The Sourcing Hero - SoundSage

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Supplier diversity programs have been part of procurement’s purview for decades, and they have changed a lot during that time. The categories of supplier ownership have expanded and become better defined, success metrics have narrowed, and initiatives like ESG have altered how companies relate to the program as a whole.

Today, the most notable change to supplier diversity is… the silence.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Lamont Robinson. Lamont is a leading voice on supplier diversity, but that doesn’t mean he’s hesitant to reexamine and reimagine everything about the practice.

Lamont envisions supplier diversity programs that are both business-driven and legally defensible for long term impact:

Why an over-reliance on spend as a performance metric has skewed the impact of supplier diversity programs and even held them back
Whether the many categories of ‘diverse’ suppliers can (or should) be managed in the same way or whether they require a more varied approach
Practical advice for diversity-minded procurement professionals, whether they own their company’s program or not
Why he feels optimistic for the future of supplier diversity

Links:

Lamont Robinson on LinkedIn

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The mind-blowing potential of AI, either in LLM form or embedded in a SaaS solution, is so impressive that it would be easy to overlook the risks. Some of these risks come in the form of data security, but others linger in signed contracts that contain very real (but seemingly harmless) terms that change in importance as the technology evolves.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Wendy Storino. Wendy is a seasoned procurement leader with nearly two decades of experience in technology sourcing and supplier strategy. She has taken it upon herself to better understand the contract terms that procurement needs to understand to manage risk and cost in the age of AI.

Wendy discusses some of the things procurement needs to know about AI-related contracts:

The challenges resulting from the rapid rate of AI/tech development
Whether the addition (or the embedding) of AI changes the associated liability
Why procurement (not to mention legal and IT) have a greater opportunity to learn across their contracts rather than focusing on one at a time

Links:

Wendy Storino on LinkedIn

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There are some categories of spend that we all interact with differently because of the way they affect us as consumers. Packaging is a prime example of this. The level of strategy and effort invested in every choice make these buying decisions and supplier partnerships fascinating to study.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Bhavuk Chawla. Bhavuk has a Master’s degree in packaging technology, and has worked in either packaging development or packaging procurement for almost two decades.

Bhavuk shares his in depth experience with packaging from the cost, brand, and supply chain points of view:

-How packaging choices enhance the consumer experience

-Considerations (including tradeoffs) that have to be managed in the buying process

-Balancing internal priorities and objectives with new supplier ideas and innovations

-Increasing supplier (or supply chain) resilience through packaging sourcing decisions

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If a company doesn’t know exactly what they are buying and about who they are buying it from, there is a good chance that their supply chain is riskier than they realize. The same lack of transparency creating that risk, also creates the conditions that allow forced labor and modern slavery to exist.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Justin Dillon. Justin is the Founder and CEO of FRDM AI, a solution that helps companies map their supply chain, isolate risks, and access risk mitigation tools. Justin first encountered the realities of modern slavery during his first career as a musician, progressing into documentaries on the subject, and finally getting more directly involved in solving the problem itself.

Justin talks about the effort associated with identifying risks that could hurt a business or that could hurt the world at large:

Why it is such a challenge for companies to get (and keep) visibility into their supply chains
What he sees as replacing the supplier audits and questionnaires that procurement has always used to manage risk
Why intelligence is more valuable and actionable than data
Making a solid business case for mapping a supply chain, and why that is more effective that altruism

Links:

Justin Dillon on LinkedIn

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“We always want to go about it from a consolidated approach so long as the business, the organization, whoever we're working with, is open to that. That is normally my biggest piece of advice, because it really does make the procurement process as a whole for the organization much easier. It's going to make the savings grow a lot faster.”

Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) are known for their ability to provide access to beneficial ready-to-go contracts and pricing, but they can also be a source of market intelligence for their members, sharing the most relevant insights from suppliers with companies trying to manage a whole range of spend categories.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Marissa Muzik. Is the Director of Sales and Member Success at Una, where she is focused on maintaining a tight and seamless process from start to finish with all of their new members.

Marissa shares her perspective on the Una member experience, and how she and her team go about helping those members continue to manage spend and suppliers:

The consultative and change management elements that Una’s customer success team provides as part of every member relationship
Expectations for supplier or contract transition timelines that meet the ongoing business needs of buy-side companies
How she explains the value proposition associated with having a GPO involved in procurement’s options

Links:

Marissa Muzik on LinkedIn

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As procurement looks toward 2035, leaders will have to face deeper transformation requirements than simply adding AI tools. They will have to rethink their operating models, talent, data, and decision-making. Uncomfortable though it might be, this will be essential if the function is to move from transactional purchasing to strategic value creation.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes David Loseby. David is a former CPO, a speaker, an author, a “pracademic”, an advocate, and the editor of two very well regarded journals: The Journal of Public Procurement and the Journal of Responsible Production and Consumption.

David shares and discusses some of the key points from his recent article on procurement leadership in 2035:

How the role of Chief Procurement Officer will differ from today’s version of the job
How procurement leaders should think about AI as part of their operating model rather than just a tool layered on top of existing processes
The new skills and mindsets procurement teams will need to succeed in an AI-enabled environment

Links:

David Loseby on LinkedIn
Procurement Leadership in 2035… and why just adding a bit of AI won’t do

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“If we can help you either validate that you're already saving enough money or help you find another way to do it, then we're happy to do that.”

Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) help companies save money by pooling buying power to secure better pricing and terms than the individual businesses could achieve alone, but that doesn’t mean savings is the only form of benefit.

GPOs also simplify supplier management, provide much-needed operational support, and help companies either validate or improve their current spending habits.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Michael Rodenberg. Michael is a Member Engagement Specialist at Una, so he regularly has the opportunity to walk members through all of the benefits associated with the GPO model.

Michael talks about what he has learned, heard, and seen in his time working with the members at Una:

How GPOs create savings through collective buying power
Why “no cost” is not the same thing as “no value”
How GPOs simplify procurement beyond just savings

Links:

Michael Rodenberg on LinkedIn

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Procurement is always looking for ways to increase their efficiency, freeing up more time to invest in strategy and relationship building. Although AI holds a lot of promise on that front, not all teams are sure quite where to apply it.

Interestingly, supplier negotiation preparation - one of procurement’s core competencies - may provide just the use case they are looking for.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Nithin Mummaneni. Nithin is the Founder and CEO of Infinity Loop, a SaaS platform that supports procurement with supplier negotiations by automating deal reviews, uncovering negotiation opportunities, and driving cost savings.

Nithin talks about how AI can supplement rather than replace procurement’s efforts to prepare for supplier negotiations:

How procurement teams are capturing and reporting on the ROI from AI investments
The culture shift he sees in organizations where procurement is developing more expertise in house and relying less on external consultants
What he has seen in terms of the expansion of procurement’s relationships and influence internally, once they have the time to focus on strategic v. tactical work

Links:

Nithin Mummaneni on LinkedIn

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Although most procurement professionals are familiar with group purchasing organizations (GPOs), they may not have experience working with one. That can leave them wondering about adding complexity, and - most of all - what the ‘catch’ is.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Clay Kopp. Clay is an Account Executive at Una, and this conversation is part of an ongoing series focused on the members of the Una team.

Clay's background is in the fast‑paced world of transportation and logistics sales, and he now sits on the front lines of inbound and outbound GPO conversations.

Clay shares what he has learned about procurement and GPOs from buy side members and supplier partners:

How he walks people through Una’s “free to the member” model
Different levels of procurement maturity and how that changes the way they approach or incorporate a GPO
Real life examples of how Una has been able to help procurement teams increase their impact

Links:

Clay Kopp on LinkedIn

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While many organizations are adopting AI tools, fewer fully trust their outputs, particularly when financial accountability is at stake. Procurement professionals that have spent their careers learning the importance of transparency, governance, and focused use cases for digital investment, understandably find themselves feeling a bit skeptical about the ‘shiny’ promises made by AI-enabled solutions (let alone the answers those solutions offer).

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chad Gaydos. Chad is the CEO of Procurify, an AI-enhanced procurement and AP automation platform created for the mid-market.

Chad shares his perspective on why this moment in digital procurement is so unique:

The process and workflow related opportunities for procurement to simplify and streamline without sacrificing impact
Why having specific use cases and pre-defined business outcomes are essential before implementing AI-enabled technology
What will determine the ‘winners’ versus the ‘losers’ in the race to get ready for the next phase of digital progress

Links:

Chad Gaydos on LinkedIn

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Large companies want to work with small and medium-sized suppliers to benefit from their scrappy, innovative spirit. Small companies want to work with large enterprises so they can develop the processes and systems required to grow… that and for the sake of revenue stability.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Bronwyn Reid. Bronwyn is the Founder of Small Company, Big Business, where she helps small to medium-sized enterprises translate how large organizations think, procure, and assess risk into practical actions that SMEs can execute.

Bronwyn shares her experience working on both ends of the large supplier - small supplier continuum to address:

Why large enterprises and small to medium-sized businesses struggle to get along
The communications and understanding best practices that can help them both
The incentives that exist for small suppliers and large companies to ’get it right’ by working together more effectively

Links:

Bronwyn Reid on LinkedIn

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Supplier due diligence is one of the most important and impactful activities that procurement leads. Managing risk and ensuring visibility into supplier commitments on sustainability-related business objectives requires constant involvement and careful oversight. These programs depend upon senior-level commitment, but they must also be flexible enough to work across complex, decentralized organizations, and to allow different stakeholder groups inside and outside of the organization to participate.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dru Krupinsky. Dru is a Senior Manager in procurement at Gilead Sciences. More specifically, he is focused on supplier risk and sustainability, initiatives that all companies are (or should be) increasingly focused on today.

Dru shares his perspective on the conditions required for successful and sustainable supplier relationships:

Recommendations for effective ownership and accountability structures
The importance of focusing on the quality and accessibility of data
Partnership with key suppliers to manage risk and sustainability jointly

Links:

Dru Krupinsky on LinkedIn

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Supply chain transformation isn’t easy. Statistics suggest that 70 percent of all transformations fail and 88 percent stop short of achieving their original objectives.

Compare that to another kind of challenge - like climbing to Everest Base Camp, where 60-70 percent of all people who start the journey make it to the top. Could this possibly mean that climbing Mount Everest is easier than transformation?

No, says this episode’s guest - but we can take a lot of lessons from why the Mount Everest success rate is higher. For one thing, climbers respect the challenge from their first moment of planning to reach the summit.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ketul Patel. Ketul is the President of OMIIA Consulting, where he leverages his 30+ years in supply chain to help companies balance strategic intent and operational execution in pursuit of sustainable business success. Ketul is also the author of a newly published book, A Journey of Elevation: Lessons for Business Transformation from Everest Base Camp.

Ketul compares the challenges of extreme climbing and supply chain transformation to offer advice about:

Accepting that progress is not a straight line, and everyone has to agree on a shared definition of success
How to overcome the inevitable obstacles that sit between, “Let’s do this,” and “We did it!”
Why the decision to turn back or change plans should never be seen as failure - or as a matter of ego

Links:

Ketul Patel on LinkedIn

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Procurement may just be one of the most social functions in the company. Not only does the team have to interact successfully with the executive team, budget holders, other stakeholders, and suppliers, but they must do so without having authority over any of them. Their relational skills - including communication, negotiation, and influencing - are constantly being put to the test.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Matthieu Garnier. Mattheu has extensive procurement experience, including in the automotive industry, where the results of a negotiation or a relationship are felt long into the future.

Matthieu shares his personal philosophy on the humanity of procurement, and why that will make all the difference as the world of business becomes increasingly AI-driven:

The value of investing in a professional community
Why procurement needs to develop their listening skills just as much as their communication and negotiation skills
How to balance being relational with being tough, as circumstances require
Procurement’s opportunity to ‘shine a light’ in the grey spaces that every company must travel through

Links:

Matthieu Garnier on LinkedIn

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The range of skills and talent procurement professionals need in order to be successful is dizzying, but that also means that they end up being prime candidates for other roles. As procurement professionals deliberately build and add to those skills, they both increase their individual career trajectories and also increase the impact and output of the function.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Pamela Gerber. Pamela is a senior procurement executive with a long track record of working in sourcing and procurement roles across industries. That experience has given her many opportunities to form a perspective on the importance of investing in procurement talent.

Pamela shares extensively with her own personal experience in procurement to offer insight into and recommendations about:

Why it is so hard to establish a talent foundation in procurement
How procurement can build the influence and seniority that will open doors to bigger opportunities
The importance of being willing to seize unexpected opportunities as they present themselves
Whether she sees a trend of people ‘falling out’ of procurement and if she considers that a good thing or a bad thing

Links:

Pamela Gerber on LinkedIn

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There was a time when the only objective procurement had to satisfy was saving the company money, and the only way to do that was to negotiate tough with suppliers. Today, however, the business’s expectations are much greater - a shift that is raising the bar for procurement professionals in all industries and across categories of spend.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Philip Ideson, Founder and Managing Director at Art of Procurement. They take the opportunity to discuss one of the broader themes we are hearing about in procurement today, and that is procurement skill sets and their connection to business outcomes.

Phil speaks from his own experience as a procurement professional and as someone covering the space through this major shift:

The most important skill procurement can employ while trying to save money and also support the overall business
How changes in the procurement operating model and tech stack are affecting the skills needed on the team
Differences in category strategy and stakeholder groups and how those (should) impact procurement’s approach

Links:

Philip Ideson on LinkedIn

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While the options available to consumers may make payments seem simple, the underlying complexity is enough to make small to mid-sized business owners’ heads spin. Selecting the right payments provider can set a small business up for success - by allowing them to do what they do best.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Brian Goudie. Brian is the Executive Chairman at Aurora Payments. By providing secure payments solutions, Aurora has built a portfolio of more than 29,000 small and medium-sized merchants that process $12 billion annually. Brian is also a small business owner himself, so he understands the business challenges his clients are facing first hand.

Brian pulls back the curtain on payments and shares expertise build up over 30 years in the payments space:

How the payment platform has changed, from increased investment and sophistication to the lasting impact of COVID
What small to mid-sized businesses should look for in a payments provider
What makes payments so complex for businesses to manage

Links:

Brian Goudie on LinkedIn

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How we think about inclusivity in today’s workforce has a lot to do with how we view diversity. The strongest, most resilient teams take the best characteristics, experiences, and approaches that each individual member has to offer, shine a light on those qualities, and then weave them together into an unbreakable fabric.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Andrés Tapia.

Andrés is one of the authors of the book The 5 Disciplines of Inclusive Teams: Unlocking Collective Power to Achieve Breakthrough. Andrés was a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry for 12 years and now leads the Andrés Tapia strategy group.

Andrés speaks about the power of inclusivity and the benefits of teams that continue to grow individually and collectively:

Big picture ways to think about being inclusive in the modern workplace
What it takes to go from a collection of talented people to a truly inclusive team
How every team can become more inclusive than they already are

Links:

Andrés Tapia on LinkedIn

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It is common for business strategy discussions to start with a definition of ‘Why?’ This makes it easier for leadership teams to formalize and articulate the reasons behind a set of decisions, and to share that vision with the rest of the company. As hard as it is to define a shared ‘Why?’ pairing that with an effective ‘How?’ may be even harder.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Tara Milburn. Tara is the President and CEO at Ethical Swag, a Certified B Corp and the leading on-line distributor of sustainably sourced promotional products in North America.

Tara speaks about how she and her team combine their ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ across everything they do:

The ‘North Star’ that guides the company from the top, but also by empowering each employee to keep the team on track
How digital advancement is creating opportunities for companies to align with change in families and communities
What “meaningful work” looks like in practice, and the benefits of creating these kinds fo opportunities

Links:

Tara Milburn on LinkedIn

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The discussion about how much technical category knowledge procurement should have is ongoing - and the right answer depends a lot on the company in question. When close collaboration is needed between procurement, R&D, and suppliers, technical expertise is a must, but so are humility and curiosity.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chuck Shehadi. Chuck is the COO at Solugen, a chemical manufacturing company based in Houston, Texas. When it comes to the skills required to be considered a talented procurement professional in his world, that means technical - highly technical - and with the right level of category specialization.

In this interview, Chuck talks about the unique backgrounds he and his team have and how they put them to work:

Why former engineers and PhDs would choose to pursue a career in procurement
How they balance having that knowledge with the experience brought by R&D and suppliers
His advice for someone in procurement looking to become more technically proficient or someone in engineering that might want to step into procurement

Links:

Chuck Shehadi on LinkedIn

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On April 28, 2025, most of Spain, Portugal, and the south of France lost power for a day. Everything instantly ground to a halt: transportation, airports, ATMs, hospitals, cell phones, traffic lights, etc., and while this was a rare event for an area roughly the size of the state of Texas, it was catastrophic for everyone affected.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Vice President and Senior Director at Una, for a monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly discuss the power outage:

The most popular speculations about how and why the outage occurred, and what those theories tell us about people’s mindset
Lessons the rest of the world can learn about the risks to nations, governments, families, and energy infrastructure
Silver linings that may show themselves under difficult circumstances like these

Links:

Under Armour, Unless partner on plant-based sportswear collection
Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to Una’s Procurement Newsletter, “The Sidekick”
Episode 212: Trying Regenerative Sportswear on for Size
Episode 208: All Cracked Up - Understanding Today’s Egg Prices
Episode 204: Hot Times in the Arctic Circle
Episode 200: Fostering the Conditions That Lead to Success

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For most procurement professionals, the only contact they have with finance is when their savings projections are being audited or approved for internal communication. Those are hardly the circumstances under which collaborative relationships form - but that doesn’t have to be the extent of their contact.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mark Gilham. Mark is the Vice President and Head of the Enable Advisory practice. Most of his past positions have been strategic finance and accounting roles, allowing him to develop a first hand perspective that can certainly help procurement teams today.

In this interview, Mark talks about the opportunity that exists for finance and procurement teams who can work together:

What it looks like when finance takes a broader, more commercially-minded perspective
Forms of value beyond savings that finance can help procurement make the business case for achieving
The number one thing procurement should never (ever) do to finance

Links:

Mark Gilham on LinkedIn

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Procurement is the kind of job where success is largely fueled by the strength of your relationships. Having trust and respect between procurement and the business, as well as between procurement and suppliers, can often make or break an effort. But it all starts with the team dynamic that exists within procurement.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dr. Cindie Burkett. Cindie is the Vice President of Procurement for Specialty Dental Brands where she is busy building out her procurement team and forging relationships with suppliers for the good of the organization.

Cindie shares her point of view on relationships, and why they are so critical to business success:

Healthy ways individuals can process their mistakes in a way that everyone benefits
Why having close relationships with suppliers doesn’t reduce procurement’s leverage at renegotiation time or when there are performance issues
How procurement can resolve perception-based issues that the business has with a supplier’s performance

Links:

Dr. Cindie Burkett on LinkedIn

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Procurement has come a long way over the last few decades, but the fact that they always want to achieve more shouldn’t lead them to discount or overlook how good they have it today. Whether that means the quality of supplier relationships, the speed of spend analytics, or the regard they enjoy from stakeholders, there is a lot to be grateful for.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes John Latham. John has a really interesting mix of experience - deep category expertise on the buy side of the procurement process, but also business development and account management roles as well.

In this interview, John shares lessons from his many years working in and around procurement:

Why today’s procurement professionals should appreciate the digital support they may take for granted
Knowing when it is valuable to have category expertise in house and when it is not necessary
What procurement and sales professionals should both remember about the objectives they share

Links:

John Latham on LinkedIn

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Activewear company Under Armour unveiled a line of regenerative sportswear at Milan Fashion Week in 2025. This is their first collaboration with recent acquisition Unless Collective, a producer of zero-plastic, plant-based fashion.

The effort to remove non-degradable textiles from landfills is admirable, but will it work?

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about Under Armour’s decision to experiment with plant-based clothing:

Consumer first impressions to new innovations, and how the best of intentions don’t always work as planned
Being aspirational about brand identity, while staying firmly rooted in reality
How we can ensure space for experimentation, suspending disbelief long enough to allow new ideas an opportunity to prove themselves

Links:

Under Armour, Unless partner on plant-based sportswear collection

Kris Lance on LinkedIn

Subscribe to Una’s Procurement Newsletter, “The Sidekick”

Episode 208: All Cracked Up - Understanding Today’s Egg Prices

Episode 204: Hot Times in the Arctic Circle

Episode 200: Fostering the Conditions That Lead to Success

Episode 196: The Best of Kris Lance in 2024

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What would it feel like if all of the tasks, meetings, obligations, and pressures of work were suddenly… gone? Would it be a relief or would the stress associated with making the decision to step away from work be so strong that it ruined your newfound freedom?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Vytas Sliesoraitis. Vytas is a career procurement professional with experience at companies like Intel, Google, Epic Games, and Gilead Sciences. That said, it is the time he has spent away from the office, taking a deliberate sabbatical, that has taught him the true value of time.

In this interview, Vytas shares some of the details of his sabbatical experience:

How he structured his time, balancing family, professional development, and Ironman training
What he learned about himself during this period
How it has changed his outlook now that he has returned to the professional world

Links:

Vytas Sliesoraitis on LinkedIn

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A career is a heck of a thing to manage - especially when it is your own. You change with each phase of growth and new experience, and your job prospects change as well. The better you know yourself and what makes you happy - yes, HAPPY - at work, the more successful you will be in your next endeavor.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Gale Daikoku. In addition to having deep experience in the procurement space and the global influencer marketing space, Gale is a highly professional networker. She is constantly commenting on other people’s content and always knows someone else to pull in on the topic.

Gale shares what she has learned by managing the twists and turns of her own professional journey:

What you need to know about yourself
Taking a big picture view of compensation
Why relationships are one of the most important parts of any job

Links:

Gale Daikoku on LinkedIn

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While procurement often thinks about purchase price as equal to cost, some purchases come with a longer term cost to own and maintain. Being able to understand the concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) and factor that into sourcing and award decisions will ultimately determine whether procurement’s negotiated savings reach the bottom line or evaporate into costs for waste, downtime, and maintenance.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Louis Bastone. Louis is the Senior Indirect Procurement Category Manager - Real Estate and Facilities at ASML. After holding sourcing specialist and manager roles in the pharmaceutical industry, Louis made the jump to manufacturing where he works to drive cost savings and improve strategic processes within construction, site services, and utilities categories.

