Libsyn Directory

EP 07: Procurement as Ecosystem Builder in the Age of AI W/ Saurabh Gupta

Release Date: 05/20/2026

EP 13: Making Sense of the Procuretech Landscape: Practical Insights for CPOs W/ Samir Khushalani

Art of Procurement

“The biggest risk today is not making the wrong AI decision. It is making no decision at all while everyone else is learning.” Samir Khushalani, Senior Advisor, Art of Procurement Procurement leaders now face more technology choices than ever, with new AI-enabled solutions emerging constantly. In this environment, picking the right tools can be overwhelming, and procurement often struggles with knowing where to start, how to avoid analysis paralysis, and ensuring their tech choices drive real business outcomes. In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Samir Khushalani, Art of...

878: Building Procurement as a Strategic Growth Engine W/ Travis Hodge

Art of Procurement

“Procurement’s future is bright, when we continue to do it the right way for the right reasons.” - Travis Hodge, Director of Enterprise Sourcing & Procurement at nVent Procurement is no longer just a back-office function. As business models shift and digital transformation accelerates, procurement leaders face more pressure (and more opportunities) than ever to become true business partners. Supplier experience, strategic talent, and AI-enabled efficiency are fast becoming the new playbook for teams aiming to drive results in hyperscale markets. This episode features Travis...

877: Building Trust for Digital Supply Chain Success W/ Mohit Ahuja

Art of Procurement

“Visibility is not the end goal. The end goal is how does that visibility enable me to make a quick decision.” - Mohit Ahuja, Strategy & Transformation Leader, Caterpillar Business leaders can no longer afford to think about digital procurement as “plug and play.” This is especially true in manufacturing, where the risks of disruption run deep. Legacy systems, change-weary teams, and rapid-fire market shifts all raise the stakes for today’s CPOs. In this episode, Mohit Ahuja, a strategy and transformation leader at Caterpillar, shares what it takes to navigate these challenges....

EP 12: Provider of the Week: Una

Art of Procurement

“It's amazing how you can rise to the top just by doing what you say you're going to do and being honest about what you can't do.” - Anthony Clervi, Managing Partner, Una Procurement teams today are under intense pressure to deliver savings, manage risk, and do more with less… all while digital transformation reshapes the landscape. For many, group purchasing organizations (GPOs) sound good on paper, but open questions about control and fit. What does it take to find a true partner in this space? In this Provider of the Week episode, Anthony Clervi, Managing Partner at Una, joins...

876: AI with Purpose: Designing Procurement's Next Chapter W/ Gaël De Martelaere

Art of Procurement

“If you build AI on top of weak foundations, you're going to have a very broken system.” - Gaël De Martelaere, Chief Procurement Officer, Hexion AI is driving enormous change in procurement, but success relies on more than just new tools. The real challenge is rebuilding the foundations (data, process, and team mindsets) while still delivering results for the business today. In this episode, Gaël De Martelaere, CPO at Hexion, joins Philip Ideson to share how his team is moving beyond traditional procurement and redefining value for both customers and stakeholders. Gaël brings decades of...

875: How to Transform Every Procurement Partnership W/ Kate Vitasek

Art of Procurement

“When you have a great partnership, the value that you can create is unbelievable if you know how to do it.” - Kate Vitasek Despite the best intentions, nearly 70% of business partnerships unravel within three years. Why is it so difficult to build relationships that deliver value, and what are the practical steps procurement leaders can take to break the cycle? Kate Vitasek, pioneering researcher and author of the Vested series of books, joins host Philip Ideson to share hard-won lessons from decades in the field. Her new book, The Vested Way: Five Rules for Achieving the...

EP 11: Provider of the Week: Valdera

Art of Procurement

Chemical procurement’s complexity isn’t news, but the pace of change – and risk – is climbing fast. With AI sweeping through every corner of the business, leaders charged with sourcing chemicals and raw materials have reached a fork in the road: modernize, or fall behind. Dheev Arulmani, COO and co-founder of Valdera, brings deep chemical and consulting experience to this Provider of the Week episode of the ProcureTech Insider podcast. He shares how Valdera’s AI-powered sourcing platform is transforming the end-to-end procurement workflow, empowering both seasoned category managers...

874: Building Resilience Beyond Tier One: Hard Truths About Risk and Visibility W/ Harald Nitschinger

Art of Procurement

“Resilience doesn't mean a supply chain that doesn't see risk. That's impossible. It means setting yourself up to withstand shocks and disruptions.” - Harald Nitschinger, Co-founder and CEO, Prewave Today’s supply chains operate in a world of constant shocks, but the risks that matter most rarely show up on procurement’s tier one dashboard. Often, the real trouble is buried further downstream, so procurement leaders have to redefine how and where resilience is built and risk is monitored. In this episode, host Philip Ideson speaks with Harald Nitschinger, CEO and Co-founder of Prewave....

873: Creating Capacity for Complex Problem Solving W/ Israel Santiesteban

Art of Procurement

“We need to evolve from procurement professionals into business leaders with procurement expertise.” - Israel Santiesteban, Former Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Supply Chain The next evolution of procurement is about so much more than cost savings. With new digital tools and relentless business change, leaders are being asked to deliver value in new ways and, as a result, develop talent for roles that didn’t exist a few years ago. In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Israel Santiesteban, a former CPO and supply chain leader with experience across Danone, Kraft Heinz,...

EP 10: Supplier Management as a Connected Discipline W/ Jesse Lee

Art of Procurement

“If your business is getting bigger, then supplier management is going to be ever more important to you.” - Jesse Lee, Co-founder, CEO of Brooklyn Solutions Procurement’s role in managing suppliers is transforming fast: scope is growing, expectations are higher, and the risks are real. Getting supplier management right is essential to business resilience, especially when the entire organization depends on partners and external providers. In this episode, Brooklyn Solutions CEO Jesse Lee joins ProcureTech Insider host Jyothi Hartley to zero in on today’s big challenges and the practical...

More Episodes

“Procurement has to become an ecosystem builder for the enterprise, because no enterprise can do everything by itself in today’s world.” - Saurabh Gupta

Procurement leaders are feeling the pressure to “be AI-first,” yet most struggle to get past the hype and deliver real business value. With AI reshaping buying categories and challenging process norms, now is the time to rethink procurement’s role.

In this ProcureTech Insider episode, Saurabh Gupta, President of HFS, joins Jyothi Hartley to talk candidly about how AI is forcing procurement to confront old habits and rethink category strategy. Saurabh introduces practical frameworks for CPOs striving to become strategic partners, not just operational gatekeepers. He shares how blending services and software is creating a new buying challenge, and why procurement must finally forge closer ties to business outcomes and work across traditional silos.

In this episode, Saurabh discusses how to:

Pinpoint the “debts” holding procurement back from adopting AI
Build a balanced 4P framework for tracking AI’s value
Prepare for the rise of “services as software” and what it means for category management
Shift the procurement mindset from reactive support to enterprise ecosystem builder

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