five things every week which are quick to read and useful - content which is thought-provoking, helpful but most importantly: actionable.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation - Tim Snow
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April 21, 2023
This week I speak to Tim Snow, Vice President Procurement, Commercial Contracts, Insurance and Sustainability at Inmarsat.Given Tim has a wider commercial role including areas not traditionally in the procurement remit, I asked him:* How he balances his procurement responsibilities with a broader ro
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation - Lauren Jones
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February 28, 2023
This week I spoke to Lauren Jones, CPO at Amazon Fresh. We covered:The one thing she wants her CEO to know about procHow she defines and measures success for her teamIf there is a talent shortage or is it an excuse What the future holds for procurementWhat's her biggest mistake and what she l
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation - Roger Davies
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February 21, 2023
This week we're joined by Roger Davies, CPO from M&S, John Lewis and deliveroo - a great selection of British institutions.I spoke to Roger about:The most important thing he learnt in his careerHis leadership philosophyWhat skills we need for the future of procurementWhat does the future
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation - Nick Jenkinson
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February 14, 2023
Nick Jenkinson is Santander's Interim CPO reaching the end of a 2-year transformation programme. In this episode we talk about:* His approach to making sure new tech lands* His main objectives in his transformation programme* Why digital transformation is so difficult* How we get the right ba
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation: Simon Geale
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November 14, 2022
This week I talk to Simon Geale, CPO of Proxima and we talk about:* Early jobs missing from his CV* What it's like being a CPO responsible for marketing* The biggest issues CPOs face right now* What Proxima is working on and what skills they are looking for* What Procurement needs to change to
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation: Andrew Newnham
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November 02, 2022
This week I talk to Andrew Newnham, CPO of M&S and we cover:* How Procurement can drive strategy* What skills he looks for in his team* Balancing risk mitigation with getting stuff done* What he thinks the future holds for Procurement* The book that has most influenced his career
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation: Tom Mills
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September 25, 2022
I talk to Tom Mills on his passion for Procurement, building a following on Social Media, his favourite Music and what the future holds for Procurement.Tom can be found:https://procurementprotagonist.substack.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-mills-procurement/
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
CPO Conversation: Peter Smith
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September 11, 2022
This week I'm joined by Peter Smith, author of Bad Buying, co-author of Procurement with Purpose, Procurement Expert and former CPO. His books are excellent and available through all good bookstores.I asked Peter:Why Procurement?Is the interpersonal side of Procurement more or less important
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
The People Side of Procurement Digital Transformation with David Loseby
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July 21, 2022
A fireside chat with David Loseby, to talk about the often forgotten side of Digital Transformation - people.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
Ensuring ethical labour in your supply chain with Alex Gosney
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July 15, 2022
Alex Gosney from Nutral joins us to discuss how we can ensure that our supply chains use ethical labour.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
What Should Procurement Stop Doing? With Tom Mills.
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June 08, 2022
Procurement has had a frantic couple of years, dealing with many challenges that we may have previously had to face once in a career, seemingly every few months. With many teams feeling the strain, something must give. So what should we stop doing?The Procurement Conversation panel is joined by Pr
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
How Can We Speed Up Procurement? With Mirko Kleiner.
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May 26, 2022
Want to speed up your Procurement Processes?Over the last couple of years business has been speeding up - but procurement is getting more and more bogged down with addition process work. Getting slower isn't an option, so how can we speed up procurement?That's the question we're tac
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
Why is Digitising Procurement so Hard? With Steve Day
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May 12, 2022
In this episode we ask 'Why is Digitising Procurement so Hard?'The secret is that it isn't really - but over many years we have invested much time and money in programmes which have been poorly adopted and haven't landed.What can we do differently to turn this around and realise
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
Episode 2: How Procurement Can Tackle Inflation
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May 09, 2022
Rising inflation is all over the news - how can we in procurement help our organisations to mitigate the impact of this on the bottom line? Our panel is joined by Tracey Giblin Kelly who is a chartered accountant and finance director of Kavita's business, Novo-K. Tracey gives the finance vi
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
Episode 1: The Procurement Talent Shortage
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May 09, 2022
This week, we're tackling the Procurement Talent Shortage, what it is and how we can fix it.
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Tags: Digital Transformation, Sustainability, Procurement
Refresh - Business Transformation Podcast
Refresh - Business Transformation
July 30, 2020
In today’s market, how can you keep your business relevant and one step ahead of the competition? We look at how you can transform your business to drive real growth and efficiency.
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Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Digital Transformation
Acada
Acada – Simplifying Procurement Excellence
An Interview on Taking Procurement to the Next Level with Rich Sains
Increasing Day-to-Day Productivity - Richard Sains from Acada
The Procurement Conversation
Procurement Digital Transformation Consulting
