Art of Procurement

I'm joined on the pod this week by Odelle (Brown) Bell, Managing Director of 8 Consulting. Odelle is well known within procurement across Australia and New Zealand, having previously owned and led the procurement recruiting firm Evolve People. Now at 8 Consulting, Odelle is focused on helping her clients cultivate workplaces that enable greater employee engagement - and ultimately more impactful teams. Our conversation spanned the topic of workplace behaviors and effectiveness. Odelle is a big believer in the power of choices, and our ability to create our own paths rather than wait for others to show us the way. We discussed in detail about self-awareness and the importance of understanding both our surroundings and how we are perceived as the cornerstone of our personal growth, and of our ability to drive change. Odelle also shares what a "typical" procurement professional looks like from a behavioral perspective, and highlights the blind spots that we need to overcome if we are to have the impact we desire. Odelle is very engaging, and I really enjoyed our conversation! Odelle provides a ton of actionable advice on how we can identify opportunities for growth - if you are prepared to be vulnerable and seek to understand your weaknesses.

This episode marks our first serious foray into understanding why people do the things they do. Our guest, Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and founder of Ogilvy Change looks at consumer behavior, media and communications through the twin lenses of Behavioral Economics and Evolutionary Psychology. We sought Rory out because we believe the implications of his work go well beyond how to better sell consumer products and services. His is a powerful perspective for us to incorporate into our collective work elevating the procurement function in terms of the value we create, how we create that value and how we are perceived by our stakeholders. Rory is one of the most interesting, irreverent and generous guests I have had the pleasure of interviewing. While this episode clocks in at about one hour and thirty minutes, I was so engaged with Rory's ideas and how he expressed them that the time just flew by. I trust you have the same experience.

Today's guest on the pod is Jonathan O'Brien. Jonathan is the CEO and a founding member of Positive Purchasing. He has over 25 years' experience of working with household name companies around the world to help transform procurement capability. Jonathan works with executive teams to shape and implement procurement strategies, he also trains, coaches and develops procurement teams to perform and realize their potential. Many listeners may recognize Jonathan as the author of a number of procurement-related books including Supplier Relationship Management: Unlocking the Hidden Value in Your Supply Base. Jonathan just published the second edition, and so I invited him on the show to talk about advanced supplier relationship management strategies.

Back in 2016, I interviewed Jimmy Ankleseria over the course of two podcasts, on the topic of strategic cost management. They were very popular at the time, and contain a number of timeless insights into how we can be more strategic about understanding and managing the input costs of the products and services we buy. With today being a holiday week here in the US, I have combined the original two shows - which clocked in at over 2 hours - into a single 40-minute episode. Listen in to hear Jimmy share ideas of how to build cost models for both products and services, and then his approach for partnering with your supplier to manage total cost once the contract is signed.

The quality and accessibility of master data is a critical but often overlooked pillar of all successful procurement teams. Complex and difficult to master, it's often left to the side while we pursue "easier" transformation and improvement initiatives. Technology is now opening up a new world of possibilities for converting seemingly disparate data into useable intelligence by taking new approaches - leading to more effective sourcing and category strategies. I'm joined on the show today to discuss the mastery of your master data by Doug Paul, a GM of Sourcing at General Electric's Global Operations Group. Doug has responsibility for developing, improving & standardizing shared sourcing processes, operations & tools across all of General Electric. I've got to know Doug well over the past 12 months - as you will hear in the interview, he is passionate about the role of procurement, but also the need to continually improve, challenge our assumptions, and to take control of our own destiny. Towards the end of our discussion, we also try out a new feature - the quickfire round. I'd love to know if you think this should become a regular feature!

I'm joined once again on the show by Jeanette Nyden. Jeanette is a well-renowned contracts and negotiations specialist, who approaches her work with a focus on building win-win, sustainable, agreements. I interviewed Jeanette recently – AOP173 – where we discussed the topic of contract negotiations. If you haven't had the opportunity to listen in to that interview, you should check it out! But, in the time we had scheduled to chat, we didn't get to all of my questions. And so I invited Jeanette back onto the pod to finish our conversation. And so in today's podcast, we discuss the art of a balanced deal. What is a balanced deal, when do you need one – and when do you not. I also dig to understand what are some of the prerequisites for a balanced deal, and Jeanette shares her advice for those looking to start the process with one of their suppliers or potential suppliers.

Today I am joined on the show by Charlotte de Brabandt. As you will hear in the show, Charlotte was recently honored by ISM, as part of their 30 Under 30 Awards program, as the Megawatt winner, and for good reason! In her day job, Charlotte leads Energy Procurement for Johnson & Johnson. But that only tells half the story! Charlotte is also a prolific public speaker, TEDx organizer, charity worker, and she is passionate about the intersection of procurement, technology and the future of jobs. In our conversation, we talk about the project that led to Charlotte's 30 Under 30 Award, I ask for advice on how to improve my own public speaking, and Charlotte shares some of her habits that allow her to fit everything in!

Today I am joined on the show by Shawn Burton. Shawn is General Counsel of Business & General Aviation and Integrated Systems at GE. Shawn was connected to me via a former AOP guest Nick Seiersen and has recently published an article in Harvard Business Review on the virtues of plain language contracting. While we did discuss plain language contracting, and the change and disruption underway in the legal profession – which I thought was a great way to be able to better understand and empathize with our peers in Legal – the main focus of our conversation was a home-grown platform that GE Aviation has built that allows them to be for more strategic in their contract negotiations by assigning a monetary value to each clause they negotiate.

This week on the show, the tables are turned! AOP alumni and Negotiations Ninja host Mark Raffan just interviewed me for an episode of his podcast on the topic of procurement cost savings. I enjoyed the conversation with Mark, and so we decided to simultaneously publish both on Art of Procurement and Negotiations Ninja. In our conversation, Mark dug into that omnipresent procurement metric of cost savings. I share details of how I have seen most organizations calculate savings, and what is typically off limits. Mark also asks if there are any ways to easily save money – the low hanging fruit – that any procurement function just starting on their maturity journey should focus on. I really enjoyed our conversation – and the challenge that comes with being on the other side of the microphone!

I spent a couple of days on the road last week at the Coupa Inspire 2018 conference in San Francisco. Inspire is an event I always try and make – to get insights into Coupa's latest offerings, to catch up with peers, friends and clients, and to be inspired by fantastic keynote speakers which this year included Alison Levine and Arnold Schwarzenegger. While on site, I had the opportunity to sit down and record today's podcast with Coupa CEO, and AOP alumni, Rob Bernshteyn. Over the past couple of months, I have observed Coupa using the term "Community Intelligence" more and more, and it was a key feature of Rob's keynote. I am very bullish on the impact that we can have in procurement by combining our collective insights end experiences - in fact, it is a key driving force behind AOP. I was interested to learn how Coupa is harnessing the opportunity that community intelligence brings, and how we as procurement professionals can apply this concept to our day to day work.