Libsyn Directory

798: Bridging the Gap Between Procurement and Legal W/ Paul Bagley

Release Date: 04/28/2025

816: Managing Procurement Risk Amid Tariff Volatility W/ Alan Arcand

Art of Procurement

“During COVID, we went from just in time to just in case. Unfortunately, now supply chains have to factor in risk mitigation. Finding alternative sources of supply might be a little more pricey, but it reduces the risk.” - Alan Arcand, Chief Economist at Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Economic uncertainty and tariff volatility continue to shape procurement strategies and supply chain decisions across North America. As businesses grapple with unpredictable policy shifts, the need to interpret nuanced economic signals accurately has become critical to maintaining stable operations...

815: Procurement 6 | June 27th, 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.

BTW EP 12: The Phil-ins: A Pivotal Pivot

Art of Procurement

Halfway through their 24-episode journey, the co-hosts of “Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement” pause to assess what they've learned so far about how procurement has and is evolving, and, more importantly, what’s ahead for the future. In this reflective episode, Philip Ideson, Rich Ham, and Kelly Barner bring together insights from their recent conversations that confirm a troubling trend in procurement: not only are the P&L-related harms of procurement's flawed incentive structures real, they're also worsening over time. It is time for procurement to course correct. ...

814: How Agentic AI Can Transform Procurement Outcomes W/ Nick Heinzmann

Art of Procurement

"The way we start looking at every unit of work in a workflow flips from being something that's truly human-led to something that can be increasingly human-reviewed and driven, but not necessarily initiated as a human." Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research at Zip The pressure for procurement to do more with less means innovation is no longer optional… It's necessary for survival and growth. The game changer? Agentic AI: artificial intelligence capable of perceiving, analyzing, and taking action, all with minimal supervision. In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Philip Ideson...

813: Procurement 6 | June 20th, 2025

Art of Procurement

812: Procurement's Path Through an Era of Polycrisis W/ Baber Farooq

Art of Procurement

“The greatest challenge facing the world today isn't tariffs or monetary uncertainty – it's stagnating productivity.” - Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing SAP Ariba & SAP Fieldglass Navigating today's interconnected global business landscape has thrust procurement directly into the heart of strategic risk management. Supply chain disruptions, new AI-driven realities, looming ESG regulations, and shifting diversity initiatives pressure leaders to redefine procurement’s strategic impact. In this episode, Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing SAP...

811: Procurement 6 | June 13th, 2025

Art of Procurement

BTW EP 11: "Poachers Turned Game Wardens:" The "Tuners" on Indirect Supplier Tactics (Part 2)

Art of Procurement

Sometimes the most damning evidence about an industry or an organization comes from the inside. In this second installment of “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement’s” deep dive into supplier tactics, two former supply executives continue exposing the ins and outs of the supplier playbook they used on procurement when they were on the other side of the fence. Bob Schreiner, former CIA section chief and G4s operations executive, explains how security guard service providers can obscure margin increases within seemingly reasonable wage adjustments for officers. He also exposes the...

810: Making Startup Partnerships Work for Enterprise Procurement W/ Matt Ziskie

Art of Procurement

“Procurement officers are going to have to go hunt for the solutions they need and the workflows that can help their business. I do feel like to do this job properly moving forward, it's an offensive job, and you don't have the luxury of sitting back.” - Matt Ziskie, Co-Founder, Bungalow Capital How procurement approaches working with smaller, innovative startups can look quite different than other supplier relationships. From lengthy sales cycles, complex negotiations, and mismatched expectations… these and other roadblocks can crop up in different ways depending on the size, scale,...

809: Procurement 6 | June 6th, 2025

Art of Procurement

More Episodes

“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 collaborators and combine their expertise, they can create measurably better outcomes for the business.

To get to that point, both sides need to get to the root of the tension and develop workable processes and expectations that leverage the strengths of both teams without creating bottlenecks or roadblocks… for anyone.

In this episode of Art of Procurement, Philip Ideson speaks with Paul Bagley, Director of Commercial Contracting at Acosta Group. Paul has a unique perspective as both an attorney and an experienced procurement professional. Because of that, he is able to directly challenge the notion that conflict between procurement and legal is inevitable, and he advocates instead for a more collaborative, supportive approach between the two.

In this episode, Paul explains:

How effective category management is the key to creating alignment between procurement, legal, and business stakeholders
The importance of empowering procurement with clear contract guidelines and fallback provisions so legal doesn’t become unnecessarily overinvolved
Best practices for working with outside council or third-party legal teams
Practical ways procurement can level-up their knowledge about legal’s role, improve their contracts, and stay current on what risks to look out for

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