702: Meeting Supply Chain Volatility with Agility and Resilience w/ Frank McKay
Release Date: 06/03/2024
BTW EP 18: It's Getting Real: AI, Procurement, and the End of Savings Theater with Jason Busch
Art of Procurement
“We can all claim savings without necessarily achieving the result.” This stark observation from Jason Busch sums up decades of dysfunction in how procurement measures their impact and why AI may finally force a (much-needed) reckoning with reality. In this episode of “Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement,” Jason joins co-hosts Philip Ideson and Rich Ham to explore how artificial intelligence might finally solve procurement's validation problem… but only if organizations abandon their addiction to “claiming savings” and start measuring what actually matters: EBITDA. As...
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832: AI, Data, and the New Procurement Advantage W/ Vel Dhinagaravel
Art of Procurement
“Procurement is going to be on the front lines, creating competitive advantage for the corporation.” - Vel Dhinagaravel, CEO at Beroe AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore… it’s rapidly becoming procurement’s sharpest tool for staying ahead. Business leaders now demand more than “check-the-box” savings; they want real, data-driven competitiveness that puts their organizations at the front of the pack. The big question: how can AI and always-on intelligence transform procurement’s role and impact? In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Beroe CEO Vel Dhinagaravel joins...
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831: Conquering the Decision Abyss: From Data to Supply Chain Impact W/ Keith Hartley
Art of Procurement
“A decision abyss is the chasm that forms between critical supply chain functions… and that's what keeps and prevents organizations from making fast, cross-functional, well-informed data-driven decisions.” – Keith Hartley, CEO and Board Member at LevaData, CEO of The Abyss Group In today’s hyper-connected supply chains, data is everywhere, but turning it into fast, confident decisions remains elusive. The cost? Slow launches, eroding margins, and “spreadsheet heroics” that mask deeper issues. As the complexity compounds year after year, procurement leaders face a tough choice:...
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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...
info_outline“You have to make investments in your supplier network if you want to be successful. The old days of ‘I have to win, and you have to lose’ are gone. We are so transparent. We are using technology. Relationships are key.” - Frank McKay, Chief Supply Chain & Procurement Officer, Jabil
In 2023, Jabil conducted a 2023 Supply Chain Survey in collaboration with SIS International Research. In this episode, Philip Ideson sits down with Frank McKay, Chief Supply Chain & Procurement Officer at Jabil to discuss the results, which pinpointed things like cost reduction, customer satisfaction, communication, and visibility as some of procurement’s top-of-mind challenges.
In addition to sharing his own experiences as a practitioner for over 25 years, Frank also discusses his perspective on the evolving role of procurement and how they can better reduce supply chain operational costs, as well as how Chief Supply Chain Officers should be adjusting their strategies in response to rapidly shifting global supply chain dynamics and volatility.
In the episode, they also explore:
- How procurement should be integrating AI and machine learning technologies into their processes to elevate their function and drive greater impact
- The complex nature of managing global supply chains and how to meet these challenges
- How procurement can help build more resilient supply chains that can adapt to geopolitical tensions, market volatility, and rapid technological advancements
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