Louis shares his experience with TCO management:

The role that specifications play in reducing total cost
How to win stakeholders over to the variability associated with individual supplier innovations
Which categories best lend themselves to a first-time TCO-driven sourcing project

Links:

Louis Bastone on LinkedIn

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Could how you think - about yourself - change the way you experience the world around you?

We all have past experiences that we carry with us, often for life. Those experiences and how we process them not only become a part of who we are, they influence how we process later events and circumstances.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ryan Christensen. Ryan is a professional hypnotist specializing in peak mental focus and performance. After 23 years of experience in the intelligence community, he’s now worked with hundreds of high-achievers and neurodivergent professionals to radically transform their mindset and shift their subconscious beliefs towards inevitable success.

In this interview, Ryan talks about his own experiences dealing with emotion and how he now helps others do the same:

Why many ‘healing methodologies’ fail to reach below the surface
Why emotions can be so challenging to process
Changing how we relate to our own emotions and becoming our best selves

Links:

Ryan Christensen on LinkedIn

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Hard boiled. Over medium. Scrambled. Poached. Deviled. There are lots of ways to enjoy eggs, one of the most popular and least expensive sources of healthy protein available, but lately there has been only one way to describe them: expensive.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about gradual rise and sudden fall of egg prices in America:

What factors have contributed to the high and rising cost of eggs over the last few years
Whether we are starting to see signs that those costs - and prices - are on their way back down
Why procurement and supply chain professionals are uniquely positioned to be rational about supply shocks and the impact they have on consumers

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to Una’s Procurement Newsletter, “The Sidekick”
Episode 204: Hot Times in the Arctic Circle
Episode 200: Fostering the Conditions That Lead to Success
Episode 196: The Best of Kris Lance in 2024
Episode 192: The Surging Power of the Podcast Format

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We all know that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, but it is easy to forget how intimidating those first few feet can be. Whether procurement is focused on strengthening their core skills or pushing for larger scale impact, it is essential for everyone to be aligned in their thinking, to leverage their strengths, and to know where the journey is expected to end.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Priya Kumari. Priya is a manager at Kearney where she specializes in strategic operations, sustainability, and innovation. Her experience in consulting gives her a broad perspective on the importance of performance transformation, operating model design, and change management.

Priya speaks about the many opportunities procurement has to increase their impact:

Where the boldest leaders and decision makers find the inspiration for their ideas
How procurement can balance ‘big bold’ aspirations with table stakes efforts
What separates companies that struggle with procurement transformation from those who succeed

Links:

Priya Kumari on LinkedIn

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Most procurement professionals will acknowledge that supplier relationship management (SRM) is a core part of value creation and risk management, but how many organizations are effectively carrying SRM out at scale to the benefit of their company and their suppliers?

Not as many as would like to be successful at supplier relationship management.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Celia SGAR. Celia is the co-founder of Vendor Score IT, a solution based on the premise that procurement can and should improve the way they manage supplier relationships and performance.

In this interview, Celia speaks about what she has learned by specializing in SRM:

Why it is such a challenge for procurement teams to execute successful SRM at scale
The levels of governance that are necessary to make sure SRM works for the business and suppliers over time
The roles procurement may play - or share with other parts of the business - in strengthening supplier relationships

Links:

Celia SGAR on LinkedIn

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Imagine a group of people is having lunch on the deck of a ship, and that ship is sailing into a storm. Along comes a waiter with a tray of drinks, and that waiter is riding… a monocycle. Even as the seas start to rise and the wind blows, the tray can’t be allowed to fall.

That waiter… is procurement.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Richard Beaumont. Richard is the Founder of Eruditic, a professional training and coaching organization, and the co-host of "The Procurement & Finance Coffee Break" on YouTube.

In this interview, Richard shares why he’d rather be on the monocycle than at the table any day, but especially in a storm:

The influence procurement holds even without being the ones to decide which suppliers are selected for contract
How quantitative decision making can help procurement support initiatives like ESG that might otherwise fall victim to ‘altruist’ short term rationales
Why it takes so much courage to work - and be successful - in procurement

Links:

Richard Beaumont on LinkedIn

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One minute you’re going about your business, and the next minute all of the news headlines are focused on the Arctic Circle. What may initially seem like overblown geopolitical drama and hyperbole quickly comes into sharp focus with just a bit of reading: especially where ocean trade routes are concerned.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about the sudden interest (and intensity) focused on the Arctic Circle:

The global players in this region and what their interests are
How it directly touches on our ever-evolving supply routes and sources of key materials
Other topics and areas of concern that might be just beyond the common consciousness, but could be tomorrow’s breaking news

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to Una’s Procurement Newsletter, “The Sidekick”
Episode 200: Fostering the Conditions That Lead to Success
Episode 196: The Best of Kris Lance in 2024
Episode 192: The Surging Power of the Podcast Format with Kris Lance
Episode 189: The Calm? After the Storms feat. Kris Lance

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Regardless of the industry you work in, deciding which third parties to work with requires strategic trade-offs, such as choosing between cost, quality, and lead time. Procurement and sourcing professionals play a critical role helping decision makers discuss and rank those variables and then use them to select and contract with suppliers.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Eric Westerduin. Eric is the Founder and Chief Problem Solver at GO Get Made, a global sourcing and manufacturing company that specializes in helping businesses optimize their supply chains and scale efficiently with the help of overseas partners.

In this interview, Eric and Kelly discuss:

The importance of ‘stress testing’ the specifications and requirements shared with suppliers who will participate in a bid process
How cultural norms and expectations can affect the outcomes associated with global manufacturing
Procurement’s role as the ‘go between’ in conversations with business decision makers and current/prospective suppliers

Links:

Eric Westerduin on LinkedIn

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Polyglot - noun. A person who knows and is able to use several languages.

The spoken or written word can divide people as easily as it can unify them - even when they are speaking the same language. Terminology, shorthand, and acronyms may be convenient or efficient, but when they get in the way or fail to communicate the desired meaning, they aren’t doing us any favors.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Bennett Glace. Bennett has held a number of content marketing and communications roles, both inside and outside of procurement, and each one has given him the opportunity to see new ways that humans connect - or don’t - based on medium and message.

In this interview, Bennett embraces his inner ‘polyglot’ to help procurement build stronger relationships:

How using a common language can increase the likelihood that others will be willing to collaborate
The trouble that can be caused when colleagues have a negative past perception of procurement
The mindset shift procurement might need to undergo to start projecting a more optimistic and open-door ‘brand’

Links:

Bennett Glace on LinkedIn

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Depending on your point of view, the idea of transformation is either alluring or terrifying - or maybe a little bit of both? And while procurement teams rarely have the formal skillset to lead transformation projects, they are often tasked with just that. Fortunately, with a bit of planning and some well asked questions, it is possible to keep your transformation on track.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ron Crabtree. Ron is the CEO of MetaOps and MetaExperts, organizations focused on business process improvement. He has over 30 years of experience implementing Lean, Six Sigma, and supply chain methodologies in industries from automotive and healthcare to government and financial services.

In this interview, Ron shares his point of view on:

The knowledge and skills procurement professionals should be building to support their ability to lead transformation
What sets transformational procurement leaders and executives apart from the rest
How to spot (or prevent!) the warning signs that your transformation project is headed for trouble

Links:

Ron Crabtree on LinkedIn

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The vast majority of podcasts fizzle out before they reach 10 episodes, so making it past that point is a real achievement. 100 episodes is seen as a tipping point, both for the host and the audience. But 200? That puts a show above the crowd.

In this very special 200th episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Anthony Clervi, Principal Owner at Una, and Kris Lance, Vice President and General Manager at Una, to mark this milestone with an in-studio conversation.

Listen to - or watch - their conversation to hear about:

The connections they see between content creation, community building, and value generation
How to understand your own perspective on risk before trying to make high stakes decisions as a team
Anthony and Kris’s ‘Why’ and how that connection to their personal and professional focus

Links:

Anthony Clervi on LinkedIn
Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to The Sidekick, Una’s Procurement Newsletter

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Companies - and their procurement teams - are always looking for opportunities to differentiate. These opportunities take many forms, but few appeal to leadership, shareholders, customers, and the supplier community as universally as social procurement. Of course, that broad appeal brings systemic challenges with it that procurement will have to be prepared to overcome.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jaime H. Paiva. Jaime is the Head of Procurement and Vendor Management at Zurich, an insurance company that covers both global and local markets. We met through Colin Downie, a previous guest of The Sourcing Hero podcast.

In this interview, Jaime shares his advice about:

How the industry a company is in should shape their approach to social procurement
Defining what constitutes a “social enterprise” when evaluating suppliers
How companies new to the social procurement space can start their own journey

Links:

Jaime H. Paiva on LinkedIn

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Procurement is a function whose time has arrived. The question is whether they are ready to make the changes necessary to seize the opportunity and meet business-wide expectations for process and experience at the same time.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Peter Sharoff. Peter has executive-level experience in a number of functional areas, including transformation, integration, finance, and… of course… procurement. As he describes it, he has worked a ‘puzzle piece’ career, having the opportunity to see what each of the pieces of the business is capable of - and the image they can form if they work together.

In this interview, Peter speaks about:

How procurement leaders can separate important or fundamental procurement skills from the skills that are truly transformative
How procurement can ‘create a space’ that other functional leaders and decision makers want to step into
Advice for capturing and messaging the ROI of having a better procurement user experience
Healthy ways for procurement to pursue and think about their own importance

Links:

Peter Sharoff on LinkedIn

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Working for a large ‘household name’ company has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side are the established processes, time-tested pathways that keep everything rolling. At the same time, these same processes can be a bit restrictive. Fortunately for procurement, striking a balance of structure and creativity can create the perfect environment for innovation at scale.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Karen Betancourt. Karen is the CEO of Vanguard Medical Logistics, a company that supports the manufacturing, storage, and transportation needs of medical supply chains in Central and South America.

In this interview, Karen talks about her experience working in large companies and the opportunity that exists for procurement teams:

How procurement’s line of reporting can affect their impact
Her advice for anyone looking to make connections and grow their influence
Ways to invest in culture, and the power associated with that kind of opportunity

Links:

Karen Betancourt on LinkedIn
Business Casuals podcast on YouTube
Business Casuals podcast on Spotify

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As listeners know well, the goal of The Sourcing Hero podcast is to capture the epic stories of people who are rising up and beating the odds to create exceptional value within procurement directly from those heroes themselves.

Kris Lance is definitely one of those people. Kris is the Vice President and General Manager at Una, and for the last few years, he has occupied a monthly spot on The Sourcing Hero podcast schedule, discussing current news stories, trends, and supply chain issues.

In today’s very first episode of 2025, Kelly Barner take a look back at three of Kris’s most popular episodes last year, sharing a short clip from each of the three episodes.

In this you will hear about:

How the surging power of the podcast medium is driving business impact
How to fight off professional inertia and fatigue to find joy in your work
The launch of “The Sidekick,” a thought-provoking must-read for supply chain and procurement professionals

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
The Surging Power of the Podcast Format with Kris Lance
Fighting Off the Impact of Slow Onset Inertia with Kris Lance
The Sourcing Hero Gets a Sidekick with Kris Lance

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As we approach the end of the year - not to mention the holiday season - many of us will be taking time to stop and reflect. Was the year gone by what we expected? What hopes, wishes, and aspirations will we step into the new year holding high?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Vice President and General Manager at Una, for a monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly reflect on the need to be purposeful in this ‘Golden Hour’ between 2024 and 2025:

What business leaders should be focused on doing at this time of year
Striking a balance between sentimentality and professionalism in the workplace
Positioning ourselves for success in what promises to be a very different new year

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 192: The Surging Power of the Podcast Format with Kris Lance
Episode 189: The Calm? After the Storms feat. Kris Lance
Episode 184: Speculating About a 2024 October Surprise with Kris Lance
Episode 180: Metacognition - Thinking About Thinking with Kris Lance

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The goal of The Sourcing Hero Podcast is to capture the epic stories of people who are rising up and beating the odds to create exceptional value within procurement - directly from those heroes themselves.

Over the last 12 months, we’ve heard from some of the most innovative minds in procurement and beyond to explore topics that range from cutting-edge optimization strategies to deeply personal journeys of purpose and passion.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Kelly Barner takes a look back at the most downloaded episodes of 2024 - wrapping the year by celebrating the interviews that resonated most with you.

No spoiler alerts… but listen in to hear excerpts of episodes about:

Finding purpose in life, and achieving it through balance
The power of storytelling in procurement
A humorous take on procurement’s past - and future - reputation
And more!

Links:

Episode 151: What You Don’t Know About Shipping Can Hurt You with Nick DiNatale

Episode 153: Finding Purpose in Procurement and in Life with Paul Nilsen

Episode 157: Telling a Compelling Procurement Story with Alex Ball

Episode 146: Calling all Solution Enthusiasts! With A’Keela Johnson

Episode 148: Optimization of Procurement in the Automotive Industry with Robert Čačković

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Lots of organizations want to ‘do good’ through environmental programs, social programs, or both. But scaling those programs and making them truly successful on a commercial level requires a different level of strategic planning - especially when the impact and the opportunity are global.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Michael Amos. Michael is the Managing Director of Waste to Wonder Worldwide, an organization with a unique origin story that has been able to deliver amazing results over the last two decades.

In this interview, Michael speaks about:

Waste to Wonder Worldwide’s mission to turn unwanted office furniture into an opportunity for education across the world
How they went from a single set of circumstances to large scale impact with the help of a bit of serendipity
Some of the stories that illustrate the meaning of their massive impact on a personal level

Links:

Michael Amos on LinkedIn

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Canadian media studies philosopher Marshall McLuhan rose to prominence in the 1960s when he declared, “The Medium is the message.” For McLuhan, it was the medium itself that shaped and controlled "the scale and form of human association and action." We saw this dynamic in full force this year, with podcasts rising to the top of the media landscape during the 2024 presidential election cycle.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about why podcasts are so powerful and what their popularity may suggest about today’s content preferences:

The advantages podcasting has over traditional media formats and channels
What he has learned about podcasting as a monthly guest on The Sourcing Hero for two and a half years
His advice for anyone considering appearing as a guest on a podcast for the very first time

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 189: The Calm? After the Storms feat. Kris Lance
Episode 184: Speculating About a 2024 October Surprise with Kris Lance
Episode 180: Metacognition - Thinking About Thinking with Kris Lance
Episode 176: Fighting off the Impact of Slow Onset Inertia with Kris Lance

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Continuous improvement is as desirable as any other strategic business objective, but making it happen, or - better still - starting an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement is the ultimate goal. If procurement wants to be part of that positive cycle, they have to collaborate with, listen to, and communicate effectively with the business.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jonathan Gardner. Jonathan has worked in supply chain, sourcing, and procurement at a number of well-known companies, including Starbucks, GM, and Dell. Today, he is using that combined experience to help other procurement leaders and teams (as well as suppliers) maximize the value created through every contract and supply relationship.

In this interview, Jonathan speaks about:

The intersection of procurement culture and corporate culture
What to emphasize when having conversations about procurement-driven continuous improvement
The due diligence procurement needs to do before documenting category strategy or making recommendations to the business
How procurement can figure out what is a top priority and assign their resources accordingly

Links:

Jonathan Gardner on LinkedIn

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“I’m having an issue with one of my suppliers.”

That is how many conversations begin between procurement and the business. While a problem has been recognized, and the business knows it needs to be resolved, they can’t risk their day-to-day relationship with that supplier.

Enter their friends in procurement.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Joseph Scull. Joseph has deep experience managing functions like real estate, operations, and procurement - and sometimes all three at once - at the enterprise level.

In this interview, Joseph speaks about:

How process, direct contact, and results shape internal perceptions of procurement
Using budgets to incentivize decision makers to work with procurement
When the business is most likely to seek out procurement’s help, and how procurement can turn that into added value

Links:

Joseph Scull on LinkedIn

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On September 26th, Hurricane Helene hit Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Hurricane Milton hit Florida less than two weeks later. The stories coming from these states are shocking, devastating, and inspiring - all at the same time.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about the lessons we can learn from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton:

Preparation: Could other steps have helped people or businesses stay safe and whole?
Response: What did we see from the days immediately following the hurricanes’ landfalls?
Aftermath: What long term systemic changes will result from the handling of these two massive weather events?

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 184: Speculating About a 2024 October Surprise with Kris Lance
Episode 180: Metacognition - Thinking About Thinking with Kris Lance
Episode 176: Fighting off the Impact of Slow Onset Inertia with Kris Lance
Episode 171: Japan: A Silent Player in the Semiconductor Supply Chain with Kris Lance

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Every time the world is hit by a supply chain disruption, strategies are changed, new technologies are invented, implemented, and invested in, and everyone vows to be too agile and resilient for it to happen again.

And yet it does - there is always another surprise, another disruption around the corner.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Aviv Castro. Aviv is the CEO of Sensos, a company spun off from Sony that makes it possible to streamline supply chain operations through increased visibility.

In this interview, Aviv shares his perspective on:

What ultimately motivates the decisions of supply chain management teams
How improved supply chain efficiency is an enabler for sales and top line growth
Key success factors for sustained supply chain efficiency
Predictions for supply chain practices and strategy that will affect companies in the year to come

Links:

Aviv Castro on LinkedIn

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Sometimes procurement says “savings” and people’s eyes light up with the possibilities associated with a budget poised to go further. Other times, their eyes glaze over and their attention drifts… elsewhere. Like anywhere else.

The trick for procurement teams who want to build strong internal relationships is knowing the difference - and communicating accordingly.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Barry Kull. Barry is the Senior Director, Category Management Americas for AstraZeneca. His experience has given him the opportunity to develop capabilities in a broad range of spend categories as well as the transformation power of technology.

In this interview, Barry and Kelly discuss how building relationships can lead to procurement making a greater impact:

How procurement should think about internal brand identity and management
Strengthening stakeholder relationships through the procurement user experience
The critical role of language in stakeholder receptivity and relationship building

Links:

Barry Kull on LinkedIn

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Procurement is a difficult field to work in. Days are busy, unpredictable, and often stressful. Each person’s ability to perform despite the challenges determines not only their evaluation or procurement’s evaluation, but the financial success of the entire company. Doesn’t it make sense to look for guidance and support from a higher power?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jennifer Sterbling, a Senior Manager of Indirect Procurement. Jennifer has expertise in both indirect and direct procurement as well as category management, sourcing, supplier management, and contract negotiation.

In this interview, Jennifer and Kelly talk about the role that faith plays in how they conduct themselves professionally:

What it means to bring your whole self to work when you are a person of faith
Approaching all colleagues with compassion and active listening but not evangelism
The benefits of stopping to think - and pray - about the consequential decisions facing procurement professionals

Links:

Jennifer Sterbling on LinkedIn

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Supplier diversity programs have gotten a lot of attention in recent years, but the values and vision that underpin them is hardly new. Some dedicated advocates have been working since the 1960s to create opportunities and develop capabilities at the same time. Our guest in this episode is one of those advocates.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes James Lowry. James is an Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and his past work experience includes time at McKinsey, Toyota, the Peace Corps and an ongoing academic advisory role at the Kellogg School of Management.

In this interview, James talks about why investing in the growth of minority-owned businesses is so critical and how we can make that growth possible:

The role CEOs and executive boards play in making their supplier diversity programs successful - starting with knowing the CPO’s name
Why growth - not participation - must be the success metric for minority-owned supplier programs
Equity as the best way for minority-owned businesses to access funding and grow without losing their ownership identity

Links:

James Lowry on LinkedIn

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According to Merriam-Webster, an October Surprise is “a significant revelation or event in the month prior to an election that has the potential to shift public opinion about an election candidate and that is often orchestrated to influence the election's outcome.”

What will it be in 2024? Anyone’s guess could be right.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly speculate about the sources of an October Surprise, ranging from concerning to entertaining:

A major financial or economic shock that puts policies and campaign promises to the test
Geopolitical risk stemming from world leaders or political/military activist groups who decide to seize the moment… and the headlines
Humanitarian, entertainment, or sports-based stories that dominate headlines and occupy hearts and minds

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 180: Metacognition - Thinking About Thinking with Kris Lance
Episode 176: Fighting off the Impact of Slow Onset Inertia with Kris Lance
Episode 171: Japan: A Silent Player in the Semiconductor Supply Chain with Kris Lance
Episode 167: Bird (Flu) Watching: Tracking the Spread of H5N1 with Kris Lance

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Procurement is notorious for attracting professionals from all backgrounds and dispositions, so how could there possibly be one right way to ‘do procurement?’ There couldn't be. Each individual has an opportunity to put their own spin on everything from negotiation to strategy development and relationship building.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Hugo Sanchez. Hugo is a Senior Category Manager for supplies and MRO in the commercial real estate industry. In addition to being a pun lover (according to his LinkedIn profile), Hugo has a very clear philosophy on procurement that is tied closely to his philosophy on life.

In this interview, Hugo talks openly about why he believes building strong relationships inside and outside of the organization makes all the difference:

How procurement can measure the value created through trust-based relationships
Why it is possible to build influence without trying to exert authority over others
Whether it is possible to be “too nice” to work in procurement

Links:

Hugo Sanchez on LinkedIn

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Procurement is laser focused on spend, suppliers, risk, sustainability, regulations and more… is it possible that we need to add LOVE to the list of things we are trying to contribute to the organization?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Natalia Pickett. Natalia is Head of Procurement at Keolis Amey, a global transportation company focused on public transport, as well as a non-Executive Director for Woodenshark.

In this interview, Natalia shares her passion and enthusiasm for procurement, with a focus on the relationships they should aim to build:

Procurement’s strategic role as matchmaker
The relationships that need to exist between procurement and the business, and procurement and suppliers, as well as how to foster them
Why process, tech, and analytics are nothing if there is no ‘spark’

Links:

Natalia Pickett on LinkedIn

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We are all subject to stereotypes about what procurement professionals are like, what suppliers are like, and what procurement-supplier relationships are like. But those kinds of models are made to be broken, often to the benefit of everyone involved.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Keri Peña. Keri didn’t start her career in procurement - she started in IT - but she didn’t work in procurement for long before she was hooked! Keri reached out and offered to tell her story to help other procurement professionals succeed in the field while forming meaningful relationships and having FUN!

In this interview, Keri talks about how she puts herself into her role and how connecting on a personal level can help drive desired business outcomes:

How to progress from the name or email address of a supplier representative to the beginnings of a bond
What to do when someone is not receptive to forming a collaborative relationship
The importance of empathy, transparency, trust, being genuine, and humor, to personal and professional success

Links:

Keri Peña on LinkedIn

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We’re all constantly being bombarded with breaking news about the most sensitive topics - and almost nothing seems to be off-limits anymore, even in the workplace. Add to that sensational, over-the-top media coverage and it can be hard to think straight - but it isn't impossible.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about techniques for thinking through a never-ending stream of complex topics:

What factors influence the way we respond to new information and form opinions about it
How to prepare for a conversation on a sensitive topic that is likely to start with disagreement
Preventing passion-driven topics from dividing each of us from our friends and family

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 176: Fighting off the Impact of Slow Onset Inertia with Kris Lance
Episode 171: Japan: A Silent Player in the Semiconductor Supply Chain with Kris Lance
Episode 167: Bird (Flu) Watching: Tracking the Spread of H5N1 with Kris Lance
Episode 162: Remembering the Port of Baltimore with Kris Lance

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Procurement thinks that the accounts payable team ‘just’ pays suppliers. Accounts payable teams think that procurement ‘just’ finds suppliers and negotiates contracts. In reality, both teams do quite a bit more - and the better they understand each other’s priorities, contributions, and challenges, the more they can do for each other and for the business.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Anders Lassen. Anders is the Owner and Senior Procurement Consultant at Gradus Consult and the Founder of P2Connct, a Danish boutique consultancy focused on procure-to-pay process optimisation and transformation.

In this episode, Anders talks about the common misperceptions and missed opportunities that keep procurement and AP apart:

The type of relationship most procurement teams have with AP
How procurement reporting into finance (versus the CEO or operations) might influence their relationship with AP
The value opportunities that can be created by strengthening this - and all other - internal relationships

Links:

Anders Lassen on LinkedIn

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Although AI is not new, applications of it are constantly evolving. This is especially true of generative AI. The low barrier to use encourages innovation and experimentation, and people are learning to use it personally and professionally. Over time, it is likely to become so pervasive that anyone who does not develop a basic understanding may be left behind.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Alan J. Rice. Alan is the Managing Director of Caché Procurement, LLC, a boutique provider of procurement and AI advisory services.

In this interview, Alan talks about how AI - and mindsets around AI - are changing procurement:

Why embracing AI is a matter of survival
How procurement can achieve professional courage at scale
The level of AI expertise procurement should be expected to develop

Links:

Alan J. Rice on LinkedIn

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Procurement professionals need to have excellent soft skills, especially when they are working across geographies and cultures. A simple gesture like a handshake is expected in one culture, and may offend in another. Knowing the difference and being able to read the room are essential.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dupre Jones. Dupre is a Regional Category Manager, specializing in Logistics & Warehousing for CSL. He also has an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, where he no doubt learned many of the skills needed to navigate today’s complex business landscape.

In this interview, Dupre shares his point of view on why cultural understanding and active empathy should be considered in all business strategies:

Expectations for cross cultural communications and mannerisms
The role that empathy can and should play in contract negotiations
How procurement can help decision makers determine what they want before selecting a supplier

Links:

Dupre Jones on LinkedIn

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After the ‘working from home’ movement that began a few years ago, the professional world then passed through ‘quiet quitting’ on its way to something that feels a little heavier. Whether we call it apathy, nihilism, or inertia, the current mood is affecting individuals and teams in a way that we should all be aware of.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about the sense of emotional fatigue that seems to be spreading across companies:

Why it is affecting our ability to be at our best and even find enjoyment in our work
How leadership methods and incentive programs need to adapt in response
Advice for pulling ourselves and our colleagues out of the malaise

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 171: Japan: A Silent Player in the Semiconductor Supply Chain with Kris Lance
Episode 167: Bird (Flu) Watching: Tracking the Spread of H5N1 with Kris Lance
Episode 162: Remembering the Port of Baltimore with Kris Lance
Episode 158: All Eyes Should Remain on the Red Sea with Kris Lance

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When we think about what excellence looks like, especially on a podcast about heroism, it would be reasonable to assume that it involves feats of superhuman strength, altruistic triumph, and being 100% on point 110% of the time.

Not so, says this episode’s guest. Excellence is doing just that much better than the competition - and your own past performance - consistently over the long term.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Keith Wright. Keith is an independent procurement consultant and the author of The Power of Professional Procurement, a book for businesses and decision makers determined to make a material difference for their supply chain.

In this interview, Kelth talks about his idea of excellence and why it is actually much more attainable than many of us think:

The importance of investing in ourselves as professionals and creators and what that looks like in practice
Why having an active network is an essential part of individual success
Ways customer expectations of all kinds continue to evolve, and how procurement can continue to meet them

Links:

Keith Wright on LinkedIn

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Fast growth company leadership teams have a lot on their plates. They are balancing building a solution or offering, building brand recognition, and closing deals. But no concern is higher priority than funding. In order to secure that funding, they also need to invest in accounting - and it is never too soon to get started.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Lonnie Bloom. Lonnie is a Partner at Withum, where he specializes in auditing and supporting the growth of some of the most well-known tech and emerging growth companies in the country. He also co-leads the firm's e-commerce practice which serves hundreds of brands and household names in the e-comm industry.

In this interview, Lonnie talks about the importance of solid accounting procedure and documentation to fast growth companies:

The unique financial challenges faced by growth stage tech firms
Advantages, such as specific decisions, leadership qualities, etc., that can position firms for long term growth
How contract management practices can contribute to a company’s success

Links:

Lonnie Bloom on LinkedIn

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When procurement needs to deliver savings, the reflexive response is usually to go to market, approaching suppliers for discounts or putting a contract out to bid. While this approach works, the results often pale in comparison to what procurement can deliver by having internal conversations about specifications, requirements, and projected demand.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Omid Ghamami. Omid is the CEO of the Procurement and Supply Chain Management Institute – PSCM Institute for short. He is the innovator of the CPSCM™ certification program and works with Fortune 500 companies to elevate their procurement and negotiation capabilities.

In this interview, Omid shares his point of view on leveraging procurement influence with both stakeholders and suppliers:

The relationship procurement needs to forge with internal colleagues to maximize savings
Ways procurement can support better outcomes from suppliers - before even reaching the negotiating table
The danger of a misplaced focus on SRM, and how it can negatively impact procurement

Links:

Omid Ghamami on LinkedIn

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For all of the hopes and expectations around AI’s ability to support human decision making, it is important to acknowledge that people and companies make decisions for different kinds of reasons. According to Aristotle (384 BCE – 322 BCE), there are three persuasions: logos, pathos, and ethos. Thousands of years after his death, we are still making decisions on logic, emotion, and character, or some combination of the three.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Matt Palackdharry. Matt is the Chief Strategy Officer at Apty, a digital adoption platform companies can use when working to coordinate their people, processes, and technology.

In this interview, Matt talks about how the power of AI is (and is not) changing the way we make decisions:

Understanding the differences between how humans and computers learn
Supporting human creativity and multi-factored decision making with today’s analytical capabilities
Ensuring that business processes keep up with the investments being made in people and technology

Links:

Matt Palackdharry on LinkedIn

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Most of us think about Taiwan, China, and - to some extent - the U.S. when it comes to semiconductor manufacturing… but Japan is just as critical. They are a primary (and dominant) supplier of semiconductor related chemicals, packaging materials, and tools. In fact, Japan views the industry as part of their national security strategy, and is currently investing nearly one percent of GDP in those companies.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Senior Director at Una, for a recurring monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about the semiconductor supply chain and ALL of the countries and political concerns that will have to align to increase resilience:

Why market overconcentration continues to surprise and affect businesses worldwide
The role that governments play in private sector innovation through subsidies and investment
How procurement and supply chain leaders should be factoring geopolitics into their management of spend and suppliers

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 167: Bird (Flu) Watching: Tracking the Spread of H5N1 with Kris Lance
Episode 162: Remembering the Port of Baltimore with Kris Lance
Episode 158: All Eyes Should Remain on the Red Sea with Kris Lance
Episode 154: The Sourcing Hero Gets a Sidekick with Kris Lance

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The volume of data available at our fingertips can sometimes create the illusion that any information is accessible, that decision making is improved, and that failure is avoidable. Once we get past that illusion and accept the reality of even data-driven decision making, we can finally be on the road to success.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Blake Tablak. Blake is the CEO of Trax Technologies, a company that provides transportation spend management visibility for freight audit and payment solutions. With data at the heart of everything procurement is looking to achieve today, his perspectives on data and risk are valuable and highly applicable.

In this interview, Blake shares his perspective on data and the very human conditions that have to be in place for companies to deploy data successfully:

How much data is “a lot” today
The current state of data confidence
Where “doing nothing” falls on the business risk continuum

Links:

Blake Tablak on LinkedIn

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There will always be challenges to overcome - personally, professionally, and combined - but by finding the courage to work in community and to receive all each employee has to give, leaders can allow themselves and their teams to attain a new level of achievement. All it takes is a bit of generosity, purposefully carried out.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Joe Davis. Joe is a Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and author of The Generous Leader: 7 Ways to Give of Yourself for Everyone's Gain, which was published in April 2024.

In this interview, Joe speaks candidly about the personal and professional experiences that showed him the true power of generosity and inspired his book:

How an emphasis on generosity in leadership could change a company’s decisions about who to elevate
What a lack of generosity might feel like on an otherwise solid team
Understanding the ‘ROI’ of generosity in all its forms

Links:

Joe Davis on LinkedIn

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The public and private sectors both have a great need for top procurement talent. And while their stakeholders, objectives, and processes differ in some ways, they are also subject to the same economic forces and market trends. Sometimes the dynamics in one of their sectors even has an impact on the other.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dwight Gibbs. Dwight is the CEO of Contraqer, a procurement solution uniquely suited to the challenges and complexities faced in public procurement.

In this interview, Dwight talks about the differences and similarities between private and public sector procurement:

The intentions behind the regulations that drive so much complexity
The division of responsibility for developing specifications v. sourcing v. making award decisions
How the transition from buying ‘things’ to buying ‘services’ (including IT) has changed public procurement’s focus

Links:

Dwight Gibbs on LinkedIn

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The H5N1 virus (a.k.a. ‘Bird flu’) is not just spreading among birds in the supply chain. It has recently jumped to beef cattle and - in just a few cases - human beings. It has now been found in 32 herds in 8 states. But is it time to worry?

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about the concerns associated with the bird flu, whether it becomes a larger issue or stays largely contained to animals:

Questions that are being raised about why the federal government is missing its own reporting deadlines and providing incomplete data
The direct connection between transparency and trust in the face of troubling news
Why this is yet another reminder for supply chain professionals to double down on the fundamentals like testing and data quality

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 162: Remembering the Port of Baltimore with Kris Lance
Episode 158: All Eyes Should Remain on the Red Sea with Kris Lance
Episode 154: The Sourcing Hero Gets a Sidekick with Kris Lance
Episode 150: 2024: The Year of the Dragon? with Kris Lance

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Every single day, successful retailers overcome challenges that few other industries will ever have to face. Complex supply chains, uncertain demand, and - increasingly - regulations that not only force them to consider the big picture but also vary by geography.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Eric Linxwiler. Eric is the Senior Vice President of Retail Solutions at TradeBeyond, a platform that helps retailers, brands, and trading partners collaborate quickly and easily.

In this interview, Eric shares some of the external pressures and internal priorities that are dominating the conversation in retail executive suites:

The role of AI across the operation
How increasing regulation is changing the way tier 1 retailers make decisions
The confidence horizon that retail decision makers are working towards

Links:

Eric Linxwiler on LinkedIn

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Mentors have the opportunity to provide valuable, trusted advice to the individuals they work with, but those relationships are often formed haphazardly. One team of entrepreneurs is working to pair ascending college students with recent graduates who can mentor them through the college selection process. Pairing them effectively requires a lot of data, and more empathy, but it is well worth the effort.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jason Edmonds. Jason is the Co-Founder & COO at Mentee and 2023 Venture for America Fellow. He’s a lifelong learner passionate about operational systems and product development. He’s a startup enthusiast that seeks to revolutionize the college admissions industry with efficient, impactful solutions.

In this interview, Jason is open about his experience as an entrepreneur and professional relationship builder:

How he turned a ‘fun’ summer project into a tech based startup
The most empowering and the most challenging parts about being an entrepreneur
The approach he uses to balance creativity and brainstorming with sustained operational growth

Links:

Jason Edmonds on LinkedIn

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Procurement’s relationship with legal is one of the most important they have. Whether it is allowing procurement to meet (or exceed) their objectives or protecting the company from risk, they need to be “joined at the hip” as we learn from this week’s guest.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Lisa Haitz. Lisa has over 20 years of experience in finance, legal, commercial operations, sourcing, and procurement. Today she applies that experience as a strategic sourcing and procurement advisor and fractional CPO, meeting procurement teams where they are and getting them on their way to where they want to be.

In this interview, Lisa talks about some of the ways procurement and legal can work together that benefit both groups - and the whole organization as well:

When and how procurement should get legal involved in sourcing and contract management
The impact of digital platforms on legal and procurement, whether that is CLM, Blockchain, or generative AI
Different models that companies may use to access legal expertise and how procurement can ensure they get what they need in each case

Links:

Lisa Haitz on LinkedIn

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While most people hungered for a return to ‘normal’ after the pandemic shut downs, many of the workforce trends that companies experimented with offer lasting lessons and value. From flexible work schedules to innovative sources of talent, the opportunities for hiring managers and prospective employees are as diverse as the roles that need to be filled.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mika Cross. Mika is a U.S. Army Veteran and a workforce futurist. She was focused on distributed team workforce requirements two decades before the world went home to work in 2020 - in the aftermath of 9/11 - and continues to follow the associated trends today.

In this interview, Mika shares her expertise at the intersection of workforce requirements, distributed talent, and company culture:

Some of the ‘diverse’ categories of people that employers might want to know more about and include in their workforce
The lurking danger of ‘good intentions.’
How taking an expanded view of talent sources and work arrangements can help employers, individuals, and communities
Considerations around company culture that managers should be aware of as the shape and style of their workforce changes

Links:

Mika Cross on LinkedIn

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At 1:30 am on March 26th, the container ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge and sent it falling into the Patapsco River. Six members of a construction crew lost their lives and the port of Baltimore has been partially closed since.

Dueling investigations are underway, with the FBI working to determine whether any federal laws were broken and the NTSB looking to reconstruct the accident and learn from it. The ship is still in place, with the bridge on its bow and the crew onboard, and The Army Corps of Engineers hopes to have the port of Baltimore fully open by late May.

How is this tragic situation affecting each of us - all of us?

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about the varied responses to the bridge collapse and what we can take away from the situation as a whole:

Whether the legal steps taken by the ship’s owner and management company are examples of the actions that give big business a bad name
How humans tend to respond to the fast dissemination of news and the updates that follow
Why some people may have lost their way based on their focus in the aftermath of the collapse

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 158: All Eyes Should Remain on the Red Sea with Kris Lance
Episode 154: The Sourcing Hero Gets a Sidekick with Kris Lance
Episode 150: 2024: The Year of the Dragon? with Kris Lance
Episode 145: Looking Back and Looking Ahead with Kris Lance

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Recognizing the need for procurement transformation sometimes comes from within procurement, and in other cases it is driven by management-level goals and expectations. Regardless of where the idea for transformation begins, few stones in the organization will be left unturned by the time it is over.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Nataša Cikač. Nataša is the CEO of Cronata, a Croatia-based company that provides procurement transformation support and coaching.

In this interview, Nataša shares her perspective on effective procurement transformation - including a story or two:

Some of the things that might cause a management team to start thinking about procurement transformation
Why it is so important to document expectations before the transformation project gets underway
The power of recognizing and articulating the ‘why’ for the change in addition to the need for change

Links:

Nataša Cikač on LinkedIn

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Few environments require leadership in higher concentration than the military. And yet the development of leadership skills is still a highly personal journey - where each individual has to find their own style and improve it over time through training, observation, and repetition.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Tom Williams. Tom enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2013 as an Airborne Intelligence Analyst. He has served in locations from the Middle East to the Arctic, displaying exceptional dedication and forming his own unique philosophy on leadership.

In this interview, Tom shares the lessons he has learned about leadership while serving as a member of the U.S. Army:

How to be recognized as a high-performance contributor
Some of the core things good leaders do that make them memorable
How people can train themselves to become better leaders

Links:

War Forged Leadership

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It goes without saying that travel has changed since the pandemic - although not in the way most of us might assume. There have certainly been adjustments to logistics and expectations, but, most of all, companies are doing a better job of recognizing the wellness considerations intertwined with business travel, and finding purposeful ways to accommodate their travelers without onerous increases to the budget

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes J. Grant Caplan. Grant is the President of Procurigence, a managed travel consulting and conference resource firm specializing in optimizing spend. He is a relationship driven professional who finds a natural fit in a role that requires calm heads and an emphasis on hospitality.

In this interview, Grant shares his extensive experience as a managed travel consultant and active road warrior:

A brief ‘state of the state’ of business travel
How the role of internal travel manager changed along with corporate perspective on the best use of travel
Why travel policy is just as important as planning and logistics
How meetings spend is unique from overall travel

Links:

Grant Caplan on LinkedIn

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Human nature has a way of becoming numb to that which we absorb as part of the status quo. Sadly, this doesn’t just pertain to the weather; it also applies to human suffering and warfare, especially if it is far away. Today this applies in the form of the Red Sea attacks that continue, and which have escalated, turning global supply chains into a literal battlefield.

In this month’s discussion, Kris and Kelly talk about how continued instability in the Red Sea will affect us, and our supply chains, close to home:

Why challenges in the Suez and Panama canals serve as proof that all people and businesses need a “Plan C”
How it should change our perspective on the Red Sea as a geopolitical hotzone to know that ships are being sunk and people are losing their lives
Why we may all be about to get the call to stand up and serve as Sourcing Heroes

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 154: The Sourcing Hero Gets a Sidekick with Kris Lance
Episode 150: 2024: The Year of the Dragon? with Kris Lance
Episode 145: Looking Back and Looking Ahead with Kris Lance
Episode 142: 2023 Listener Favorites with Kris Lance

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Marketing requires a combination of data and storytelling to motivate people to take a desired action, whether that is making a purchase, supporting a cause, or providing their email address. Procurement can leverage a marketing-esque combination of information and storytelling to build consensus, increase influence, and even control the narrative when plans go awry.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Alex Ball. Alex has spent most of his career in marketing and demand generation, helping companies connect with and engage their target personas. He has also had the opportunity to work with procurement and has seen some ways that his marketing knowledge can be applied inside of companies to increase procurement’s influence.

In this interview, Alex applies his experience in marketing to some of the most common situations and challenges faced by procurement:

Sharing information beyond the numbers to better represent procurement’s true impact
Winning over skeptics and new team members to the advantages of working with procurement
Adding healthy self-promotion of procurement’s internal messaging without coming across as arrogant or boastful

Links:

Alex Ball on LinkedIn

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In 1748, Benjamin Franklin wrote “Time is money.” All of the changes and advancements we have seen in nearly 300 years have not managed to render that advice obsolete. Certainly, time has inherent value (whether measured in dollars or otherwise), but time can also cost money - through delays, misalignment, and poor decision making.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Emilie Schario. Emilie is the Founder and CEO of Turbine. A data engineer by training, she is now applying her skills to the supply chain space. Emilie has seen the difference that shortening the data feedback cycle can make, whether in marketing or inventory management.

In this interview, Emilie illustrates some of the ways that time continues to be money for today’s businesses, and how speeding up data can be a source of savings and value:

Why typical business processes can lead to information delays of almost 2 months
What accelerating the data feedback loop allows decision makers to do
One of the top things that surprises most companies about their own spend

Links:

Emilie Schario on LinkedIn

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“Victory is about meaningful connections.” - Mark Grieco

Procurement professionals constantly find themselves in a tough spot, multiple cost and non-cost based objectives to hit, stakeholders to appease, suppliers to wrangle with, and that is just the beginning. They’re also finding ways to do all of the above in a work environment where we have less in-person access to their colleagues.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mark Grieco. Mark has a very unique background: he is a procurement attorney and educator, accustomed to being in the trenches with the procurement team. In that capacity, he has had the opportunity to observe a number of development opportunities - associated with contracts and otherwise.

In this interview, Mark shares what he has learned while training,mentoring, and working side by side with procurement teams for years:

How procurement should handle situations where they have all of the responsibility and none of the decision making authority
How the working from home / flexible work trend has hindered personal and working relationships
Why everyone needs to find joy - and feel pride - in the work they do every day

Links:

Mark Grieco on LinkedIn

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“People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.”

Isaac Asimov

After 3.5 years and over 150 episodes, it had to happen eventually: The Sourcing Hero now has a Sidekick. This sidekick may be a monthly newsletter, but it is no less ready to fight the good fight than Robin, Chewbaca, or Dr. Watson.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly talk about “The Sidekick” - Una’s new procurement newsletter:

What inspired him to start writing a monthly newsletter in addition to his regular visits on The Sourcing Hero podcast
Who The Sidekick is written for and what readers can expect
Some of the content features that will be included in each month’s edition

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Subscribe to “The Sidekick”
Episode 150: 2024: The Year of the Dragon? with Kris Lance
Episode 145: Looking Back and Looking Ahead with Kris Lance
Episode 142: 2023 Listener Favorites with Kris Lance
Episode 138: Procurement Out of This World with Kris Lance

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Meeting a new friend

To ponder the color of

Unripe bananas

Paul Nilsen

Talking to heroes

Who earn their hidden capes while

Loving procurement

Kelly Barner

Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy focused on finding purpose and meaning. The parts of the word are “iki” which means “alive” and “gai” which means “worth.” Given how much time procurement spends thinking about value and worth, their personal and professional choices should absolutely make them feel alive.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Paul Nilsen. Paul is the Director Of Procurement at Douglas Elliman Real Estate - and an avid reader. Paul recently shared a book he was reading on LinkedIn and sparked both an interesting online discussion and this podcast interview.

In this interview, Paul talks about Ikigai and how it comes into the decisions he makes as a procurement professional:

How the concept of Ikigai resonates with him at this point in his career
Ways we can each exert greater influence on our own professional journey
Whether it possible to connect what we like to do with what is really needed in each situation

Links:

Paul Nilsen on LinkedIn

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Is it possible to change the life of someone, and their family, and their community just by making purposeful decisions about corporate spending? Yes it is - and it doesn’t cost as much as you might think.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Colin Downie. Colin is the Sales and Partnerships Director for WildHearts Group, an organization that enables large enterprises to have a positive social impact at home and abroad through how they spend. Since they reached a fully operational state in 2010, the WildHearts Group has transformed 2 Million lives - leveraging the power of money companies were going to spend anyway.

In this interview, Colin talks about the challenges and change he has seen firsthand in poor, rural communities:

How microfinancing opens the door to entrepreneurial independence
Ways that entrepreneurial education is being used to help break the multi-generational cycle of un/under employment in poor, rural communities
Requirements for being able to track and report on social impact with confidence

Links:

Colin Downie on LinkedIn

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What could possibly be even more complicated than tax accounting? Managing your detailed shipping costs - and the carrier logic that drives them. Details change every year, and the high level information released to the media rarely reflects the nuanced information that appears on shipping invoices.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Nick DiNatale. In addition to being an accountant by training, Nick is the Founder and CEO of ShipPlug, a platform that leverages his extensive supply chain experience to streamline shipping costs and simplify related business processes.

In this interview, Nick talks about the many things shippers may not know that may be costing them in multiple ways:

Barriers preventing companies from effectively forecasting their shipping needs and costs
What shippers often don’t know about late shipments, surcharges, and labor intensity
How a poor shipping experience could be costing your company margin - and customers

Links:

Nick DiNatale on LinkedIn

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In Chinese culture, the dragon represents good luck, strength, and health. Given the challenges dominating this year’s headlines, all of us are probably going to need a balance of all three to make it through the year successfully.

Every new day’s headlines remind us that no matter where we live and work, global forces can swoop in and change everything at a moment’s notice. When geopolitics is the focus, some players on the world stage have an outsized impact - none more than China.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly talk about three major news stories related to China that all procurement and supply chain professionals should be aware of:

China’s New Year’s statement about unification with Taiwan, and the varying levels of urgency that emerge depending on the translation you read
An ongoing trial in Hong Kong, where pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai is up against charges that his free speech makes him a traitor in China’s eyes
The progress (or lack thereof) that has been made towards semiconductor independence almost two years after the CHIPS Act was passed

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Episode 145: Looking Back and Looking Ahead with Kris Lance
Episode 142: 2023 Listener Favorites with Kris Lance
Episode 138: Procurement Out of This World with Kris Lance
Episode 134: The Complexity of Navigating the Panama Canal with Kris Lance

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Despite the understandable enthusiasm around supply chain sustainability, there are many challenges associated with the fight to lower emissions: regulations, costs, and engineering, just to name a few. One of the challenges procurement will appreciate most, is the journey towards a workable business model that reflects today’s infrastructure reality and companies’ ability to invest.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ron Hunt. Ron is the Director of Business Development for Forum Mobility, a company working to make it realistic for fleets to achieve their zero emissions goals without having to build capital intensive charging capabilities.

In this interview, Ron shares much of the advice he offers to carriers looking to partner with their customers as they pursue zero emissions fleets:

Issues fleet operators may run into when evaluating the transition to zero emissions vehicles
The current supply/demand balance between carriers offering a zero emissions fleet and shippers looking for them
How regulations are driving this transition v. sustainability and ESG goals

Links:

Ron Hunt on LinkedIn

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Procurement professionals often talk about how they ‘fell’ into the field without a plan. And while this means procurement has a diverse range of skill sets in their ranks, it does leave many teams without a solid educational foundation like what might be found in marketing or operations.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Robert Čačković. Robert is a sourcing buyer for Bugatti Rimac, a Croatian company that develops and produces cutting-edge hypercars. He has been in procurement since college and is currently completing his MBA, with a master's thesis focused on improvements of procurement processes in the automotive industry.

In this interview, Robert talks about the positive impact of studying and working in procurement at the same time:

How he is incorporating procurement optimization into his MBA studies
Trends and top stories he is monitoring relative to the automotive supply chain
Achieving a balance between strategic suppliers and stakeholders

Links:

Robert Čačković on LinkedIn

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Supporting decisions about which suppliers to work with is one of procurement’s most critical responsibilities. But, like so many other business decisions, the ‘Why’ matters, both to the supplier being chosen and to the potential for value creation associated with that partnership.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Erica McMannes. Erica is an entrepreneur who has deep experience working to support the military community by working in the private sector as well as for the Department of Defense. In her current role as Chief People and Community Officer at Instant Teams, she connects companies with military spouses that have the talent they need.

In this conversation, Erica talks about being a ‘people person’ in a people business and creating value in and through her community:

What she thinks about the value and the process of getting certified as a woman-owned and a military spouse-owned business
How being a Chief People and Community Officer affects the way she has built and managed her team
How a combination of creativity and communication has helped her achieve remote team leadership and absorb the impact of flexible working arrangements

Links:

Erica McMannes on LinkedIn

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Procurement is used to dealing with a whole series of stereotypes associated with the profession: bean counters… pencil sharpeners… and penny pinchers, just to name a few. Those nicknames stand in sharp contrast to the value procurement delivers on a daily basis - value that extends far beyond savings to improve the competitive position of the whole company.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Today my guest on The Sourcing Hero podcast is A’Keela Johnson. A’Keela is the Director of IT and G&A Procurement at Molson Coors, but more importantly, she is focused on strategic operations management. A’Keela is on a mission to evangelize the benefits of working in procurement to people that are already here as well as aspiring sourcing professionals.

In this conversation, A’Keela combines her personal experience with humorous stereotypes about procurement to illustrate why procurement is a great field to work in:

Why it is just as important to ‘preach to the choir’ about the joys of working in procurement as it is to try and win over new recruits
The most effective hooks for winning professionals in other disciplines over to opportunities in procurement
Why she believes delivering bad news well is a skill critical to her success

Links:

A’Keela Johnson on LinkedIn

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There are so many news stories and events contained in any one year that it can boggle the mind trying to remember them all, let alone process their combined impact. But the end of one year and the start of another is a natural time to reflect back before looking ahead to what the new year may hold.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly talk about the trends and news stories they think were most impactful in 2023 and the ones they are already watching for 2024:

The impact of border policies and human rights challenges on the U.S. economy and supply chain efficiency
Why 2023 was the Year of the Union and what all negotiators can learn from this year’s new agreements
Upcoming changes to digital currency and global currency standards
And the impact that another contentious presidential election cycle is bound to have on business in general and supply chains more specifically

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Episode 142: 2023 Listener Favorites with Kris Lance
Episode 138: Procurement Out of This World with Kris Lance
Episode 134: The Complexity of Navigating the Panama Canal with Kris Lance
Episode 130: Building and Understanding Trust with Kris Lance

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What we experience personally cannot be completely separated from what we experience professionally, and vice versa. This is as true for the impact of digital communications on relationships and trust building as it is our ability to ‘hear’ and connect with others.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Julienne Ryan. Julienne is an author, an executive coach, a storyteller, and - most importantly - a true people person. Her career includes an impressive number of leadership roles, and she was able to be succesful in each one because of her interpersonal and communication skills.

In this interview, Julienne speaks honestly about :

The importance of bringing the idea of affirmation into personal and professional decisions
Why modern digital capabilities make it easier to communicate but harder to connect
How to stay plugged into the person you are speaking to so that you hear everything they are saying

Links:

Julienne Ryan on LinkedIn

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Entrepreneurs found businesses because they believe they have formulated the best new product or the most innovative way of providing a service. They are focused on their customers, value proposition, and their hope for the future. Unfortunately, there is one thing that - if left unmanaged - can bring all of their hopes and dreams to a sudden halt: cash flow.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Richard Gusmano. Richard is the Founder and CEO of Business Credit Consultants, a company that is focused on helping small businesses secure the credit they need to grow. He uses his own experience as a small business owner to help others manage cash flow and credit so they can reach their growth goals.

In this interview, Richard shares his first-hand experience working with small to medium-sized businesses:

The most common mistakes small business owners make when it comes to credit and cash flow
Why selecting the right bank it so critical
How procurement and sourcing professionals can assess the potential for risk associated with smaller prospective suppliers
The important role that small business play in the overall economy, especially in terms of revenue and job creation

Links:

Richard Gusmano on LinkedIn

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“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” - George Bernard Shaw

The Sourcing Hero podcast releases 50 new interviews every year, and while every episode offers unique value and insights to listeners, a few are bound to become listener favorites.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly talk about the top three episodes of 2023, taking a key lesson away from each one:

Learning to Work Side-by-Side with ChatGPT with Joshua Palacios, Senior Sourcing Manager at Ro (the episode with the most listens of all time, not just for 2023!)
Telling a Business Story Beyond the Numbers with Christian Frantz Hansen from the Business Partnering Institute
Making Procurement Research Actionable with Denis Wolowiecki, Executive Managing Director at CAPS Research

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
EPISODE 113: Learning to Work Side-by-Side with ChatGPT with Joshua Palacios, Senior Sourcing Manager at Ro
EPISODE 110: Telling a Business Story Beyond the Numbers with Christian Frantz Hansen from the Business Partnering Institute
EPISODE 126: Making Procurement Research Actionable with Denis Wolowiecki, Executive Managing Director at CAPS Research

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Change is as hard as it is inevitable. Even the most exciting new project can quickly go from “This is fantastic!” to “What on earth were we thinking!” when unexpected questions arise. How those moments are managed, and the tone that is kept in place through the process, ultimately determine the potential for value and success for everyone involved.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Toni Ann Careccio. Toni is the Chief Customer Officer at PortPro, a company that provides transportation management software for drayage carriers - they move freight from an ocean port to its destination.

In this interview, Toni applies her experience onboarding customers to procurement’s constant need to successfully onboard suppliers:

Why tech providers with an operational background in transportation have an advantage over newcomers to the space
Thoughts related to the ongoing debate about which is better: a best-of-breed ecosystem or an end-to-end platform
How a positive onboarding experience can form the foundation for a long, valuable partnership

Links:

Toni Ann Careccio on LinkedIn

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Businesses that want to see long term impact in terms of sustainability need to commit to short term changes. And while there are many ways to incentivize these changes - such as regulations and customer requirements - procurement and supply chain professionals are absolutely on the front lines, as the overwhelming majority of a company’s emissions are associated with its supply chain in some capacity.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Alexis Normand. Alexis is the CEO and Co-founder at Greenly. Given his expertise in carbon accounting and management, he is an ideal guest to speak with us about some of the practical business challenges facing procurement and supply chain professionals tasked with responsibility for their company’s ESG or sustainability program.

In this interview, Alexis provides critical information about the ongoing effort to manage carbon emissions as well as his perspective on the associated complexity:

What the differences are between Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions
Whether building a more sustainable supply chain will also make it more expensive
How the broader ESG movement is impacting emission reduction initiatives
What decision makers need to know about offsetting carbon emissions as opposed to reducing them

Links:

Alexis Normand on LinkedIn

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As human beings, being able to read and use non-verbal cues can determine the outcome of a situation, keeping us safe or strengthening the bonds we build with those around us. For procurement professionals in particular, being aware of non-verbal communication is absolutely essential, especially in situations of high intensity or where first impressions make the difference in measurable outcomes.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Laura Scarfe. Laura is the Director of Business Academy Online, specializing in CIPS procurement training,

negotiation, influencing, and emotional intelligence. Laura helps busy procurement professionals achieve their qualifications to help with their employability, while also helping them understand and manage their emotions and relationships to improve their confidence.

In this interview, Laura draws from a wealth of research and experience to shed some light on the complex world of non-verbal cues:

Why it is best to stay away from behavioral generalizations, instead focusing on observations that are rooted in science
Typical gender-based advantages and differences based on gender
The role that clothing, especially dress level and color, play in how each of us is perceived before we ever speak a word

Links:

Laura Scarfe on LinkedIn

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The U.S. military is accustomed to taking 7 years and a cost plus method to build billion dollar satellites with te help of their supply base. With instability around the world starting to ratchet up concerns about space, the Space Development Authority (SDA) is responding by disrupting traditional procurement practices.

As SDA Director Derek Tournear recently said, “Change is hard; change is necessary. And nothing fights change like the paralyzing behavior of going along to get along.”

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly talk about how the Space Development Agency, part of the U.S. Space Force, is shaking up procurement processes and approaches:

Finding ways to speed up the procurement process so the U.S. can stay competitive with China in satellite manufacture
Breaking free from the ‘going along to get along’ mentality in order to deliver vastly different results
Putting pressure on suppliers to go beyond traditional demonstrations of capabilities and competitive advantages

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In the race to build global empires of data and digital systems, today’s businesses must not risk forgetting what all of those zeroes and ones mean. Sometimes walking a mile in someone’s shoes and listening to their firsthand experience is the only way to pull together all of the pieces of a modern supply chain puzzle.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Frank Kenney. Frank is the Director of Market Strategy at Cleo, where he is focused on helping companies get ahead and stay ahead despite persistent supply chain complexity.

In this interview, Frank talks about the importance of supply chain visibility for the sake of optionality and accountability:

Why the ultimate goal of supply chain visibility is not just to ‘see’ but also to make effective decisions
The importance of leveraging systems and data without losing connection with the real-life meaning and impact they represent
The risk that abstraction poses to procurement and supply chain professionals - and consumers as well

Links:

Frank Kenney on LinkedIn

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Global supply chains reach the furthest corners of the earth, bringing back valuable, well-made goods and putting us in touch with people we may never meet. Some of the challenges of this are logistical like time zone differences and travel delays. Others are more cultural, and tie into the most core issues of relationship building: culture, communication, and trust.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chris Volz, a Client Success Manager at China Performance Group. Chris has over two decades worth of experience in different verticals. He prides himself on his empathy, attention to detail, and innovative ideas… traits we could all use in greater concentration!

In this interview, Chris shares his experience and perspective on how businesses from different parts of the world and in countries with very different cultures can come together for mutual gain:

What he suggests companies focus on when sourcing internationally
How procurement teams can invest in communication and then build on that to establish long term trust-based relationships
The importance of recognizing the ‘win-win people’ in every situation

Links:

Chris Volz on LinkedIn

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Packaging is everywhere, from plastic clamshells to cardboard boxes, and protective wraps to banana peels. The most successful packaging gets the core product where it needs to go in the right condition, and contributes to the customer experience in a way that it rewards the purchase process.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Matthew Wright. Matthew is the Founder and CEO of Specright, where he applies his 25+ years of experience in packaging to help companies derive maximum value from this constantly changing and highly strategic category. Matthew is also the author of “The Evolution of Products & Packaging: How a spec-first approach is revolutionizing the way companies make things.”

In this interview, Matthew shares his point of view on some of the procurement-specific challenges and opportunities associated with packaging category spend:

What is packaging and what are some of the top business challenges and objectives that intersect with this category of spend?
How should companies think about what they are communicating (or not) and achieving (or not) through their packaging?
What are some of the common data challenges associated with packaging specifications?
How can procurement encourage the business to make decisions that take a broad range of objectives into consideration when selecting packaging designs and suppliers?

Links:

Matthew Wright on LinkedIn

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40 percent of all U.S. shipping containers travel through the Panama Canal each year, representing an annual cargo value of $270 Billion. It is the shortest operational ocean route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and plays a critical role in U.S. supply chains and those of global trading partners as well.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly talk about recent news stories associated with the Panama canal, some of which are getting a lot of attention and others almost none at all:

Drought conditions have led authorities to reduce traffic through the canal, leaving as many as 200 ships stuck waiting to get through
Other opportunities for Panama to be a strategic partner to the United States, including semiconductor production
Geopolitical risk associated with the safety and ownership of the Panama canal given recent activity from China and Iran

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Episode 130: Building and Understanding Trust with Kris Lance
Episode 125: When Implanted Neuro Chips Are Top of Mind with Kris Lance
Episode 121: Agriculture as a Political Hot Topic with Kris Lance

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It is always hard to be the ‘new kid’ whether in a neighborhood, at the office, or across the world. Learning to fit in, and finding a place to belong is as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a pursuit of acceptance. Going on this journey, and connecting with others in the process, can enhance personal happiness as well as professional performance.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Michaela Payton. Michaela is an Indirect Senior Procurement Manager at Lidl’s U.S. National Contracts Service Center. She grew up in Germany and has spent time living in California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Virginia (with a brief time back in Germany in between).

In this interview, Michaela shares what she has learned on her personal and professional journey about what it means to truly belong:

Learning how and where you belong each time your join a new community of any kind
The cultural aspects of communications, including adapting to the customs of each community
Why actively investing in creating a sense of belonging gives us an opportunity to deepen our empathy towards others

Links:

Michaela Payton on LinkedIn

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In 1918, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and naturalist writer John Burroughs took one of many long distance road trips together. The combination of their unique forms of genius, especially when viewed against the backdrop of WWI and the Influenza pandemic, makes it possible to see just how critical their curiosity was to every form of success they achieved.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Wes Davis. Wes has a Ph.D. in English Literature from Princeton University and taught at Yale for nearly a decade. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Nation. Wes is also the author of multiple books, one of which is the recently released ‘American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs’ - and that book will be the focus of our conversation today.

In this interview, Wes talks about some of the unique characteristics of these consequential historical figures and sheds light on how we can learn from their mindset today:

Why the ability of Ford and Edison to thrive in the industrial and natural worlds was part of their collective genius
How unique and changeable the social and business landscape was in the early 20th century
Whether Ford, Firestone, and Edison were, in fact, Sourcing Heroes in their own right

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Generative AI like ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Imaginations have been seized, and people have responded with every emotion from excitement to fear to confusion. But procurement has seen the world respond to new technology like this before - remember Blockchain? Will this time be different?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Kevin Frechette. Kevin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fairmarkit. One of the things he focuses on in his conversations with procurement professionals and teams is understanding how procurement can be transformed using data, automation, analytics, AI, and machine learning.

In this interview, Kevin shares what he is seeing and hearing as procurement works to figure out how to create value with the help of generative AI:

Whether generative AI will keep its prominent position in the tech landscape or fade back into the background
How companies should discuss the inclusion of AI in their products, lead with AI’s instant cool factor or leading with user experience
Concerns from information security teams and how that may affect procurement’s current adoption trajectory

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New research from MIT shows that trusting employees are 260% more motivated to work, have 41% lower rates of absenteeism, and are 50% less likely to look for another job. But… one in four workers do not trust their employer. Trust is the easiest thing in the world to lose and the hardest to get back - and it plays an important role in every type of relationship.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly discuss the trust from a number of perspectives:

Why an employee might (or might not) trust their employer
What the most trusted brands in America have in common in 2023
How to foster trust in supplier relationships through shared cultural values

Links:

Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Episode 125: When Implanted Neuro Chips Are Top of Mind with Kris Lance
Episode 121: Agriculture as a Political Hot Topic with Kris Lance
Episode 117: Title 42 Comes to an End with Kris Lance

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All companies (and procurement organizations for that matter) have a customer experience. Investing in frictionless processes, digital technologies, and value delivery is critical - but before any of that happens, it is essential to get to know the customer better, to understand what they want and what they need.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jay Dettling. Jay is the CEO of Hero Digital, a customer experience company. His background is in building and growing companies by bringing transformation and partnerships to the forefront.

In this interview, Jay talks about the importance of customer experience to a company’s customer acquisition and retention:

What he means when he talks about the fast-growing practice are of customer experience management
How we can better understand the human needs of our customers
Ways that a customer experience can contribute to (or detract from) a company’s competitive differentiators
His advice for organizations that want to understand the customer experience they are currently offering and find ways to improve it

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Most of us have attended a concert or sporting event at a large venue at some point in our lives. Maybe you saw a hockey game, or a Billy Joel Concert, or a comedian. Regardless, you probably didn’t stop to think about the procurement effort required to bring that event to life and create an exceptional audience experience.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Matt Mehler. Matt is a procurement professional with 20 years of experience in some pretty unique categories of spend and service locations. He specializes in managing services at large venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In this interview, Matt talks about the unique service requirements of large sports and entertainment venues:

How sourcing services for a large facility like Madison Square Garden is different than sourcing for hundreds of distributed locations
The categories of services that are unique to large venues and the relationships he built with those providers
How services spend offers a key opportunity for companies to hit their supplier diversity and sustainability targets

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It takes a wide range of skills, experiences, and backgrounds to put a company in a leadership position, and yet most professionals feel most comfortable talking to their peers - people from the same function who share their perspectives, motivations and language. If we can keep our minds open to new ideas and possibilities, however, there is no limit to what we can achieve.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Danelle M. Brown. Danelle has over two decades worth of experience in design and sustainability, a combination that is highly effective in today’s business climate. Perhaps more interestingly, her graduate degree is in the history of STEM, a specialized program that combined science and technology with liberal arts and the humanities.

In this interview, Danelle brings together a wide range of topics and teachings to illustrate:

The importance of “silo solving”
Why procurement and supply chain professionals may not have to decode the whole alphabet of sustainability frameworks to have a positive impact
How much it is possible to achieve through continued learning and development

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According to CAPS Research, two thirds of Chief Procurement Officers and Chief Supply Chain Officers - the top spend management executive in a company - sit two levels below the CEO. This limits procurement’s potential impact, but it also prevents companies from realizing a key source of competitive advantage.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Denis Wolowiecki. Denis is the Executive Managing Director at CAPS Research. CAPS stands for Center for Advanced Procurement Strategy and is a B2B nonprofit research center affiliated with both Arizona State University and ISM – the Institute for Supply Management.

In this interview, Denis talks about the role that research and collaboration plan in the continued evolution of procurement:

What most procurement executives and teams need from today’s research programs
Why a mastery of procurement fundamentals could not be more critical to success
The greatest challenges procurement organizations face when they attempt to shake off legacy ways of doing things
Gaps that exist between the public-facing PR efforts around ESG programs and the inward facing execution effort

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Elon musk is the founder of Tesla and SpaceX and the owner of Twitter. He is as eccentric as he is wealthy. He also happens to be one of the founders of Neuralink, a neurotechnology company that recently received FDA approval to implant chips into human brains. The stated use case is restoring autonomy to people with physical impairments, but the potential applications are as broad as the ethical questions raised by this new capability.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly discuss the multiple levels of concerns and considerations associated with such a groundbreaking technology:

How an individual’s risk tolerance plays into the decision to participate in medical innovation
The possibility of regulation should such a treatment be approved for widespread use
The importance of courage - whether in pursuit of a daring goal or in allowing for differences of opinion

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Contingent workforce is certainly not a new category of spend for procurement to manage, but it is a category that has gone through substantial changes over the last few years. Every major trend in talent, from The Great Resignation to layoffs and hiring freezes to quiet quitting, affects how companies balance and blend their sources of talent.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Julia Braun. Julia has over 25 years of experience across all indirect spend categories, managed and outsourced services, with a focus on negotiations for software, cloud services, and professional services. Today she is the Director of Enterprise Procurement for Highspot.

In this interview, Julia shares her perspective on the macro trends, best practices, and tech advancements that are affecting contingent workforce management:

How the category is being affected by larger labor trends like hiring freezes and layoffs
Whether managing this spend is an opportunity to bring procurement into closer collaboration with Human Resources
How contingent workforce allows procurement to advance multiple DEI initiatives
The prevailing trends around tech in the sourcing and management of contingent workforce spend

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Many supply chains deal with pain points. Unlike other industries, however, healthcare deals with sourcing and procurement pain points that bring actual pain. In an industry where securing lower costs does not offer the same incentive as it does for others, it takes a different approach to help decision makers see the risks and rewards before them.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Luká Yancopoulos. During the pandemic, Luká and William Danon started Pandemic Relief Supply, a venture that delivered $20 million worth of health care supplies to frontline workers. They received the 2022 UPenn President’s Engagement, Innovation, and Sustainability award for their efforts. That venture is now Grapevine, a system that addresses miscommunications between suppliers and buyers in the healthcare industry.

In this interview, Luká shares the backstory of the company he founded without meaning to, based on a desire to be a force for good during the most difficult days of the pandemic:

Why 40% of healthcare industry spending is wasted due to supply chain inefficiencies and manual human errors
How improved transparency can reduce costs and improve buyer-supplier relationships
His experiences working with skeptics compared to newer, more nimble companies that welcome change

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Despite the broad, supportive corporate messaging around diversity and inclusion, the real work takes place on an individual level - one person at a time. As every person becomes comfortable enough to find their voice and use it, our workplaces and professional communities will continue to grow in diversity, with representation among people from every walk of life.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Nicole Glenn. Nicole is the Founder and CEO of Candor Expedite and a passionate supporter of women working in supply chain and logistics. She is part of the Ladies Leadership Coalition, a podcast for women in business by women business owners.

In this interview, Nicole talks about the ‘why’ at the heart of the Ladies Leadership Coalition and how she walks the walk in her own company:

The messages that women need to hear as they pursue their professional ambitions, whether as business owners or corporate leaders
The changes she has seen in workplace inclusiveness over the last few years and the work that remains to be done
Why everyone needs to learn to be more audacious, opening their minds to what they want in addition to what they offer others

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In an article published in the May 20, 2023 Boston Herald, Bill Wirtz, Senior Policy Analyst at the Consumer Choice Center, wrote, “As the politics of farming affects the livelihoods of each American, it transforms agricultural policy into an electoral issue.”

From farm to table and hand to mouth, few topics have the potential to be as contentious as the food supply. Whether your focus is energy consumption, environmentalism, labor conditions, or Federal regulation, agriculture touches them all.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly revisit the topic of agricultural regulation and its impact on the economy and food supply, at home and around the world:

Why it may take a lot more than money to help farmers transition to ‘green’ ways of operating
How to balance the competing concerns of risk, regulation, and resilience associated with the food supply
Perspectives being introduced by advocates such as Eva Vlaardingerbroek about our overall readiness for the green transition

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Although women start most professional careers in the same proportion as their male colleagues, far fewer of them reach the top rungs of the corporate ladder. The reasons for this are many, but there is work that can be done to increase the role that women play in leading companies across industries.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sanja Cancar-Todorovic. Sanja is the Head of Enterprise Procurement, Outsourcing & Third-Party Risk Management for Home Capital Group. She is also a dedicated and passionate advocate for increasing the placement of women in senior executive roles - in procurement and beyond - and the author of BE BOLD and Brilliant: Unlocking your Personal and Professional Potential.

In this interview, Sanja talks about why she is passionate about helping women escape impostor syndrome and achieve their personal and professional goals:

How working with and advocating for female professionals became a passion of hers
Why women struggle to reach the highest positions on the corporate ladder
What all of us can do to promote procurement and supply chain as fields that women can be highly successful in

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The rate of change and level of stress faced by most people today certainly justifies an emotional response. But how self-aware and self-possessed are we? The answer to that questions has to do with our emotional intelligence.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Phil Johnson. Phil is an executive coach, podcast host, and author who focuses on fueling people’s personal and professional success through stronger emotional intelligence. His book, The Servant Warrior Leader: Mastering Authentic Business Leadership, brings together the power of emotional intelligence and the challenge of leadership - especially given the rate of change we face today.

In this interview, Phil shares his in-depth expertise to answer questions such as:

What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
How does a person’s EI affect how they deal with stressful situations?
Why is EI especially important now? Is it possible to develop or improve EI?
How can leaders safely start an EI-based conversation in the workplace?

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Growth - especially fast growth - is such an exciting time for a company. Unfortunately, all of the good opportunities growth presents have a way of leaving a mess in their wake. It often falls to procurement and supply chain professionals to clean up the mess, using metrics and frameworks to establish order so that operational scale and profitability can follow.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Marcia Williams. Marcia is a Forbes Contributor, Founder and Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain Consulting, and the author of multiple books, the most recent of which is Scaling Supply Chains with Maria: Financial and Operational Frameworks and Analytics for Massive, Profitable Growth.

In this interview, Marcia talks about the important role procurement and supply chain teams play in fostering continued growth:

What ‘goal trees’ are and what they offer supply chain teams
The role that six sigma can play in supply chain management
The financial understanding procurement and supply chain teams need to be successful - whether that means specific financial metrics or their relationship with finance

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On May 11th, Title 42 came to an end with the expiration of the Federally-declared public health emergency established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Title 42 allowed the border patrol to turn away migrants without allowing them to claim asylum, but carried no penalty for repeated attempts to cross the border illegally. Title 8, now in effect, allows migrants to claim asylum, but it can take years for a court date to arrive. It would seem that there are no easy answers, and lives hang in the balance.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly discuss the difficult set of circumstances and very real risks that are playing out on the U.S. southern border:

The impact that these stories, images, and videos cannot help but have on any empathetic human being
Whether it is possible to balance the concerns of national security and public safety with genuine concern for people fleeing bad conditions, risking it all in order to escape
The community and business impacts that are created from the lack of reasonable immigration policy in place today

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Despite investments in education and efforts to recruit from a strong and diverse talent pool, CEOs have always been worried about procurement skill sets. They refuse to believe that the talent they have in house is ‘up to’ the strategic objectives they plan to set forth. Perhaps the problem is less the talent they have in house, and more the way they evaluate and incentivize the application of that talent.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jon Hansen. When it comes to procurement podcasting, Jon is the ‘OG,’ with a show that dates back to 2009. Jon is also the co-author for the book Procurement at a Crossroads, and he has covered the procurement space more thoroughly and honestly than anyone else in the industry.

In this interview, Jon addresses what he describes as the ‘mythical’ talent war and provides his recommendations for how procurement can win it:

Why C-level concerns about the match between procurement skill sets and what the company requires from procurement may be misplaced
How procurement can address the fact that just as many people seem to fall out of procurement as fall into it
Why the post-pandemic era may be one of the best recruiting opportunities procurement will ever get

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Leadership is easy to talk about, but hard to do. Every leader impacts the people around them - whether positively or negatively - so this week’s guest suggests making a decision from the outset what kind of leader you want to be, and why you want to lead.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Oakland McCulloch. Oak is a Retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, who shares his perspectives on leadership, vision, and discipline through keynote speeches and his book, Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be.

In this interview, Oak talks about the practice and calling of leadership:

What makes a good leader and why leadership is a privilege
What distinguishes ‘servant leadership’ from other forms of leadership
Particular advice for leading teams through times of change
How we can all become better leaders - and where to look for support

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As goods move through the supply chain, the amount of packaging that moves with them is mind boggling. Efforts to increase operational sustainability are gaining steam worldwide, which means that what that packaging is made of and what happens to it after a delivery has been made are of greater concern than ever before.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Cory Connors. Cory was one of the First 100 to go through the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program, and now he is a member of the LinkedIn Podcast Academy. Cory is also the host of the Sustainable Packaging podcast, where he welcomes industry experts to discuss ways to make packaging more sustainable.

In this interview, Cory shares his knowledge about leading packaging innovations:

When I think about sustainable packaging, my mind instantly goes to recycling corrugated cardboard… but I’m sure it is much bigger than that. What other materials come up frequently in your conversations with experts?
How sustainable packaging intersects with corporate sustainability/ESG efforts
The metrics and KPIs used to measure improvements in packaging sustainability?
Whether sustainable packaging costs more, the same, or less - especially given a total cost of ownership approach

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Joshua Palacios. Josh is a Senior Sourcing Manager at Ro and according to his LinkedIn profile he “refuses to be overlooked due to his work ethic and achievements.”

Josh connected with The Sourcing Hero team in a very unique way… he is a regular listener and had the creative idea to ask ChatGPT what a Sourcing Hero is. Here is what it said:

“A sourcing hero is like a Jedi master of strategic sourcing, skilled in the art of identifying cost-saving opportunities, negotiating contracts, and managing supplier relationships. They possess the ability to manage complex sourcing projects while aligning strategies with business goals. With exceptional communication and negotiation skills, a sourcing hero can triumphantly navigate the ever-changing sourcing landscape, bravely facing challenges with their team to conquer the unknown. In short, a sourcing hero is a strategic superstar that saves the day, every day.”

In this interview, Josh talks about the different ways procurement professionals can put generative AI - like ChatGPT - to work for them:

How procurement teams can apply technologies like ChatGPT
Whether ChatGPT can function as a sounding board to develop category strategies
His advice about procurement skills investments given the growing capabilities of tech

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The costs of poor physical and mental health are all around us. Despite having the highest per capita spending on health care in the industrialized world AND the highest health care spending as a percentage of GDP, the United States has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and the highest death rate from COVID-19. According to Gallup, “Nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers (19%) rate their mental health as fair or poor.”

This is a crisis that affects us all.

In this conversation, Kris and Kelly share their thoughts about the importance of physical and mental wellbeing:

How our physical health can cross over and impact our mental and emotional wellbeing - and vice versa
The role that stress management plays in each person’s ability to be successful at work
Common sense practices that may improve physical and/or mental health (listeners won’t believe Kris’ second piece of advice!)

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We’ve all been mired in years of paralyzing risk and disruption… but could risk taking be just what this moment calls for? Yes - as long as the risks are ‘intelligent risks.’

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mark Trowbridge. Mark is an experienced procurement leader with a broad area of focus including sourcing, supply management, contracts management, supplier relationship management, risk management, and inventory management. He is also a published author and speaker whose business travels have taken him throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Malaysia, and the Middle East.

In this interview, Mark explains what ‘intelligent risks’ are and how procurement can prepare themselves to take them:

The important role that data, insight, and research play in procurement’s ability to decide if risks are intelligent or not
How procurement’s relationships with suppliers can either allow them to or prevent them from taking intelligent risks
The culture of accountability and continuous learning that has to exist for intelligent risk taking to thrive

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Procurement has been working to build stronger, more partnership-based relationships inside the business, and yet we still struggle to maintain trust. Fortunately, we are not alone on this journey… other functions, finance in particular, struggle with the same.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Christian Frantz Hansen. Christian works at the Business Partnering Institute, where he helps clients (most of whom are in finance) improve the strength of their business relationships. Procurement listeners will be pleasantly surprised at how many things procurement and finance have in common.

In this conversation, Christian talks about everything from mindset to ‘positive surprises:’:

Why it is so hard for different functional teams (like finance, procurement, HR, etc) to work collaboratively
What an effective internal business partnership looks like
Whether it is possible to hold people accountable and also earn (and keep) their trust
How to make sure we present information in the best possible way to each unique audience

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When someone asks you to define ‘trust,’ what comes to mind? Words like safety, confidence, and dependability are likely to rise in your thoughts. Trust in business is based on the same empathetic human principles as it is in our personal lives, and yet building close relationships in a professional capacity remains a challenge for many people in different functional roles.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Heather Fotch, a.k.a. The Toner Queen. As the Founder and CEO at Quality Imaging Solutions, you may know Heather for providing a concierge approach to indirect spend reduction and cost avoidance on printer toner cartridge supplies, consumables, and hardware… or you may simply recognize her well-crafted professional brand. Either way, Heather stands out.

In this interview, Heather discusses what she has learned about getting stakeholder buy-in from her years of experience working with procurement in a sales role:

The challenges that procurement and sales professionals (surprisingly) have in common
How to build close working relationships without sacrificing authenticity or being overly aggressive
What a solution-oriented collaborative approach looks like
Whether ‘exceptional civility’ is an approach that procurement professionals should learn more about

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The banking system has been in the news quite a bit recently, and not for good reasons. Everyone has learned a lot about the liquidity and transactions that make the financial system - and our economy - work. Two initiatives that have received far less coverage are FedNow and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), both of which raise important questions about the role of regulation in banking and payments.

In this interview, Kris and Kelly discuss FedNow and CBDCs and ask some of the big questions that don't yet seem to have answers:

Whether the federal government is working with or ‘against’ large banks in rolling out instant digital payment capabilities
The ‘retail option’ which would allow individual consumers and small businesses to bank directly with the government
How transparency can lead to increased control, sometimes good and sometimes not

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How connected do you feel to the people around you? What about yourself - when was the last time you paused to think about which philosophical choices are good and which are bad?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by David Meltzer. David is the Co-Founder of Sports 1 Marketing, a consultant and business coach, keynote speaker, and a three-time best-selling author. His mission is to “make a lot of money, help a lot of people, and have a lot of fun…” so it may not come as a surprise to learn that he was the CEO of the Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency - the inspiration for the movie Jerry Maguire.

In this conversation, David talks about his vision for success and fulfillment and how it can make a difference in people’s lives:

Why gratitude, empathy, accountability, and effective communication— are the four principles he uses to communicate and mentor others
Which of the four is the hardest for most people to abide by consistently
How each of us can be a hero to those we come into contact with

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Most procurement professionals work for organizations that predate their decision to join the company. Starting procurement from scratch in a small or mid-sized business is a unique journey, with many decisions that need to be made about when and how, and with many potential answers to the question, “Why?’

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chandhrika Venkataramen. Chandhrika is the Founder of Source Refresh, LLC, a boutique consultancy that creates data-backed sourcing models for SMEs, startups, minority-owned businesses, and nonprofits. She is also the host of her own podcast, the Source Refresh podcast.

In this interview, Chandhrika shares her honest - and in some cases controversial - thoughts based on her experience working with small business:

When in a company’s growth journey they should consider putting formal procurement in place
What part of the procurement process should they start with
How procurement organizations in small companies should decide who their strategic suppliers are

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The simplest solution to a problem is most likely the best one. Cutting through the noise to find root causes can be challenging, however, especially when there seems to be an overly complicated digital answer to every business question.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Steve Clarke. Steve is the Founder of BioSupply Consulting and the author of “Mine The Gaps,” a new book based on a framework he developed to help supply chain organizations achieve their strategic objectives with the least amount of effort and cost in the shortest amount of time.

In this conversation, Steve shares stories where simple solutions were able to be applied because talented team members stayed focused on their strategic objectives:

The types of data procurement and supply chain professionals should prioritize so that they can deliver quick wins
What it means to call out “metrics that make people do dumb things” and the consequences of not identifying them in time
How decision makers can avoid wasting lots of money on technology they are not prepared to benefit from

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With the last few years being as unpredictable as they have been, procurement has experienced a number of mindset shifts - all of which have increased our agility and resilience. In fact, procurement has undergone so many changes that comparisons to the approaches and team models seen in military settings are not out of line.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Harold Hendrickx. Harold is a fractional CPO and the founder of TransExecutive, a company that deploys the Procurement Task Force model to help procurement teams enable, optimize, transform, and rapidly deliver value. He spent 20 years as a senior officer in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and NATO, where he experienced many of the frameworks and models he now applies to procurement.

In this conversation, Harold makes a number of connections between his military experience and what is required of procurement teams:

How procurement leaders can purposefully bring together different people and skills while still fostering trust and cooperation
The investment that must be made in leadership if the associated team is to achieve their objective
His recommendations for procurement leaders and teams who find themselves in unpredictable situations

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Everyone wants to know what the CEO is thinking. What keeps CEOs up at night? How do they hear the messages being shared with them by different functional leaders and the market at large? This all varies by CEO and is likely to be influenced by their functional background experience, general outlook on macro conditions, and relationships with other C-level leaders.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jeff Davis. Jeff is the Owner of Bridgestone Holdings, a real estate and property management company with a focus on multifamily apartments - 2,000 doors and counting! Jeff also has experience in global supply chain management, inflation-related disruptions, and changes in consumer demand.

In this conversation, Jeff helps us think through how CEOs see the world and why it is so important for supply chain leaders. He considers:

Some of the unique ways that supply chain professionals approach business challenges and decisions
How that compares to (or contrasts with) how other C-Level executives view the world
Whether most CEOs are ‘glass is half full,’ ‘glass is half empty,’ or somewhere in between - and what happens when the CEO is wrong???

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‘Digital’ must be one of the most commonly used words in business conversations today. Its usage extends far beyond IT to include nearly every internal and external effort. With so many of a company’s assets and activities being conducted via digital platforms, why isn’t cyber security more frequently included in those conversations?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Shawn Edgington. Shawn is the Founder and CEO of CoverEase, a digital insurance brokerage that is transforming the way businesses shop for and purchase business insurance and group benefits by providing complete transparency to pricing from fifteen of the top insurance carriers in the country.

In this conversation, Shawn walks through the risks associated with cyber security and the potential rewards for companies that approach it thoughtfully:

The current state of corporate cyber risk
Why cyber liability is one of the most under-insured categories of commercial risk
The types of exposure created for companies that do not get ahead of cyber risk
How to ensure against this common type of exposure

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After all of the turbulence of the last few years, relationships between procurement and suppliers have reached a place of stability - at least for now. And yet, given their experiences, both groups are re-examining what they want to get from their most strategic partnerships and how to make that possible.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Juli Lassow. Juli has spent most of her career to this point focused on the partnerships between companies and their suppliers. She has deep experience in retail and with private label products and can walk the line between negotiating savings and building value-oriented relationships as needed.

In this conversation, Juli shares advice that applies to supplier relationships in all categories and industries:

Her view of the current state of procurement supplier relationships
Whether this is the time for procurement to rethink what supplier partnerships mean, and which suppliers to partner with
How the existence of a deep partnership might alter procurement’s approach to contract (re)negotiation
The benefits associated with remaining curious in conversations with supplier partners

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The average podcast only produces 6 episodes before ‘podfading’... and only 10% of podcasts make it to episode 100. To celebrate this special milestone, host Kelly Barner is joined by two ‘Masters of the Unaverse.’

Anthony Clervi is the Chief People Officer at Una. He’s an investor and a natural connector… something you already know if you are connected with him on LinkedIn. Kris Lance is a Senior Director at Una. He is dedicated to improving the client experience by listening first and then pairing strategy and tactics to achieve new levels of performance.

In this conversation, Anthony, Kris, and Kelly talk about what it means to release episode 100 of The Sourcing Hero podcast and then walk a mile in procurement’s shoes:

What is 2023 likely to be like on a macro level and for all of the procurement professionals and teams facing those conditions?
How procurement can embrace a positive mindset in the face of constant challenges
The importance of connections, REAL connections, and how we might know when we’ve made a meaningful one

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Each person has a responsibility to make sure that all of their small choices add up to the total impact they want to have - on others and on the world. If we can make those choices in partnership with individuals and organizations that share our vision and values, that impact will be magnified significantly. “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives,” as this episode’s guest said during his interview.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Daniel Oppong. Daniel is the founder of The Courage Collective, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (or DEI) consulting and training company founded in 2020. Daniel has multiple founder credits to his name… a journey that I can assure you requires plenty of courage itself.

In this conversation, Daniel applies his perspective as an entrepreneur, trainer, and coach to today’s diversity efforts:

The type of needs he sees from business leaders and organizations in the area of DEI
How the listening and communication skills of today’s professionals stack up against the challenges they face
What qualifies as a meaningful difference in supplier diversity programs

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It is one thing to talk about the importance of preserving the environment, and it is another to take meaningful and measurable action to drive change. Corporate sustainability programs are often started in response to consumer demand, but in order to be successful long term, they need backing from innovative, disruptive thinkers willing to blaze new trails.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ian Arthurs. Ian is the Founder and CEO of Circular.co, a supply chain platform designed to close the gap between supply and demand for recycled goods like plastics. In this role, he is applying his two decades worth of experience with digital platform leadership to solve global sustainability problems by addressing illiquid markets.

In this conversation, Ian shares his perspective on the potential and profitability of taking a new approach to sustainability:

Whether all of the talk about sustainability is converting into the kind of change everyone hopes to see
The current mismatch between supply and demand for recycled goods and materials
How it would change economics of material circularity If more companies acted on the demand for recycled goods

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When you are starting a new company, it is a challenge to convince customers that they should choose you over their alternatives. When you are also pioneering a completely new business model for your target market, that challenge increases substantially.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dylan McCabe. Dylan is the Co-Founder of Limitless Roofing, a GPO specializing in commercial and residential roofing materials and supplies. But he and his team aren’t just consolidating demand, they are also building a collaborative community in what has historically been a highly fragmented industry - at least on the buy side.

In this conversation, Dylan talks about the importance of community - both for his team and for the industry they are working to support:

What he has learned from his ‘go to market’ experience
What the entrepreneur’s (or intrapreneur’s) mindset means to him
The role that community building plays in his go to market strategy and company value proposition

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Most corporate sustainability programs are rooted in passion and a desire to continue doing well while preserving and investing in the environment. That passion is important, but it needs to be supported by quantitative standards. Not only does this make progress possible, but it also holds everyone accountable for the commitments they have made.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Saleh ElHattab, CEO of Gravity Climate. He and his team help industrial businesses and their supply chain partners manage their carbon footprint by measuring their emissions, decarbonizing their operations, and promoting their sustainability efforts.

In this conversation, Saleh talks about the data and strategy that have to underpin any investment in sustainability:

The difference that regulation and oversight have already made in carbon reporting
How companies can baseline and benchmark to know if they are doing well
Why CEOs are excited about carbon management and how procurement and supply chain operationalize that executive level vision

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In 2022, the world read news headlines that included skyrocketing energy costs, the horrors of war, rising food insecurity, complex economic troubles, and more. While the issues at the heart of these stories differed greatly, they all have one thing in common: human impact.

In this interview, Kris and Kelly talk about the business and human impact of China’s presence on the world stage:

The A4 Revolution and its connection to strict and sustained ‘Zero COVID’ policies
High stakes geopolitical posturing, and whether diplomacy can lead to necessary change
China’s slow but steady approach towards Taiwan, the world’s hub for semiconductor production

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Over the last 20 years, there has been a groundswell of interest in sustainability. Turning that interest into action will require procurement to be at their very best. If there is one thing missing from many of the efforts that have been made so far, it is taking a cohesive approach to operationalizing sustainability goals and targets.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jonathan O’Brien. Jonathan is the CEO and a founding member of Positive Purchasing. He has over 30 years’ experience of working with household name companies around the world to help transform procurement and negotiation capabilities and is a prolific author.

In this conversation, Jonathan shares his perspective on the state of sustainable supply chains and responsible procurement:

Whether procurement has matured enough to move beyond enforcement/governance and turn the pursuit of supply chain sustainability into a collaborative journey
How to create a feeling of shared, cross-functional ownership and responsibility for sustainability programs
The ESG trend and whether it creates such a large target that specific initiatives like carbon emissions, human rights, or diversity are at risk of getting lost

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Supplier diversity is a good idea - but that fact plus a vision creates very little value. It takes leadership, ownership, and a lot of hard work to convert the vision and social mission behind supplier diversity into tangible results.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Stephanie Lokker. Stephanie is the CEO and Managing Partner of Lockerbie & Co., where she and her team of consultants solve complex business problems for their Fortune 500 and private equity clients. Also relevant to today’s conversation is that Lockerbie currently holds nine diverse-supplier certifications at both the state and federal level.

In this conversation, Stephanie shares her experience with making supplier diversity programs as successful as the vision that drives them:

To what extent should supplier diversity be clearly owned by one or more full time professionals and to what extent should responsibility be distributed to everyone with decision making authority?
What is the difference between supplier diversity programs and DEI programs?
What skillsets are needed for supplier diversity managers to be successful in their role?

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Social media has changed the way we do nearly everything: stay in touch with friends, gather information, stay informed about the news, and make decisions. But should it also alter the way we buy and sell? Executive and author Tim Hughes says yes - and not only that, our time on social media should be driven by strategy and purpose.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Tim Hughes. Tim is the CEO and Co-Founder of DLA Ignite as well as the Author of Social Selling: Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers. That book, which was published in 2016, was so well received that it is now out in a second edition.

In this conversation, Tim explains how social selling should work and the benefits it offers to both procurement and sales professionals:

What procurement and sales need to know about each other in order to partner more constructively
How each of us can become better at leveraging our time on social media
What content means and why it is absolutely critical to our ability to build relationships and influence others

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Procurement teams may talk about technology spend as an isolated category, but it actually encompasses a very broad range of products and platforms. When procurement is thinking big picture about technology - and cloud software in particular - the value generated can go way beyond just savings, including the mitigation of external risk.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes David Campbell, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tropic. Just like so many professionals who never intended to end up working in procurement, David never expected to become a CEO. And yet, his unique professional journey gave him just the tools he needed to thrive as a tech CEO.

In this conversation, David talks about the impact procurement can have when managing cloud software with company goals in mind:

What he has observed about where the high growth tech sector is investing their talent money
The trends leading cloud software to become one of the top categories by spend
How factors like utilization and risk management provide procurement with an opportunity to create value beyond savings in cloud software spend management

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There have been many changes over the last few years, not the least of which are the channels we use for communication. And while there has been a proliferation of digital options, hard copy will never completely go away. In fact, as it becomes a subset of all communications, hard copy shipments become more important - and carry more weight - than ever before.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jane Friddell. Jane is a Vertical Market Manager at Pitney Bowes, a tech company best known for its postage meters and other mailing equipment and services.

In this conversation, Jane talks about some of the changes she has observed - some of which are likely to last while others fade:

The biggest communications challenges companies needed to overcome as their workforces went - and in some cases stayed - remote
Which new communications practices/habits will fade away and which are here to stay
The challenges that exist for workers that have to communicate in hard copy with companies, customers, and suppliers
The importance of hard copy tracking and audit capabilities in a data-driven world

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Cash flow is top of mind for all corporate leaders today, even with all of the other challenges they are facing. Delays in the cash supply chain can be just as problematic as delays in the physical supply chain, and while procurement is typically focused on negotiating value and savings from suppliers, being more informed about the opportunity that exists in managing cash flows is substantial - and can bring them into closer collaboration with the rest of the business.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chris Tsai. Chris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Resolve Pay, a company that helps B2B businesses grow by streamlining net terms invoicing. credit, and payments. Especially in today’s economy, all companies want greater financial velocity, and so Chris and his team have focused on making that possible through automation.

In this conversation, Chris illustrates the importance of smart, efficient cash flow management through payment terms and transparency:

How cash flow management works for inventory-based businesses
The challenges that exist for retailers who have high customer-facing demand but are reliant upon distributors that are concerned about their credit limits
What happens to supplier relationships when companies are stuck waiting for their customers to pay them so they can pay their suppliers
How more efficient cash flows can lead to hard dollar savings

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Although Europe’s energy challenges may be different than the ones faced in the United States, there isn’t any location or industry that isn’t being affected by the high prices or short supply of gas, oil, and electricity.

In this interview, Kris and Kelly talk about global challenges specifically related to energy supply and demand:

The fallout from the “leaks’ plaguing the Nord Stream pipeline in Europe, and how countries are working together to meet collective demand
OPEC’s recent decision to cut oil production
The complex decisions that have to be made when finding new sources of energy
How to balance the desire to become more sustainable with the realities of fuel consumption and supply

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Procurement has long struggled to rebrand as a team that cares about more than just costs and savings. But simply adding “value” to a list of project objectives does little to win over skeptical internal stakeholder groups. What we really need is a more comprehensive way of thinking about what the company does and how we fit into that: Total Commercial Value.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sachin Kasture. Sachin is the Regional Procurement Lead in Asia for WPP. He has extensive experience as a procurement change agent, combining his knowledge of procurement, consulting, and corporate growth to maximize commercial value.

In this conversation, Sachin explains the concept behind Total Commercial Value and how procurement can leverage its power:

The business challenges procurement can solve by taking a broader approach
How to rank or prioritize competing business needs when individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups don’t align.
Why managing a global supply chain, which has its own nuances and challenges, can make use of the total commercial value chain concept

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If you feel like working in supply chain and procurement has become a political minefield, you’re not alone. Between increased regulations, high stakes geopolitics, and administrative differences, complexity is up and the pace of change is accelerating.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Juliette Rowsell. Juliette is a reporter at Supply Management magazine, the hard copy publication from CIPS. In the April-June 2022 edition, she wrote an article titled, What happens when politics snares supply? that opens with the following quote, “Amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, already stretched global supply chains went into meltdown over access to commodities and how suppliers reflect political alliances.”

In this conversation, Juliette shares her media-based perspective on the current state of supply chain management as related to geopolitics and global disruption:

What it has been like covering supply chains as a journalist over the 18 months
How political supply chain management has gotten and why professionals can’t afford to avoid it
The challenge faced by professionals who want to stay informed without being polarized by sensationalized media coverage
How the rise of national trade protectionism continues to challenge global supply chains

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When you think about frictionless procurement and leading customer experiences, the federal government is probably not the first entity that comes to mind. And yet, the work that they are doing internally and in collaboration with their supply partners is truly transformational.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jaime Gracia. Jaime is the Director of Strategic Enterprise Programs for the U.S. Department of State and he has over 20 years’ worth of experience in procurement. One of the efforts he is currently leading is the Acquisition Experience (Acq-X) program, a transformation program that he joins the podcast to discuss.

In this conversation, Jaime described many of the ways that his team at the U.S. Department of State is working on reduce friction for ‘customers’ while remaining compliant with federal regulations:

The operational paradigm shift Jaime and his team are leading through the acquisition experience project
How procurement can better address the challenge presented by the end of budgetary cycle ‘feeding frenzy’ that often happens
How he balances regulatory compliance with frictionless processes to design an experience that meets everyone’s needs
The change that had the greatest impact in terms of how his customers perceive the procurement experience

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There are always prevailing trends in talent management, but they seem to be higher profile in the wake of the pandemic. First was the Great Resignation, and now we’re all talking about (and looking for examples of) quiet quitting and quiet firing.

In this interview, Kris and Kelly talk about the trend of quiet quitting and quiet firing:

Whether they are really a new phenomenon or whether we are just more aware of the dynamics now
What companies and managers might do from a policy perspective to protect their teams and output from quiet quitters
How employees should handle situations where they or their co-workers are being quiet fired
The possibility that we’ve lost the ability to deal with tough issues head on, including personnel performance

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There are differences in procurement by industry, company, and even between direct and indirect procurement, but each team or individual still has an opportunity to make meaningful contributions to the customer experience. Active listening and focusing on what really moves the needle can keep procurement focused on what matters most.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sarah Kaye. Sarah has worked in procurement for many companies that you’ve no doubt heard of: Target, Radisson Hotel Group, WeWork, and now Spin Mobility, an electric scooter and bike-share company. But she actually started her career in marketing and sales… a background that serves her well given today’s procurement challenges.

In this conversation, Sarah combines her experience in sales and marketing with her time in procurement to shed light on:

What it is like to transition from direct spend management to indirect corporate contract management
How procurement can ‘surprise and delight’ customers via indirect sourcing
Ways for procurement to ‘market’ their value-add beyond savings
Why we need diverse perspectives and voices at every ‘table’ where decisions are being made

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The speed of change is so fast these days that we are living in the future already. As a result, risks from cybersecurity and ransomware are increasing - as are the costs and business implications associated with them.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Rohit Hajela. Rohit started his career working in product development, and over time that evolved into vendor management roles in procurement. Today he continues that work and he has also co-founded a business called Vendor Management Office that helps track third party technology vendors.

In this conversation, Rohit shares his vendor management experience as it applies to:

The risks companies open themselves up to if they don’t actively manage their IT vendors
How procurement can bring IT contracts under management using a two-step process
Ways for procurement to make better use of the IT security or data security questionnaires that are so often included in RFPs

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The power of persuasion is at play all the time and in all settings. Sometimes it is as simple as swaying a group of friends to agree with your restaurant preference, but other times there is far more at stake. Hostage negotiators and diplomats regularly find themselves in situations where their skills are needed to save lives and preserve stability. Most examples of persuasion fall somewhere between the two extremes, making it a critical skill for all business people to invest in.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Simon Horton. Simon is the founder of Negotiation Mastery, where he provides negotiating training and coaching for banks, law firms, global blue chip companies, and even hostage negotiators. He has also written several books including his latest title, just released this past spring and titled Change Their Mind: Six Steps to Persuade Anyone, Anytime.

In this conversation, Simon shares what he has learned in his experience as a negotiation coach and what he heard from the broad range of professionals he interviewed for his new book:

Whether persuasion is a skill that most of us possess, and why we might want to improve
The importance of listening to successful persuasion
How we can prepare ourselves in advance of a situation where we know persuasion will be required for a successful outcome
Managing the ‘long tail’ of persuasion to make sure a person’s agreement actually leads to the desired behavior

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Business leaders and decision makers and constantly in a race to keep up with the pace of change. That includes the competitive landscape, economic trends, and new legislation. Case in point: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Despite its name, legislators on both sides of the aisle agree that this law is not about reducing inflation. So what is it about?

In this interview, Kris and Kelly talk about the implications of the Inflation Reduction Act:

What connections are there between deficit spending and inflation, and how will this bill potentially affect the economy?
How do the climate-related provisions of the act play out in reality given our current manufacturing capabilities?
How are busy people leading ‘ordinary’ lives supposed to keep up with today’s rapid pace of change?

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B2C consumer experience expectations have been bleeding into the commercial sphere for a long time, but with the disruption of the last two years, that trend seems to be accelerating. Not only are manufacturing companies looking to improve the experience they offer distributed buyers of MRO supplies, procurement is more aware of the experience expectations as well.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mike Franz, Founder and CEO of ManufacturingPower.com. As a manufacturing ‘triple threat,’ Mike is now using his broad experience to transform the way small to medium sized manufacturers address their MRO spend by acknowledging changes in consumer expectations.

In this conversation, Mike talks about how buyer experiences are changing and how procurement can keep up without compromising on their ‘must achieve’ objectives:

How the B2C eCommerce experience is changing expectations of corporate procurement
How companies can accommodate talent and bandwidth shortages by better leveraging procurement processes and systems
The steps procurement can take to avoid having to choose between data quality and organization and an improved user experience

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Modernizing procurement organizations from tactical to strategic takes more than new technology and upgraded processes. The individuals on the team will need to embrace change as well. Whether it is through improved relationships with internal stakeholders and key suppliers, or distributed authority to generate ideas and make decisions, everyone has a role to play.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Brian Chaplin, Director of Global Sourcing for Medline Industries. Brian has experience managing indirect procurement in manufacturing-centric industries like CPG, aerospace, and energy. He changed jobs during the pandemic, moving into healthcare distribution at a very interesting time in the industry, and has been working to formalize his team and modernize procurement operations since.

In this conversation, Brian talks about his international team’s journey towards strategic, value-oriented procurement:

What it was like taking a role in healthcare during the pandemic, one that requires him to manage a remote team
His vision for how Medline procurement can expand the value they deliver to all North American operations
Positioning the value proposition of procurement in a sales and marketing driven organization
The need for relationships building with suppliers, and how the team is pulling them closer while still emphasizing quality and performance

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Although each procurement professional and team does the best they can under the circumstances they are handed, all industries and companies are subject to global megatrends… and they never stop evolving. From where low cost labor is located to how the “fast fashion” industry is managed, the rate of change is accelerating - and having implications worldwide.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Minesh Pore. Minesh has over two decades worth of experience leading multinational organizations in Intraprenuership, corporate transformation, business development, and strategic planning. Today, he is getting the opportunity to put all of that to work as the Founder and CEO of BuyHive.

In this conversation, Minesh talks about the macrotrends he is watching and how he thinks they will affect how all of us work in the future:

How the rise of third party platforms and service providers may change procurement’s opportunity to create value
The impact that continued remote working and freelancing may have on procurement talent and staffing
The advantages associated with all corporate functions breaking out of their comfortable silos and having the opportunity to learn from colleagues

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The most interesting conversations at in-person events are rarely started from the stage. Instead, they take place quietly, one-on-one, in the coffee line or during lunch. Procurement has been on a two-year hiatus from these networking opportunities, so now that events are back on the calendar, what are CPOs talking about?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Tarek Alaruri and Greg Tennyson, both from Fairmarkit. Tarek is their Co-founder and COO, and Greg - a return guest to The Sourcing Hero podcast - is their SVP of Strategy and Procurement.

In this conversation, Tarek and Greg provide up-to-the moment thoughts and advice about the complexities procurement and supply chain professionals face today:

What they are hearing between sessions at the in-person events they have recently attended
How economic pressures, such as record-high levels of inflation, change the playing field for companies
Approaches procurement professionals can use to stay educated and inspired enough to have informed, action oriented discussions

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A picture is worth a thousand words, as the saying goes, and the images coming out of Sri Lanka and the Netherlands may be worth more than that. From economic instability leading to the overturn of a government, to individual families and farm operations fighting to preserve their livelihood, these two stories offer all of us lessons about human motivation and the challenges presented by disruptive chance.

In this interview, Kris and Kelly talk about the government upheaval in Sri Lanka and the farmers’ strike in the Netherlands:

What is happening in each story and what role are pictures and social media playing in the shaping of public perceptions?
How can supply chain professionals reconcile sustainability regulations that start as government policy but have to be translated into executable processes?
The many things that we all have in common, despite differences in location, career, and philosophy

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Networking has changed a lot in procurement - and the transition from in-person to digital was underway even before the pandemic hit. Digital networking requires a different kind of energy, and when the whole world stopped and went home to work, the most creative educators in the field of procurement found new ways to bind the community together and add value.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Kathy Perna. Kathy may not be a procurement professional in practice, but she is a critical member of the community that has been hard at work promoting networking and education for thirty years, first as part of the National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) and now as the Executive Director of ISM-New Jersey.

In this conversation, Kathy shares her perspective on how networking has changed and the variety of educational needs that have to be met for procurement professionals to shine:

How the professional association model has been affected by the very unusual last two years
Why it is important for procurement training and education to go beyond “traditional” topics

Some of the trends she has watched during her (almost!) three decades working to support the procurement community

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Procurement can talk about systems and processes all it likes, but without making a real and lasting investment in people, sustained success will remain elusive. In many cases, this means learning to understand the motivations of people quite unlike themselves, walking a mile in their shoes before trying to drive specific types of engagement.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Thomas Siersbæk Heller-Njor. Thomas is the Founder and CEO of CostBits, but he has held multiple roles within procurement. He helped lead digital transformation at Maersk, and worked as Head of Operations Consulting at PwC. Now he is applying all of his digital and human experiences to change people’s behavior with regard to procurement.

In this conversation, Thomas speaks about the different human gaps, challenges, and opportunities procurement must be prepared to address to achieve long term success:

Why every transformation effort must start with an acknowledgement that people come before systems and processes
Why procurement needs to understand the different personas they support in the company (and outside of it), and why the best approach might be to allow for discussion between personas
The conditions, traits, and skill sets that are required for long term procurement success

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How each leader sees procurement has a directional impact on what the team is able to achieve for their larger organization and the community they serve. Savings is often described as ‘table stakes’ for procurement, but even those savings are not just dollars and cents. Whether procurement is working in the public sector or private, there has to be a connection between the numbers and what they mean in a real world sense.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Iris Cooper. Iris is a dedicated procurement professional who has worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Treasury and who is now the Assistant Secretary for Procurement, Contracts & Grants at North Carolina Department of Health and Human Service. All of her work is mission-connected and based on her belief that each procurement team can - and must - make a significant impact in the community they serve.

In this conversation, Iris is open about the passion and techniques she relies upon to positively impact communities through her procurement work and leadership:

Positioning the mission of procurement in the context of public sector health and human services
Ensuring that values such as community support and a service mission are evident in every member of the team
How procurement can build trust between the organizations they are a part of and the communities they serve

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There is no end to the opportunities for mission-driven organizations to contribute their knowledge and resources to the world. In order to be successful, these organizations have to remain focused and ensure that their mission converts to action in a way that benefits those in need.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Maureen Woolshlager. Maureen is the Director of Business Development at Vector Global Logistics. She has a background in manufacturing, supply chain, and account management and is one of the hosts of Logistics with Purpose, part of the Supply Chain Now family of shows.

In this conversation, Maureen shares her perspective on Vector’s efforts to help the Ukrainian people:

How the Vector team made the decision to get involved and where the primary focus of their efforts has been
Some of the challenges they have had to overcome while working to connect global donors with carriers and recipients
Shifting the pace of their work as the conflict stretches on in an effort to make it more sustainable

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The economy has dominated news headlines for a while now, but of all the costs presenting challenges to businesses and consumers, energy is on the top of the list. Businesses and consumers are changing their spending habits in response to increasing costs, many of which end up being combined and compounded.

In this interview, Kris and Kelly Barner talk about the many ways energy costs and availability are affecting businesses and consumers alike:

The potential for nationwide rolling blackouts this summer, as legacy energy sources go offline before newer sources are sufficiently online, and weather conditions complicate matters
How prices at the pump are not just a pain for consumers, but potentially operationally prohibitive for freight providers
Sources of ‘mental energy’ that professionals may want to tap into if the sustained pressure of their role has them running on an empty tank

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As the host of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Kelly Barner brings listeners a new guest every week. They share their stories, experiences, and expertise in a casual format - so everyone can learn from them and also to share a bit of their human side.

Each guest goes through a pre-interview to talk about their background and pick their main topic… and then, Kelly warns them.

Every episode ends with an exceptionally hard question that draws our correspondingly fascinating responses. Guests are presented with two options: to share their definition of a sourcing hero, or to explain what they think heroism looks like in a business context.

In this episode, Kelly shares three of the most inspiring responses she has heard in the last six months, as well as a relevant quote from author Mary Roach”

“Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history.”

Listen in to hear thoughts on heroism from Magda Theodate, Ashley Sieb, and Una’s own Kris Lance, and then try to answer those two questions for yourself.

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Although everyone and their brother considers themselves a supply chain expert for being able to find toilet paper over the last two years, career supply chain professionals know that the complexity of today’s supply chains is far beyond most people’s perception. So when a news item comes out that questions the availability of Hershey’s products - Reese’s in particular - we know it makes sense to take notice, listen, and learn.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Greg White. Greg has decades’ worth of supply chain experience, operationally as well as from an investment perspective. You’ve likely seen and heard him on Supply Chain Now’s livestreams and webinars, and he never pulls a punch. In fact, to use his own words, Greg has “unfinished business” with the supply chain.

In this conversation, Greg reviews recent news coverage based on Hershey’s warning that Reese’s products may be in short supply this Halloween and gives us transferable lessons we can act on today:

The many ways in which labor shortages are making other systemic supply chain issues harder to recover from
The ‘slack’ that exists in all supply chains, and how the corresponding efficiency levels and profit margins are distributed
Why we should all be suspicious of people who are new to the ‘supply chain party,’ even if they are enthusiastic and seem to have ‘disruptive’ ideas

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With in-person events starting back up, procurement professionals have the opportunity to ‘get back out there’ and start adding to their knowledge and networks - but are they picking up where they left off or have the last two years changed everything?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Philip Ideson. Phil is the Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement, a procurement consulting, membership, and content company that provides CPOs and their teams the resources they need to enable company growth. He has also worked at both Procurian & Accenture and has experience across the entire Indirect and Direct procurement value chain.

In this interview, Phil shares what he has been hearing at recent in-person industry conferences and whether it provides evidence that the procurement community is staying current on the most important topics:

How conference topics, speakers, and attendees have - or have not - changed as a result of the last two years
What procurement should be investing in and focusing on now to be prepared for the conditions we are likely to be working through six months from now
Whether the combined pressures of inflation, recession, and ESG will alter the general tone of supplier relationship efforts

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Working in supply chain over the last couple of years has been an exercise in ‘weathering the storm.’ As the disruptions continue, and the stakes rise higher, it seems reasonable to ask whether we are truly in the midst of a perfect storm.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Kris Lance. Kris has experience in multiple industries, but a particular focus in healthcare and technology. We also have it on good authority that he is an “optimist with a raincoat” - something we learn more about in this conversation.

In this interview, Kris shares his perspective on the critical situation around food supply chains, whether it is a short term price hike or a humanitarian crisis on the horizon:

The macro events currently serving as an indication that food shortages are going to be an ongoing challenge
Available strategies that companies can explore to protect themselves from disruption and protect their market share
General lessons learned from the disruptions of the last two years that procurement and supply chain professionals should consider baking into ongoing processes

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Corporate programs like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) are growing increasingly common and high visibility. And while the stated vision they are associated with is admirable, they aren’t enough to drive the changes most of us want to see. For that, we’re going to need a strong combination of empathy and entrepreneurship.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Karl Sona. Karl was working his way through a successful career in medical device sales when he realized something was missing. There was part of himself that he wasn’t able to bring to bear in his work - so he joined the ‘Great Resignation’ and struck out on his own.

Today he is the Founder and CEO of The Kas Company, a firm that specializes in brokering profitable partnerships between corporate brands and black-owned businesses, and the host of his own podcast, Dear Black CEO.

In this interview, Karl talks about his philosophy - and incentives - for brokering profitable partnerships between corporations and minority-owned businesses:

His perspective on the nature of relationships between corporations and their suppliers
Whether relationships with minority-owned and other diverse-owned businesses should be different
The role that regulations play in driving companies to increase their investments in ESG versus inadvertently incentivizing box checking
The best pieces of advice and take-aways that he has heard from black CEOs on his podcast

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For a long time, procurement has struggled to reconcile the tension between tactical activities and strategic goals. A few organizations have broken free and stepped into the leadership space through innovative approaches to talent and technology, but most are still mired in ‘stone age’ thinking and approaches.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Patrick Jonsson. Patrick is the Founder of DigiProCure who provide a Category Management Tool focused on streamlining the category management process. He has led many digital procurement transformations involving a wide array of systems, and witnessed firsthand the need for tools that adapt to each team’s maturity and needs.

In this interview, Patrick describes and defends his “provocative” approach to understanding the changes procurement needs to make:

Why he thinks procurement organizations are in an “adapt or die” moment and what that means
The most common pain points procurement and sourcing organizations need to deal with before they can prosper
A list of practical enablers procurement teams should embrace to get their paradigm shift started

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Procurement transformation requires vision, strategy, and skilled execution, but none of those come into play until the situation has been accurately diagnosed. Every organization is different, and the long term vision for each procurement team has to reflect the unique culture and priorities in place.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Steve Trussell. Steve is career sourcing and procurement professional with experience in a wide range of industries and focus areas. After starting his career in manufacturing, he went on to work in retail, automotive, aerospace, and heavy equipment sourcing. Today he is applying his knowledge to the challenges of other procurement teams, helping them understand and address their challenges.

In this conversation, Steve shares a wealth of seasoned advice about leading transformation, communication, and building the right culture and mindset around problem solving:

What to look for when trying to diagnose a new company culture or challenge to be solved
How to separate the symptoms of a procurement problem from the cause of that problem (the ‘true’ problem)
Creating an environment where the team will work collaboratively with other functions to find solutions
How to help people keep their eye on the horizon even while facing urgent, short term issues

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Procurement has to have equally effective technical capabilities and relationships building skills, but the business needs to meet them halfway. If both sides can connect in a place of mutual trust and mutual gain, the possibilities are limitless. If, however, there is no trust, there will always be a gap between what the business wants and what procurement can do for them.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Cedric Watlington. Cedric is an experienced procurement and sourcing manager with a specialization in technology spend. He is proud to be a continuous learner with an extreme ownership mindset and an operational problem solver. His proven track record of sourcing results includes creating value in the form of savings and supplier innovation.

In this conversation, Cedric shares his perspective on how procurement and the business can both take steps to improve their relationship on behalf of the business:

His approach to building a procurement-business partnership
Whether the “constructive feedback” procurement often receives from the business is deserved and how we can improve their perception
The role of company culture in procurement’s approaches and relationships
How the business could make it easier for procurement to support them

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There are many types of organizations looking to assist veterans as they transition out of service. The federal government and state agencies play a role, but so do nonprofits and corporations. Ironically, the trouble faced by most veterans is not a shortage of information, but an overabundance of resources to go through.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Paul Lawrence. Paul was a participant in the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program with Kelly earlier this year. He is a ‘veteran helping other veterans,’ an advocate that advises nonprofits and businesses about Veteran issues. As a former senior leader at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he has a unique perspective on the challenges organizations face working with and for Veterans, and uses that insight to help organizations serve Veterans successfully, efficiently, and cost effectively.

In this conversation, Paul talks about some of the challenges veterans face and what he has learned about how individuals and corporations can support them:

What he learned by interviewing people working to help veterans during the 11 weeks of his Accelerator-based American Dream Campaign
A surprising insight about service and giving back that he heard from veteran-owned business still in startup mode
The kind of approach procurement professionals need to take if they want to be seen as enablers rather than roadblocks

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‘Make v. buy’ is a classic business decision - one that procurement often helps the business evaluate for their own needs. But what about procurement’s own needs, especially in the area of technology? It may be that there is an opportunity for added value and control that procurement has been overlooking.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sean Sieper. Sean is the Director of the Indirect Center of Excellence at Retail Business Services, where his team provides services to the nation’s fourth-largest retail group, including omnichannel grocery brands Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop. He has experience in private brands (i.e. store brand) product sourcing and logistics as well as indirect sourcing.

In this conversation, Sean shares his point of view on the benefits of building custom technology in-house:

When procurement should consider a ‘make’ option for their own technology
The types of talent procurement needs in house to execute this effort successfully
How choosing this route and acquiring the talent required to support it may affect procurement’s relationship with IT
What parts of building a solution procurement should NOT be willing to attempt

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There are so many demands on everyone’s time, energy, and attention, that trying to get colleagues to engage in a project can feel like an uphill battle. And while driving engagement requires more of an active effort and more preparation than many people may realize, it is certainly not impossible!

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ashley Sieb. Ashley is a creative, energetic marketing and communications specialist who knows her way around procurement. She also knows how to get - and keep - people’s attention… and then (to use her personal mantra) “find a way forward” that works for everyone.

In this conversation, Ashley shares her tips and perspective on how anyone can drive higher levels of engagement from different types of audiences:

The components of her personal model for driving engagement: the REAL model
Whether all personality types are equally effective at doing what needs to be done to drive engagement
When and how engagement and communication are the same, and when communication is a channel for driving others’ engagement

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Procurement may think of contracts as dusty old stacks of paper to be filed away or stuck in a drawer - but they are not. The combination of complex events we are all witnessing - a pandemic, war in eastern Europe, skyrocketing inflation - may not have been predictable, but they are a test of our current supply agreements. And as much as we are consumed with them right now, these conditions will not last forever. Supply agreements must be designed to bend and flex but not break if companies want to be resilient.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jeanette Nyden. Jeanette is a contracts and negotiation expert who regularly uses her skills to bolster those of buy and sell-side contract professionals. She specializes in performance-based and outcome-based customer/supplier relationships, and has written four books on the subject.

In this conversation, Jeanette shares her expertise in legal and procurement to answer these key questions for the times we are working through:

Why it is important to understand ‘fixed fee agreements’ given today’s inflationary environment
The contract clause types procurement should be looking for or adding to contracts as a way of dealing with inflation
How procurement should respond (with business input, of course) if a supplier seeks to change the price in a fixed fee contract

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Although most people accept that innovation is a good thing, we likely think about what it means very differently. Some of us hear a silent “digital” before the term, even though there are sources of innovation that extend far beyond the world of technology. In other cases, innovation just feels like change - and that may or may not be a pleasant experience. But, as this week’s guest tells us, it is not procurement’s job to accept the status quo.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Magda Theodate. Magda passed the Bar and became a lawyer before starting a career in procurement. Then she combined both capabilities by working first as a procurement legal consultant at the World Bank’s Africa Region, then as a procurement officer in its General Services Department. She went on to have quite an international career and has continued to specialize in public sector procurement, focusing on the importance of essential governance for developing nations.

In this conversation, Magda speaks frankly about innovation, both from a global perspective and from the perspective of professionals in procurement:

Why global procurement professionals might see the government as an essential player in digital innovation even if North Americans do not
Whether procurement knows what innovation is / looks like / means
How we can prepare ourselves to be ready for what real innovation entails
How our perspective on risk might hold us back from innovating
The skill sets, experiences, or dispositions best position someone to lead innovation

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For procurement, the effort to win over the business is a continual effort - one that is unlikely to ever be complete. And now that eCommerce and app-based home technologies have been broadly embraced, every distributed buyer in the enterprise thinks of themselves as an expert in IT and procurement. Is it possible for procurement to suggest otherwise without complicating those relationships?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Barry Rogers. Barry is the Senior Manager of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at New Relic, Inc., and his experience with IT procurement runs deep. He has worked for tech companies and around technology spend and suppliers for years - developing a valuable point of view.

In this conversation, Barry talks about how the business perceives procurement through the lens of their personal consumer experiences:

The expectation/alignment challenges created between procurement and the business because technology is so ‘easy’ to buy
How risk and compliance with data regulations enter into his work in the IT category
Ways in which procurement can partner with the business to improve the results of their planning process

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Rather than just focusing on that old ‘seat at the table’ longing, today’s procurement professionals have a range of options for where to direct their skills and energy. Whether it is having the right conversations with the right people in the business, or leveraging their ability to solve problems collaboratively while applying time-tested category expertise, there is no substitute for truly capable people.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jeff Bever. Jeff is the Senior Director of Strategic Sourcing and Procurement at Mars. He has over 20 years’ experience working as a transformational senior procurement executive across multiple industries. Most impressive is that he has managed to lead forward progress on efficiency, cost, and quality while also building an empowered team of people that are inspired and motivated by each other and the work that they do.

In this conversation, Jeff leans on his incredibly diverse procurement background to provide inspiration for how procurement can continue to drive individual and team evolution:

What procurement needs to change about their mindset if they want to better align their work with overarching enterprise priorities
The importance of having the right conversations with the right people to drive desired outcomes
How the approach to building and developing talent has to change to enable the current stage of procurement’s evolution

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When choosing strategies and tactics, one of the most important things to keep in mind is the end goal - in fact, this week’s guest advocates always starting with the end in mind. That ensures that a technique is never applied for its own sake, but rather for the outcomes it will deliver for the business or public agency.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Martin Stevenson. Martin is the very recently retired Enterprise Project and Procurement Manager for the California Department of Water Resources. Although he didn’t finish his career in procurement, he spent many decades there with State Control Agencies (DGS and CDT) and Engineering-based agencies (Caltrans and DWR). Martin has multiple procurement and project certifications - including Certified Public Procurement Officer, NIGP Certified Procurement Professional, ISM Certified Purchasing Manager, ISM Certified Professional in Supply Management, and Project Management Professional.

In this conversation, Martin shares his point of view about how procurement professionals can be set up for success with the right training, tools, and techniques:

Where procurement professionals can turn for information and support If they want to develop themselves by developing their skills
Why it is important to emphasize techniques rather than processes - and which techniques he thinks are most effective
How to ensure the technique procurement chooses is the right one for the situation
Why procurement needs to be exposed to many different ideas and concepts

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Nearly everything in the modern enterprise is dependent upon technology. And as distributed buyers are empowered to sign up for their own subscriptions and services, the resulting landscape is complicated, much larger than anyone realizes, and rife with risk.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Victor Hou. Victor is a Managing Partner at Varisource, a data insight platform focused on technology spend. He has worked in and around enterprise IT services for years, and these days he is focused on helping procurement teams digitize their technology contracts, inventory, supplier performance, and spend into a single centralized dashboard so they can optimize their spend and supplier relationships.

In this conversation, Victor brings clarity to a category of spend that has been growing fast over the last few years, and shares his perspective on how procurement can take action to create more value:

When does a lack of transparency into IT spend and provider relationships create the greatest issues for procurement?
What ‘shadow IT’ means and how it can elevate risk for the company
How procurement can benchmark our current suppliers to ensure competitive deals with the right cost structure and performance incentives

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All of us have watched different industry sectors with a kind of shock over the last two years, and business travel is one of them. For many procurement teams, travel spend is part of their scope of responsibilities, and the challenges associated with ensuring traveler safety and comfort while also managing costs and risk have been significant - but perhaps this is an inflection point suggesting that it is time to think about business travel in an entirely new way.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Scott Gillespie. Scott has been THE thought provoking advisor and innovator for the business travel industry for the last 25 years. He has pioneered concepts such as Total Cost of Travel and traveler friction, and was A. T. Kearney’s global expert on travel sourcing as far back as the 1990’s. Despite the challenges facing the travel industry today, Scott is a champion of goal-based travel management, justifiable travel, and eradicating traveler friction - not to mention the author of "Gillespie's Guide to Travel Innovation."

In this conversation, Scott shares his point of view on how business travel has changed and whether those changes will be temporary or long lasting:

How COVID-19 has shifted the objectives of business travel, and how executive leaders may be reexamining their “use of travel” as a result
Advice for companies revisiting their business travel policies and strategies
The metrics that will be most appropriate for measuring the ROI and business impact of travel going forward (Hint: the list doesn’t include savings…)

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For the last 2 years, supply chains have rarely not been front page news. And of all the supply chains, the food supply chain has been watched most closely. From labor shortages, to outbreaks at meat packing plants, and even the short-lived cream cheese panic of 2021, consumers now have a heightened awareness of the processes and companies required to stock grocery store shelves and restaurant storerooms.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Barry Friends. Barry is a food industry strategy professional with a background in distribution. In fact, in preparing for this interview, Barry and I figured out that we briefly overlapped at the same company in the early 2000s: Ahold USA, a large grocery retailer - and at the time commercial food service provider. Today he is a Partner and Foodservice Distribution Consultant at Pentallect.

In this conversation, Barry Gives us a detailed understanding of what’s really going on in the food supply chain, when it started, and what changes we may need to make moving forward:

Whether COVID-19 is really the source of the disruption we see in today’s food supply chains
Why procurement professionals should be paying more attention to changes in others’ demand instead of just watching our own supply chains
The many reasons that suppliers are raising their prices - and if there is anything we can do about it

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Procurement plays a unique role as ‘bridge’ in a company between establishing or abiding by financial controls and bringing creative solutions. Rather than being two separate ways of bringing spend under management - the logical and the creative - process discipline can actually form a solid foundation that procurement can layer creative work and ideas on top of.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Helen Mackenzie. Helen has been a friend for a long time, but in 2021 she officially became a member of the Art of Procurement team! With a background in procurement strategy and public procurement policy development, she brings a unique perspective - and a high degree of enthusiasm - to the field of procurement.

In this conversation, Helen explains what it means to be intentional about work, and how that differs from other approaches:

How is being intentional different than following a plan, getting work done, or being opportunistic?
What are the types of challenges and obstacles that arise when taking an intentional approach?
What do successful outcomes look like, including examples from real-life procurement projects Helen led with an intentional approach.

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All professionals hold different roles and positions during their career, but only the lucky few discover their passion along the way and make a difference for others as they follow their calling. Sometimes it requires the courage to turn away from safe or well-laid plans in pursuit of a new opportunity, but in the end, the journey becomes its own reward.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Lamont Robinson. Lamont is a committed leader in the supplier diversity effort, and he is currently the Director of Supplier Diversity at AmerisourceBergen, a global healthcare company. He has been widely recognized for his passion and innovative work in the supplier diversity space, and so we are thrilled to have him with us on the podcast today.

In this conversation, Lamont presents his framework for thinking through and planning out supplier diversity programs built to last:

The Six C’s: customers, competition, compliance, communities, customization, and costs - what they mean and why they are important
How procurement be a particularly effective advocate for the C’s of cost and customization, increasing diversity and the resilience of the supply chain at the same time
What procurement professionals and teams need to know about being good customers of diversity-owned companies?

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Procurement teams that want to increase the diversity of their supplier base may think that they have to compromise on quality and performance to do so. This could not be further from the truth. Diverse-owned businesses are (and should be expected to be) just as competitive and qualified as any other business in their industry.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Elizabeth Blount McCormick. Elizabeth is the President and Owner of UNIGLOBE Travel Designers, a firm that specializes in designing, coordinating, and delivering complex travel plans for individuals, groups, and corporate travel partners. UNIGLOBE Travel Designers is also a black, woman-owned business.

In this conversation, Elizabeth enthusiastically shares her first-hand experience with today’s difficult travel conditions and what it is like to be a diverse business owner:

An overview of the current state of corporate travel and how travel managers and/or procurement teams tasked with managing travel spend should do given the current uncertainties
The investment of time and effort required to earn and maintain multiple diversity certifications and how they affect her business development efforts
What she would like buy-side companies to know about the supplier’s perspective on corporate diversity programs and how they can be improved

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All companies - and business leaders for that matter - have a tendency to look up for guidance and ideas. And while successful results often carry us on an upward trajectory, looking to emulate the patterns that make large enterprises like the FOrtune 500 successful may actually deny mid-market companies their greatest short-term advantage: raw, lean agility.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes James Meads. James is a career procurement professional turned consultant, who recognizes some of the disparities between procurement technology for enterprise-level companies, and the digital transformation opportunities and partners that exist for mid-market companies.

In this conversation, James talks about the impact that relative size has on what organizations can achieve and how it should influence who they partner with:

Why does most procurement technology seem to be marketed at (and designed for) large enterprises?
How should procurement team size, regardless of corporate revenue or spend, impact decisions about procurement technology?
Ways that mid-market companies on both the provider and practitioner sides of the fence can leverage the advantages of where they are NOW in their maturity journeys.

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Everyone wants to be at the intersection of ‘right place and right time’ - procurement included. Our guest in this episode was able to hit that intersection in two ways. His company went public in a time when everyone was forced to find creative new working arrangements, and he was tasked with rebuilding their procurement organization just as ideas about category management and procurement’s relationship with the business were becoming more nuanced.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Gary Levitan. Gary is the Global Head of Procurement, Sourcing, & Supply Chain at WeWork, a flexible workspace company that went public in October. He has over 15 years experience in procurement, and during that time he has worked to ensure that various stakeholder groups within the business are able to meet or exceed their objectives through contracts and supplier relationships.

In this conversation, Gary shares his theory about the best way to build out procurement organizations through people and process:

What is it like to be a Chief Procurement Officer through a high-visibility IPO?
What does creative category management look like?
What are the potential downsides of procurement having more category expertise than their point of contact in the business?

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Although negotiating isn’t everyone’s favorite part of working in procurement, it is - and likely always will be - a critical part of the job. Despite that fact, there are enough different ways to negotiate that each individual person can find an approach, strategies, and tactics that allow them to achieve their objectives while staying true to themselves.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Soheila Lunney. Soheila has over 25 years of procurement experience involving both domestic and international activities. She has extensive experience in consulting, coaching and training, reengineering the supply management process, sourcing materials and services, reducing total cost of ownership, and negotiating complex contracts. In 2012, she and Charles Dominick published The Procurement Game Plan - and now they are working on an expanded second edition at the request of the publisher.

In this conversation, Soheila shares her passion for coaching others and helping them succeed as negotiators and fulfilled human beings:

The hardest thing for most people to learn when they are trying to become better negotiators
Whether there are actual differences between men and women in negotiation - and whether they align with the stereotypes
How to steady yourself before going into a negotiation - whether it is high stakes or not

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Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and we need them everywhere - even at work. You may have been a hero to someone today and not even know it. Everyone of them has a story to tell and they are all worth hearing. That is the mission of The Sourcing Hero podcast, capturing and sharing epic stories of people beating the odds and rising up to make a difference through procurement.

In this special year-end episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, host Kelly Barner looks back on the second season so far and shares some of her favorite advice, stories, and definitions of heroism. Whether you’ve listened each week, or are just discovering the podcast now, you’ll be amazed at these real life examples of corporate humanity - and impressed by the people who share them.

Some of the things you’ll hear in this episode include:

The combined takeaways from two very different conversations about building influence, including how and when you should foster it and what might get in your way
A mantra for being an effective professional and a good leader at the same time
Two standout answers to the question about heroism, one truly humbling and one a funny, positive surprise!

Bonus: Be sure to listen for some behind the scenes secrets from The Sourcing Hero interviewing and production process!

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We all face times of difficult and important decision-making, in our personal lives and in our professional capacity. In many cases, the approach and the thought process we use when evaluating the available options is as important as the choice we eventually make.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Alison Smith. You may know her as the Purchasing Coach or the founder of Landscaping Your Life, but if you are connected to her on LinkedIn you know that she has boundless energy and passion for everything she does. Alison has worked in and with procurement for almost four decades, using her unique approach to help teams achieve without checking their humanity at the door.

In this conversation, Alison shares her advice for approaching the many crossroads we find ourself at - in work and in life:

Whether it is harder to form a vision of the goal or desired end state or pick the best way to reach it
The role of teams and community in getting past difficult decisions, and why sometimes we may be better off on our own
How our movement through life, and the momentum we build up along the way, is an important force that we have to allow to influence our choices

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Procurement’s ability to deliver value to the business ultimately comes down to a few things. What does the business think procurement is capable of? Can procurement win them over to taking a fresh look at their spend and suppliers? How well are the two sides able to collaborate toward mutually beneficial goals and objectives?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Kevin Giblin. Kevin is the head of Strategic Sourcing for Fitch Group, a credit rating agency. He has held multiple sourcing and procurement roles - more on that distinction in a minute - for companies such as Dun & Bradstreet, S&P Global, ChainIQ, and McGraw Hill. Kevin has also won a number of industry awards in recognition of his ability to collaborate, innovate, and achieve excellence in purchasing.

In this conversation, Kevin shares his firsthand experiences working with stakeholders to illustrate:

The real difference between sourcing and procurement (and why people are so surprised to find out what it is)
What it means for procurement to be a customer-facing organization
How procurement can have credibility with the business even when the business possesses most of the category expertise

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Food insecurity is a very real issue in every major metropolitan area - even New York City. The Food Bank for New York City team repackages 140 Million pounds of food - 120 million meals for the 20% of city residents that are food insecure. Think about that: 1 in 5 people in New York City does not have enough to eat.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Anna McGovern. Anna is the Chief Supply Chain Officer at the Food Bank for New York City and a supply chain and procurement evangelist. Her career highlights include time in the private sector as well as nonprofits, but every role has given her an opportunity to apply her talents and further her own mastery of complex networks, stakeholder engagement, inventory management and more.

In this conversation, Anna shares some eye-opening statistics about food insecurity in the five boroughs of New York City and the sourcing, supply chain, and logistics challenges her team works to overcome on a daily basis:

What sourcing means in the context of a not-for-profit organization like a food bank compared to what it means in a corporate setting
The human implications of failure and how that motivates the people that put their personal mission above salary and benefits
How black swan events cause a short term spike in demand for resources as well as a lasting increase in recipients

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Services are an increasing percentage of spend in many companies, and they take different forms contractually. Contingent workforce includes hourly workers completing tasks or fulfilling roles, while service procurement is made up of companies and individuals working towards Statement of Work (SOW) driven objectives. Either way, procurement has to collaborate with HR to effectively and efficiently manage the outcomes.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Jack Quarles. Jack is the Vice President of Services Procurement at Brightfield and the author of three bestselling books including ‘Expensive Sentences: Debunking the Common Myths that Derail Decisions and Sabotage Success.’ He has experience with talent optimization and cost reduction and has firsthand procurement experience working as the Director of Corporate Procurement at Sallie Mae and consulting to numerous Fortune 100 and mid-tier companies.

In this conversation, Jack shares his insider’s point of view on the considerations associated with successful services management:

What the typical HR/procurement relationship is like and what performance metric(s) ultimately drive Human Resources like savings drives procurement
The challenges associated with properly documenting the objectives and/or requirements of a services procurement SOW
Whether the soft skills or cultural fit of the individual(s) in contingent workforce and SOW-based services are as much of a consideration as they would be in a direct hire situation

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Working in procurement and supply chain - regardless of industry - continues to be more and more challenging. In most cases, it is our relationships that make the difference, whether we are looking at our supply partners or other functions in the company. If we can combine the power of quiet, impactful leadership with the right combination of coaching and opportunities for professionals early in their career, not only will everyone be more successful in the short term, but the future will be very bright as well.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Jeffrey Ostrander. Jeff is currently the head of Supply Chain Transactions in the Western Hemisphere for Schlumberger. Prior to that, he led North American Strategy for diesel and lubricant supply chain operations at Con-way, now part of XPO Logistics, and was the Director of Fuel Procurement for Consolidated Freightways.

In this conversation, Jeff provides us with a window into how he approaches C-level interactions and talent development within his organization:

The source of the disconnect between supply chain and the current occupants of the C-suite, and how we can go about fixing it
Why offering young professionals and opportunity to experience the view from ‘the front seat’ can take their careers from ordinary to extraordinary
His four ‘mantras’ for learning to succeed through the upturns and downturns of an always unpredictable fuel supply chain

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Procurement teams that are willing to push the envelope on behalf of their company have to be effective negotiators. But getting the desired result out of a tough conversation requires preparation and self-knowledge, meaning that the most important work happens a long time before the negotiation starts.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Peter Bolle. Peter is a career procurement professional with experience in the commercial airline industry and a no-nonsense approach to getting things done. Talking to Peter about his work in procurement provides plenty of reminders about why we all need to keep our heads up even while our eyes are focused on the details. Add to that his penchant for colorful stories, and he is an ideal podcast guest.

In this conversation, Peter shares his advice on how to be successful - individually or as part of a team - when engaged in a difficult negotiation:

Whether access to technology and automation has weakened procurement’s ‘traditional’ negotiating skills.
The interplay between personality traits and negotiating style, and how they can be combined in a team setting.
The additional preparation required when procurement knows they are going into a tough negotiation - including assigning roles on their own team

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Talent management and skills development are never far from the top of a CPO’s list of priorities. As procurement’s focus and scope change, however, so will the skills required to make the team - and each individual on that team - successful in the short and long term.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by David Hearn. David has led multiple world-wide sourcing, procurement, and supplier management organizations, both in direct materials and indirect categories. He is dedicated to helping indirect procurement groups transform to reach the strategic internal business partner status they have always wanted, as well as working with the individuals that make up those teams reach their full potential.

In this conversation, Dave provides his unique take on leadership and team development:

Whether category expertise or soft skills are more important to him, and how his preference affects his approach to recruiting and talent development
How leaders can use open ended questions to guide their team through complex projects and relationships
The types of validation - or evidence - he looks for to confirm that procurement is meeting the the needs of the business

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The notion of being an influencer - or having ‘influencer status’ - is very appealing in a world where many people feel that they are fighting to be heard or to make a difference. But that status, conferred by others beyond our control, can be elusive. Sometimes, the harder we pursue it, the further away it feels.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Tom Augenthaler. Tom is on a mission - a mission to apply the influencer marketing model that we’ve all become familiar with on the B2C side to B2B companies. He helps B2B SaaS companies build brand affinity and nurture demand by engaging influencers who can impact the decision-making of their buyers. This requires him to understand the marketing needs of companies, identify influencers suited to their target customer, and bring everyone together in one consolidated program.

In this conversation, Tom shares his expert opinion on a number of questions related to B2B influence:

What makes the most influential influencers effective?
What are the most common roadblocks or distractions that prevent someone actively pursuing influencer status from achieving their goal?
How can we extend the idea of external social media-based influence into dynamics and best practices that apply inside of companies?

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Procurement may talk about wanting to be a ‘customer of choice,’ or talk about creating an improved supplier experience, but do our actions back up those words? We’ll never know if we don’t ask representatives of our most trusted supply partners what they think about our processes - AND listen carefully to their answers.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by two members of the Rapid Packaging team. Rapid Packaging is a supply-side member of the Una community and one of the premier providers of end-of-line packaging systems, supplies, technical services, and automated solutions. Sam Singer is their SVP Sales and Marketing and Jay Anderson is the Vice President of Sales.

In this conversation, Sam and Jay provide a supply-side perspective on questions such as:

How often - and how well - their procurement points of contact make use of their extensive category and product knowledge
What types of sustainability opportunities exist in the end-of-line packaging category
What types of talent and skills development sales teams are making that may or may not align with the soft skills investments being made by procurement

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There are many things about corporate life that everyone just accepts. Meetings, pre-meetings, and constant, subtle incentives to follow the status quo even when transformation is being celebrated. But should we continue to tolerate leadership practices that don’t deliver the desired results… especially if they don’t help anyone enjoy their work? Our guest in this episode says, “No!”

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Jan Griffiths. Jan is a former automotive industry Chief Procurement Officer and Vice President of Supply Chain that is now combining her passion and philosophy to transform work experiences across companies and industries. As a keynote speaker, she is known for getting the audience - and other speakers - to dance… on stage… as the first step on their journey away from traditional corporate leadership.

In this conversation, Jan gives us a primer on authentic leadership:

What is authentic leadership and how does it differ from traditional corporate leadership?
How does a different type of leadership unlock the true potential of a team?
Why vulnerability and banishing the fear of failure are so critical to lasting success

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Direct materials are those that will eventually end up in the hands of a company’s customers, making the choice of supplier in these categories that much more critical. When those suppliers are based in emerging markets, the process of finding and qualifying them requires specialized expertise and third party support to ensure that quality standards are maintained and products meet technical requirements.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Janette Lais. Janette is the Director of Sourcing at Rapid Packaging. She has over 25 years of purchasing, inventory management, operations, and logistics experience. Of particular interest is her knowledge about sourcing internationally, including purchasing products from emerging markets in China, Turkey, and India.

In this conversation, Janette shares her perspective on:

How sourcing processes and supplier communication practices are affected when suppliers are based in emerging markets
How she approaches sourcing projects knowing that the product or material she buys will ultimately end up in the hands of Rapid Packaging’s customers
Advice for companies and procurement/sourcing professionals that are considering sourcing from emerging markets for the first time

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The top news stories each day are like a potpourri of procurement challenges: labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, and material cost increases abound. Each one of them means one thing - the next time a supplier emails or calls, they may be reaching out to say that they are going to have to increase their prices as a result. But what is procurement to do?

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Philip Ideson. Phil is the Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement, a procurement consulting, membership, and content company that provides CPOs and their teams the resources they need to enable company growth. He has also worked at both Procurian & Accenture and has experience across the entire Indirect and Direct procurement value chain.

In this conversation, Phil shares his perspective on:

How procurement should respond to a supplier that reached out with a request for a price increase
What options procurement has for mitigating the increase once it has been determined to be a valid request from the supplier
If procurement needs to worry about getting TOO GOOD at protecting the bottom line in challenging times

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All procurement professionals and organizations want to improve, but the continuum from ‘typical’ to world-class is a long one. The more we can understand about what differentiates digital world-class procurement and how they operate, the more we can accelerate each team’s progression along that journey.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Chris Sawchuk. Chris is a Principal and the Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group. They recently released their 2021 Digital World-Class Procurement research, detailing how top performers are improving their efficiency, effectiveness, and customer experience.

In this conversation, Chris shares his perspective on:

How the ideals of digital world-class procurement is changing how we perceive all procurement organizations
Why investments in digital procurement transformation can make procurement more operationally efficient and provide a better ‘customer experience’ to internal and external stakeholders
The range of factors and inputs included in the idea of digital world-class procurement

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It is one thing to talk about building relationships with suppliers, but it is another thing entirely to carry it out. This becomes even more challenging when we consider how many suppliers procurement teams are responsible for and how unpredictable the global business world is. If meaningful relationships between companies and their suppliers are to be long-lasting and productive, we need to use the right kind of contract in each case - including agreements that drive desired outcomes rather than over-specifying details.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Kate Vitasek. Kate has been the driving force behind the University of Tennessee's pioneering research and development of the award-winning Vested® and Vested Outsourcing movement. Her insights have been widely published in over 300 articles in respected academic and trade journals, as well as in seven books. She has appeared on Fox Business News, CNN International, NPR and Bloomberg Radio and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Chief Executive Magazine, Contract Management, CIO Magazine, World Trade Magazine, and Information Week.

In this conversation, Kate shares her perspective on:

What relational contracting is, and how it allows companies to achieve successful outcomes in partnership with their suppliers - even through challenging times
How procurement can evaluate suppliers, spend, and contracts to determine if a truly relational approach is warranted
The courage required to change one’s mindset, and the strength it takes to lead a team or a company in a new direction

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If ever there were a case to be made that consistently prioritizing low costs above all else is a mistake, it is in foodservice. People can be passionate and particular about their food - especially when they are away from home. When your foodservice clients and consumers are young men and women in college, how you manage their menu and the overall relationship are very important to the success of your business.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Bill Reeder, the President of Campus Cooks. Campus Cooks is the industry leader in providing professional staffing and foodservice management to fraternities and sororities. They have operations on 45 campuses in 25 states. Bill oversees an executive team charged with growing and managing operations on campuses nationwide while ensuring client satisfaction.

In this conversation, Bill shares his perspective on:

The clear connections he sees between the strength of their employee relationships and the experience they are able to provide to their customers
How to ask questions so that you not only get actionable information, but also support your stakeholder’s decision making process
Why he sees Campus Cooks’ procurement as making critical contributions to the health and culture of the company through the tradeoffs they present

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Depending on the exact source you consult, somewhere north of 40% of professionals are planning to change jobs this year. Some are re-examining their personal and professional goals, others are responding to hybrid/virtual workforce shifts, and still others are trying to maximize the joy derived from their “QTR,” or Quality Time Remaining.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Greg Tennyson, the brand new SVP of Strategy and Procurement at Fairmarkit. He has over thirty years’ worth of experience working as an innovative CPO for multiple high-profile corporations. He is a founding member of the Bay Area Procurement Council and has sat on a number of advisory boards for emerging high-tech companies as well professional organizations.

In this conversation, Greg shares his perspective on:

Why investments in soft skills are more important in virtual and hybrid models than in a traditional face-to-face workplace
The critical role that technology must play in creating connectivity and enabling collaboration between team members that do not occupy the same physical office space
Why active listening is the first and most important task most professionals take on, and how to overcome the distractions created by heavy workloads and fragmented attention

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The last year has been full of ups and downs for most procurement organizations and professionals. While there has been a lot of attention on and interest in what they can do for the company, there has also been a lot of change - especially in the knowledge, experience, and traits found in the most desirable talent.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Lawrence Kane. Lawrence is responsible for Strategic Sourcing Functional Excellence at a Fortune 50 company. As the bestselling author of 21 books, he co-wrote The Contract Professional’s Playbook and contributed to both the Outsourcing Professional Body of Knowledge and Strategic Sourcing in the New Economy.

In this conversation, Lawrence shares his perspective on:

The changing role of talent in strategic procurement organizations, and how hiring managers can ensure they are bringing in the skills and experience they need most
Learning to work with the business by building influence, constructively overcoming objections, and hearing what the business needs from a message that states what they want
What procurement needs to know about how the company works before they can determine if they are being effective… or not

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There are many ways to look at every situation, and it is often our ability to combine the observations from multiple perspectives that determine our resilience as well as our capacity for innovation.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Canda Rozier, the President of Collabra Consulting. As a former CPO with extensive global procurement and operations experience, she combines a strong track record of business-oriented strategies with engaged team leadership, mentoring, and industry-wide advisory roles. All of these perspectives have given her a robust and well-rounded way of approaching every challenge that comes along - expected and unexpected

In this conversation, Canda shares her perspective on:

How procurement can make good decisions about where to invest their scarce time, whether the decision at hand is about which supplier to partner with or which piece of content to read all the way through
The critical nature of communication skills in procurement, and how our high-level interactions on social media make it a challenge to successfully engage in formal, long form messaging
The reality that heroism does not mean infallibility, and why every leader and hero in procurement has to be willing to fail on occasion

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Most procurement organizations want to increase their internal influence and improve their working relationship with other functions - after all, that seems like the straightest path to opportunity and recognition. So what happens when a procurement team succeeds? What doors are opened and what additional efforts have to be launched? Is increased influence all it is cracked up to be or is it simply a ‘grass is greener’ type of situation? We find out in this conversation.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Mike Morsch. Mike is the VP of Global Procurement and Supply Chain for CDK Global, a leading provider of integrated data and technology solutions to the automotive, heavy truck, recreation, and heavy equipment industries. But that’s not all - he also has responsibility for Real Estate, Repair operations and has led business transformation and M&A transactions.

In this conversation, Mike shares his perspective on:

The difference between a leader’s ‘day job’ and their ‘night job’ and how each contributed to their ability to succeed
His team’s working relationship with finance - including how it was established and the investments he makes on a regular basis to keep a productive dynamic in place
How we should consider and aim to leverage technology as procurement takes on more complex challenges in pursuit of business objectives

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The volume of business content being created, shared, and discussed every day can feel overwhelming, especially if you are trying to stay on top of best practices and make the most of your professional network. How we choose to spend our scarce listening and watching time is an important decision, and with many (many!) options, each content creator has to find a way to bring unique perspectives and value to their community.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Scott Luton. Scott is the founder and CEO of Supply Chain Now where he leads a dedicated team of people who give a digital voice to all of the different people working in supply chain. With over 15 years of experience in the end-to-end supply chain, his insights have appeared in major publications including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CNN.

In this conversation, Scott shares his perspective on:

Why it is just as important to understand a professional’s journey as it is to listen to their point of view on their area of expertise
The role of business media in helping individuals and teams deal with the challenges they face on a daily basis - and even outperform expectations
Why we all need to look for and celebrate good news as often as we can

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Procurement has been talking about transformation for a very long time - but sometimes they are better talking the talk than walking the walk. And while change isn’t easy, the need for it isn’t going to go away anytime soon. In some cases, it is critical to bring in experienced transformation experts - people who have helped lots of other organizations take their own change journey - to get a realistic and objective look at what needs to be done to help procurement achieve their stated objectives.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Karthik Rama, known to his friends and colleagues as ‘The Procurement Doctor.’ He has made a career out of procurement transformation, spending almost two decades helping organizations from varied industries all over the world generate the greatest possible value from their procurement organizations. He has experience with all of the dimensions involved with procurement transformation, including technology, training, and processes.

In this conversation, Karthik shares his perspective on:

The value of having an objective but experienced ‘outsider’ advise procurement teams before they embark on a transformation journey
What procurement teams have the most difficulty letting go of when the time comes to make lasting and meaningful change
How leaders can balance experience and innovation when building the right mix of team members after a transformation

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When you’re thrown into a new role or find yourself in new circumstances, you don’t have a lot of time to get yourself into position before starting to take action. The more times you find yourself in a new situation, the better you become at learning to adapt on the fly. Learning to adapt quickly can make you a real asset to your company and team. Make that adaptation your strongest skill, and you’ll become a source of lasting competitive advantage - always in demand for the most rewarding roles.

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner is joined by Mickey Schulte, Executive Director of the Savvik Buying Group. Mickey has over 25 years of retail and wholesale operations experience, along with a deep knowledge of business strategy, including strategic alliance development, account management, sales, marketing, and human resources. Prior to assuming his current position with Savvik Buying Group, he spent time as a Senior Vice President of Handy Hardware, and is a three-term past President of the Texas Wholesale Hardware Association.

In this conversation, Mickey shares his perspective on:

The difference between a GPO, buying group, and co-op
How to make sure suppliers have an incentive to be as supportive as they have the ability to
His advice for dealing with product and/or material scarcity above and beyond trying to optimize sourcing projects for price and quality

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Over the last year, most of us have expanded our concept of what it means to be a hero. From teachers to truck drivers, and grocery store workers to hospital staff, we have plenty of community members to look up to. We’ve also learned that anyone, anywhere, in any role has the opportunity to be a hero to the people around them every day - whether it is in their job description or not.

In this very special episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Dr. Dred Scott, President of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, and Anthony Clervi, Principal at Una, to talk about the importance of heroism in all its forms. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City has been helping at-risk youth for over 100 years. While much has changed during that time, heroes have always been present - sometimes in the form of the adults working at the club, and other times in the children themselves.

In this conversation, Dr. Scott and Anthony share their perspective on:

What adults in all walks of life can learn from the resilience and hope for the future shown by young people
How we can stay calm and centered enough to help others when times get tough and the pressure starts to rise
Why there are so many types of heroes, how we can recognize nontraditional heroes around us, and what people can do if they feel the call to step up for their own community

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Amanda Prochaska spent years in corporate America leading large-scale transformations. She was doing her thing with MNA integration, technology deployments, and process improvements. She was trying to build and transform procurement into something better. She learned that she loves working with people and helping them expand their horizons. She loves helping businesses with change management and transformation. So in this episode of The Sourcing Hero, Amanda talks about the world of change management, the future of procurement and supply chain, and her mission and vision with Global Women Procurement Professionals (GWPP).

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In today’s Women Shaping Procurement panel we’re talking about personal branding, gender diversity in the workplace, and how to be an ally for women. We’re here to prepare a place for the women coming behind us. These conversations need to be had so we can cultivate awareness and understand the reality of gender disparity. It’s so we can give people actionable things to do moving forward.

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Una sent out a survey asking 100+ women in procurement about the impact women had on the industry in 2020. One answer is the ‘why’ behind this panel. