Art of Procurement

Back in early September, the Art of Procurement left the recording studio and went live for the first time with a webinar that I hosted with a friend of the show, RFP365. The theme of the webinar was Weighted Scoring. Specifically, how you can use weighted scoring as part of your sourcing process, to help make decisions based on facts, rather than feelings. The webinar was broadly split into a couple of different parts – I was asking the questions of RFP365 in terms of technology – how can you set up your RFP's to enable weighted scoring – and then my co-presenters turned the tables and asked a number of questions of my in terms of the practicalities. Today I am sharing the part of the webinar where I was asked the questions. You will hear Anna Spady and Dave Hulsen – both Art of Procurement alumni – asking me a number of questions such as my thoughts on how to avoid biased questions, scoring mistakes, when is weighted scoring not appropriate and what to do when the top scoring supplier is not selected. For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/RFPscoring

Corporate Social Responsibility – or CSR – is a key value lever that procurement can pull to differentiate ourselves from the perceptions of the past, and that can enable us to play a role in revenue generation, not just cost reduction. Indeed, how companies approach their CSR commitments will play an ever increasing role in the way that they are perceived by their target customers, impacting brand value and ultimately pricing power. In today's Art of Procurement, I am joined by Jason Pearson, the President & CEO of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (SPLC). From my experience, influencing and managing supply chain sustainability – covering both Direct and Indirect spend categories - is something that as a procurement community we have not yet tackled head on. Examples of success are limited to a few leading edge procurement teams. So in today's episode, I wanted to explore what we – as procurement professionals and leaders – could do to integrate sustainable thinking into the way that our organizations buy. In my conversation with Jason, we discuss: Why is supply chain sustainability so important? What can procurement leaders do to make sustainability a prioritization for their organizations (Jason recommends a number of case studies for further reading). How can we initiate cross-sector collaboration to address sustainability issues that impact all the players in our industry but that require an industry wide response? How can procurement leaders prioritize sustainability initiatives – for example, by supplier or by category? The eight Direct and Indirect spend categories that lend themselves to sustainability initiatives, particularly when you are looking to start a program and are seeking early wins. The impact that legislation is having – and will continue to have – on how we building sustainability into our scoping and sourcing activities. For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/SPLC

Today is the last day that content will be published in support of The Procurement Revolution event. We have had 40 revolutionaries share their perspective on such as wide variety of topics – tactical, strategic and a little bit of crystal ball gazing too! There was a particular submission from the event that I think embodies my thoughts on what the role of procurement really is - and why change must come from within. It was recorded by Pierre Lapree, the Founder of a procurement performance management SaaS business called Per Angusta. When I received Pierre's submission I could not help but be inspired. Listen in, and I hope you are inspired too! For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/EP93

Back in 2012, Sylvain Mansotte received the call from the newly appointed CPO of a large Australian based construction company to assist in the building a new procurement function. He jumped at the chance, and one of his first priorities was to understand his new employers' third party spend profile. Within 2 months, Sylvain had uncovered a $20M fraud that spanned 12 years and led to the perpetrator – a finance executive with 30 years of experience in the company – admitting to the crime, and ultimately being sentenced to 15 years in prison. Today's Art of Procurement is Sylvain's story. Sylvain discusses how he uncovered the fraud, and the decisions he had to make in blowing the whistle. We then talk more specifically about procurement fraud. Sylvain shares a number of fraud red flags, and provides tips on how you can ensure you have an environment where a whistleblower feels safe in coming forward if they have information to share. The experience inspired Sylvain to found Whispli, a two-way platform that enables the anonymous communication of sensitive information. Originally designed as a tool to help whistleblowers report potential frauds without fear of recriminations, the platform is now being used across many industries, including helping students anonymously report bullying or harassment at school. Sylvain's story is absorbing, and also a wakeup call to realize that procurement fraud is real, and that any one of us in the profession may find ourselves in the same position as Sylvain at any time, given the nature of our roles. For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/fraud

It has been all hands on deck this week preparing for The Procurement Revolution. In the course of recording content, there was a piece that I just couldn't wait for next week to publish. So, I thought I would hand over the reins of the Art of Procurement Friday Show today to Kate Vitasek. Kate is a faculty member in the University of Tennessee's Graduate and Executive Education programs, and founder and lead researcher for the Vested business methodology. I asked Kate to provide her perspective on an area that she believes we need to think differently about to help us to continue to mature as a profession. Listen in to hear Kate explain the concept of sourcing business models, and why different sourcing approaches are needed based on the nature of the relationship you are trying to build with the selected supplier. For more information, visit http://theprocurementrevolution.com

The Procurement Revolution is less than two weeks away! I am busily recording content from thought leaders around the world who have inspiring perspectives to share on how we need to challenge the status quo to survive and thrive in the new era of procurement. Listen in to today's episode to learn more about the event, the content that will be shared, and the channels we are using to get the word out. To register to join The Procurement Revolution, visit http://theprocurementrevolution.com

Much has been written about the fact that the Millennial Generation will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020. How to attract and retain Millennial professionals is becoming an increasingly important challenge for procurement leaders as large numbers of baby boomers retire by the day. In the first part of today's episode, I connect with M.L. Peck (of the Institute for Supply Management - ISM) and Donna Cicale (of THOMASNET.com). We talk about the challenge of attracting Millennials into the supply chain and procurement profession, and the 30 Under 30 program that ISM and THOMASNET.com developed to showcase talented and emerging leaders. In the second part of the interview, I sit down with Amy Georgi, a Program Manager responsible for Procurement M&A at Fluke Electronics. Amy is the current Megawatt Winner of the 30 Under 30 Program. Firstly, Amy and I talk about procurement's role in facilitating M&A in a manufacturing environment. We then transition into a key pillar of motivation and job satisfaction for Millennial professionals - the ability to have flexibility in their work locations. From personal experience, this is something the solicits passionate perspectives that vary wildly! In our conversation, Amy shares tips for procurement leaders faced with employees who want and value location independence, and for professionals on how to stay in touch with the home office when working remotely. For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/30under30

How can professionals best position themselves for success in the new era of procurement? That is the question that I explore in the second of a two part series on the factors that look to change the shape of our profession. In this episode, I explain the notion of a two-tier procurement profession, and the six different role types that I believe will be fundamental in ensuring that procurement remains relevant in times of significant change. For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/nextgen2