BTW EP 17: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your P&L: Validating Procurement's Efforts with Kristine Morton
Release Date: 09/03/2025
BTW EP 17: Check Yourself Before You Wreck Your P&L: Validating Procurement's Efforts with Kristine Morton
Art of Procurement
When Kristine Morton's was first introduced to the flawed incentive structures plaguing much of corporate procurement, she said, “That all sounds stupid." Her blunt reaction reveals something profound: it is possible to build a procurement career without ever encountering the dysfunctional systems that dominate so many large organizations. In this episode of "Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement," Kristine Morton, Director of Strategic Sourcing at Unleashed Brands, joins Philip Ideson and Rich Ham to demonstrate what procurement looks like when stakeholders demand proof, not...
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830: Inside AOP's Acquisition of the ProcureTech100: Objectivity, Community, Impact
Art of Procurement
“ProcureTech100 is the voice of the user. It's the voice of the customer. We want the perspective of those who are using these solutions every day, who have done proof of concepts, and who have seen the ROI.” - Philip Ideson, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Art of Procurement Today’s procurement leaders are surrounded by tech innovation and disruption, but separating real value from empty hype is more complex than ever. With hundreds of new providers, AI tools, and shifting priorities, staying competitive calls for more than just another list of solutions; it demands objective,...
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829: From Good to Great: How Business Partnering Transforms Procurement Teams
Art of Procurement
"Business partnering is what sets apart good procurement teams from great procurement teams, especially in indirect procurement... Those who are good at partnering with the business, they actually are able to excel." - Sasha Sergeev, Director of Technical & Corporate Procurement, Nova Chemicals Procurement must evolve beyond traditional cost-focused metrics to become true business partners that drive organizational success. The most mature procurement teams understand that delivering exceptional stakeholder support and building embedded relationships creates far more value than savings...
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BTW EP 16: Lightbulb Moments: Shedding Light on Purposeful & Productive Procurement
Art of Procurement
“Savings is completely self-invented and pointless because it's separated from the real P&L." This assessment from Bayer Chief Procurement Officer Thomas Udesen captures the essence of what may be procurement's most radical transformation in decades. In this episode of “Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement,” Thomas joins Philip Ideson and Rich Ham to discuss how one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies abandoned traditional procurement metrics entirely, replacing “savings” with six C's that actually drive business outcomes: cost, cash, carbon, community,...
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828: How to Turn Market Chaos Into Procurement’s Strategic Advantage W/ Adam Collins
Art of Procurement
"I believe if you can define it, you can source it. And if you can source it, you can auction it." - Adam Collins, Head of Sales, Esker Procurement teams are navigating unprecedented global disruptions, from tariffs and geopolitical tensions to supply chain instabilities that refuse to settle. What if these chaotic conditions actually present procurement's greatest opportunity to demonstrate strategic value? In this episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Adam Collins from Esker to explore how procurement can leverage fundamental strategic sourcing techniques to not just...
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827: Lessons in Resilience From a Procurement Change Journey W/ Tanya Roach
Art of Procurement
There is no template for transformation. You have to build transformation for the organization that you're in. Go and learn as much as you can about the organization and then pivot where you need to.” - Tanya Roach, Director of Procurement, Federated Co-operatives Limited Building procurement from scratch is never easy… let alone within a 90-year-old organization, during a pandemic, and with business demands changing faster than ever. Resilient, adaptable team members are the key to overcoming challenges and creating lasting transformation. In this episode, Tanya Roach, Director of...
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BTW EP 15: The Phil-Ins: Expanding the Value Menu
Art of Procurement
Halfway through their journey toward purposeful procurement, the co-hosts confront a fundamental question: if procurement drives value in so many ways beyond cost savings, why do incentive structures ignore virtually everything else? In this episode of "Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement," Philip Ideson, Rich Ham, and Kelly Barner discuss insights from their recent conversations with Martin Chilcott and Paul Polizzotto to explore a troubling pattern: procurement consistently creates value despite their flawed incentive structures, not because of them. The conversation maps procurement's...
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826: Deglobalization Hype and Reality for Supply Chain Leaders W/ Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner
Art of Procurement
“Deglobalization is a nice soundbite, but the reality is, we need more focus on risk management and mitigation.” – Philip Ideson, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Art of Procurement Deglobalization is a hot topic right now, but behind the big headlines and boardroom buzzwords, real change is proving to be slow, complicated, and deeply influenced by geopolitics and regulation. Are companies really bringing supply chains home, or is the story much more nuanced? In this episode, Art of Procurement co-hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner get candid on what’s behind deglobalization:...
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825: Procurement 6 | August 1st, 2025
Art of Procurement
Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention.
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824: Why Technology Complexity Kills User Adoption W/ Jason Kim
Art of Procurement
"I think we have hit a tipping point where procurement has become a pretty complicated practice. There's so many options and choices and optimizations with concepts that are just so alien to the typical user." - Jason Kim, Senior Director of Product Management, Coupa The procurement technology landscape demands solutions that work for both power users and occasional requesters, yet many organizations struggle with platforms that create friction rather than facilitating smooth workflows. Usability isn't just about the user experience. It’s about adoption, compliance, and ultimately the...
info_outlineWhen Kristine Morton's was first introduced to the flawed incentive structures plaguing much of corporate procurement, she said, “That all sounds stupid." Her blunt reaction reveals something profound: it is possible to build a procurement career without ever encountering the dysfunctional systems that dominate so many large organizations.
In this episode of "Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement," Kristine Morton, Director of Strategic Sourcing at Unleashed Brands, joins Philip Ideson and Rich Ham to demonstrate what procurement looks like when stakeholders demand proof, not promises.
Working across franchise systems and private equity-backed companies, Kristine serves over 1,000 individual franchise owners who scrutinize every P&L line item. In her world, "savings" means money that actually hits the bottom line, not projections based on contract signatures. Every initiative undergoes rigorous testing before rollout, and continuous measurement ensures stakeholders receive exactly what was promised.
In this episode, she explains the stark contrast between procurement theory and practice. While large corporations debate abstract incentive structures, Kristine focuses on operational empathy, which means understanding what makes franchise owners' lives easier, cheaper, or better.
Her approach to category management is truly continuous. As Kristine puts it, “My vendor relationships don't end at contract signature. If I don't follow up and ensure our initiatives deliver what we promised, I won't learn when things don't work out.”
Kristine’s leadership journey demonstrates that purposeful procurement doesn't require managing billions in spend. There's profound purpose in simply making efforts real and ensuring stakeholders get what they were promised. With this perspective, adoption is validation; if programs don't deliver value, business owners simply won't participate.
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