BTW EP 19: The Phil-Ins: Common Sense and Clunky Sports References
Release Date: 10/01/2025
EP 01: Introducing the ProcureTech Insider: A New Art of Procurement Podcast
Art of Procurement
“Sometimes you just need to recognize that getting from the baseline, whatever your baseline, to the next step… that's really significant.” - Jyothi Hartley, Director of Digital Enablement, AOP Art of Procurement is proud to launch a brand-new podcast series: the ProcureTech Insider. The procurement technology market is evolving faster than ever, promising exponential transformation. But what actually works in the real world? ProcureTech Insider exists to take procurement leaders and decision makers beyond the hype. In this new series, we will bring you real-world intelligence from...
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854: Transforming Procurement from the Inside Out W/ Ben Farrell
Art of Procurement
“The procurement and supply chain professions are ever more relevant to the prosperity of nations and to businesses as we go into the future.” - Ben Farrell, Global Chief Executive Officer, The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS) Striking a balance between tradition and disruption is at the top of the agenda for today’s procurement leaders. Whether it’s shifting global dynamics, technology, or the push for greater influence, the function’s boundaries (and its reputation) are up for grabs. Ben Farrell brings a perspective forged in the British Army, major retail,...
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BTW EP 25: The S-Word: Why Procurement Must Stop Saying “Savings” (and What to Replace it With)
Art of Procurement
Procurement’s biggest measurement problem isn’t that “savings” is incomplete. It’s that “savings” has become a substitute for truth. In the first Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement episode of 2026, co-hosts Philip Ideson and Rich Ham unveil the first of the show’s new procurement “Buy-laws.” It’s the one that almost every serious practitioner agrees with, but very few organizations are ready to operationalize: replace savings with defined value. That doesn’t mean adding a few extra KPIs in addition to savings. It means removing the word entirely and replacing it...
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853: From Pain Points to Progress: Medtronic’s Procurement Evolution W/ Amit Saronwala and Jeremy Lappin
Art of Procurement
“Procurement is what you make of it. It can be a bargain basement function at some firms, but it’s also becoming more strategic. We have to take a more holistic, integrated view of things and try to understand the big business problems we can help solve and then offer a business solution, not just a procurement solution.” – Amit Saronwala, VP, Global Indirect Supply Management, Medtronic Procurement leaders in healthcare are feeling the heat: innovation cycles are tightening, supplier bases are vast, and new pressures on cost and cash flow are here to stay. So how do you build more...
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852: The Future of RFPs: Leaner, Smarter, and Agentic AI-Driven W/ Barri Horn
Art of Procurement
“Now with agentic AI, RFPs are becoming and will become even leaner, and they'll cut to the chase a whole lot faster. There'll be a lot less fluff.” - Barri Horn, Director of Product Marketing for AI for SAP Ariba and SAP Fieldglass' strategic procurement portfolios AI is reshaping the RFP process, but smart procurement leaders know they have to think beyond speed or efficiency drivers and, instead, reimagine the value they deliver. As teams turn to AI to break free from past challenges, the question isn’t if change is coming, but how to capture its advantages while managing risk, trust,...
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851: Reframing Procurement as a Revenue Enabler W/ Sergio Martin
Art of Procurement
“There is a limit on how much you can save, but there is no limit on how much you can make.” - Sergio Martin Procurement is evolving fast. The true differentiator now is how the function can become a partner for growth and resilience. That means reimagining “customer experience” at every touchpoint, not just inside the business, but with suppliers as well. In this episode, procurement advisor and former procurement and supply chain executive Sergio Martin explains what it takes to deliver that value. Sergio shares practical stories from his experience at companies like Burberry and...
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850: Persuasion Is a Procurement Power Skill – When It’s Done Right W/ Martin John
Art of Procurement
“Persuasion is about your intent. If your intent is solely to win at the other person’s expense, that’s manipulation. If you want the other party to also benefit from the conversation, then that’s collaborative, and that’s ethical persuasion.” - Martin John Procurement leaders know that success often depends on more than just negotiating skills or cost models; it demands the ability to influence people at every level. But what does it take to move from presenting facts to truly persuading suppliers, stakeholders, and executives to take action? This is a question that’s more...
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849: Reinventing Direct Procurement in the Digital Age W/ Spencer Penn
Art of Procurement
“Direct materials is the most under-innovated, untouched by modern technology of any spend area.” - Spencer Penn, Co-Founder and CEO, LightSource Direct spend makes up the lion’s share of the procurement budget, but all too often, it’s still managed in spreadsheets and disconnected tools. Today’s volatile supply market and relentless cost pressures demand more. What is holding companies back from real transformation in direct procurement, and where do the smartest teams focus their innovation efforts? In this AOP podcast episode, host Philip Ideson speaks with Spencer Penn,...
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848: Relationship Builder or Robot? Keeping Procurement Human in a Digital Age W/ Brad Keighley
Art of Procurement
“AI has fantastic value when you look at spend analytics, sourcing decisions, and process efficiency, but to replace the infancy stage that allows you to have a relationship with stakeholders, I think, is a mistake.” – Brad Keighley Digitization and automation promise so much for procurement, but what gets lost if we let technology run the show? As organizations scale and regulatory pressure mounts, the ability to connect on a human level can become a procurement superpower. Ignore it, and procurement risks becoming just another system, not a strategic partner. As a multiple-time CPO and...
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847: 2026: A Defining Moment for Procurement
Art of Procurement
“Efficiency should fund the future, not erase the people needed to deliver it.” – Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement 2026 is going to be another year of volatility, but it will also be a year of immense opportunity for procurement pragmatists, the ones who are willing to do the work to build the future rather than just waiting for it to arrive. In a tradition that dates back to 2018, Art of Procurement rings in the new year with Founder and Managing Director Philip Ideson’s Annual Message. Each year’s perspectives are shaped by hundreds of...
info_outlineIn this Phil-Ins episode of “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement,” Philip Ideson, Rich Ham, and Kelly Barner reflect on their conversations with Bayer CPO Thomas Udesen, franchise procurement leader Kristine Morton, and procurement entrepreneur Jason Busch.
Despite differences in scope, scale, and sector, the through-line is unmistakable: common sense.
For example, Thomas showed how Bayer abandoned “pointless” savings metrics in favor of measures that connect directly to business outcomes, while Kristine reminded us that for franchisees, if it doesn’t hit the P&L, it didn’t happen. And Jason revealed how AI employees could finally make real-time validation and continuous monitoring of results possible at scale.
Taken together, these stories underscore procurement’s most pressing challenge: leaving behind the dysfunctional obsession with “claimed savings” and building incentive systems that reward real impact.
Rich, Phil, and Kelly also step back to examine procurement’s sense of alignment (or detachment?) from the wider business. Kelly shares vivid experiences from her own practitioner days, contrasting the urgency of grocery logistics with the abstraction of office supplies. Phil cautions against “procurement blinkers,” reminding us that silos plague every function, not just ours. And Rich argues that measuring against EBITDA – profits, not projections – may finally put procurement “on the pitch” with their teammates.
This recap sets the stage for the next phase of the series: designing incentive structures that actually work. Because if procurement doesn’t align with business value, AI vendors may sell that value straight to the C-suite.
Links:
Rich Ham on LinkedIn
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