788: The Hackett Group's 2025 Key Issues Study: Insights on Procurement Priorities, Technology, and Operating Models
Release Date: 03/24/2025
Procurement’s Communication Superpower W/ David Yarkin
Art of Procurement
"If you can't understand how procurement affects the ultimate end users in your organization, whether it's a state prison, or whether it's a manufacturing facility in Germany, then you're abdicating your role, you're just a robot. And that's why procurement has a superpower." - David Yarkin, CEO, Procurated Long before "DOGE" became a buzzword in government efficiency, the state of Pennsylvania led a pioneering strategic procurement transformation that saved taxpayers millions… $140 million to be exact (and on a recurring basis, at that). The key to their success wasn't just smart buying...
info_outline
799: Procurement 6 | May 2nd, 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.
info_outline
BTW EP 08: The Phil-Ins: In Search of Equilibrium with Phil, Kelly, and Rich
Art of Procurement
More than one hundred years after John C. Dinsmore wrote in Purchasing Principles and Practices that “there should be no great chasm between the board of directors who represent the stockholders whose money is spent and the person who does the spending,” procurement is still struggling with the same fundamental problem of misalignment. In the eighth episode of “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement,” Philip Ideson, Kelly Barner, and Rich Ham, CEO at Fine Tune, convene to grapple with the insights – and even a few uncomfortable truths – uncovered in their recent conversations...
info_outline
798: Bridging the Gap Between Procurement and Legal W/ Paul Bagley
Art of Procurement
“I understand that tension between procurement and legal could happen, but it really is a disservice to each other. It's like two brothers fighting. It doesn't make any sense.” - Paul Bagley, Director of Commercial Contracting, Acosta Group Procurement and legal often find themselves at odds, despite the fact that they’re usually working toward the same goals for the business. We can usually trace this tension back to a few key areas like contract cycle times, risk management approaches, decision-making processes, or contract negotiations. But, when procurement and legal are true...
info_outline
797: Procurement 6 | April 25th, 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.
info_outline
796: How Should Procurement Respond to Tariffs? W/ Richeek Maitra
Art of Procurement
“You’re not going to be able to completely eliminate your tariff exposure. There are three frames under which to think about tariffs: How will you mitigate in the short term? How will you think about it in the medium term from your customer's perspective and pricing? And how will you think about a long-term realignment of supply chains?” - Richeek Maitra, Director, AlixPartners With tariffs dominating the news cycle and sending global markets on a wild ride, procurement is scrambling to figure out the practical implications of tariffs on global supply chains and their own...
info_outline
795: Procurement 6 | April 18th, 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.
info_outline
BTW EP 07: Seeking Balance in Buyer-Seller Dynamics with Kate Vitasek
Art of Procurement
In this seventh episode of the “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement” podcast series, Art of Procurement’s Philip Ideson and Fine Tune CEO Rich Ham take a deep dive into procurement history with Kate Vitasek, Faculty of Graduate and Executive Education at the University of Tennessee, and architect of the groundbreaking Vested methodology. With over 15 years of research and eight books dedicated to buyer-supplier strategic partnerships, Kate shares her insight into how procurement has traditionally tended to extract value from suppliers through power plays, as opposed to...
info_outline
794: What Matters Most in Modern Procurement Hiring W/ Derek Lutz
Art of Procurement
“Procurement isn’t just a cost center; it’s a true value driver. So when they’re recruiting, CPOs and heads of procurement are looking for someone who's current and who is bringing ideas to the table. They’re not just hiring buyers anymore.” - Derek Lutz, Founder and CEO, Lean Six Search As economic and geopolitical instability sends ripples of doubt across global supply chains, the question of which procurement skills will remain valuable, as well as which ones are becoming obsolete, has never been more relevant. In this episode, host Philip Ideson talks about the...
info_outline
793: Procurement 6 | April 11th, 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.
info_outline“We are seeing a labor-for-technology swap as organizations become much more dependent and scalable, and what's driving that scale and that productivity is technology.” – Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group
Procurement is no stranger to change. Over the last decade or more, procurement has seen significant shifts in priorities, in their role in the business, in how they are measured, and even in their daily processes and workflows. This change has brought countless new opportunities for impact, but it has also brought disruption, uncertainty, and challenges.
In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with long-time procurement colleague and regular AOP guest Christopher Sawchuck, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group.
Chris shares key findings from The Hackett Group’s 2025 Key Issues Report, which reveals how procurement leaders are responding to today’s most pressing challenges, like balancing increased workloads with lean teams and a growing demand for technology investment.
In this episode, Phil and Chris discuss:
- The evolution of procurement in the 21st Century, from basic supply assurance to cost management and now to broader value value creation and the demands this puts on CPOs to redesign their operating models
- The critical gap between increasing workload and decrease in staffing and how procurement is leveraging technology to keep their heads above water
- The ways AI and automation will transform procurement within the next 3-5 years, driving both efficiency and effectiveness gains
Links:
- Christopher Sawchuk on LinkedIn
- Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
- Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube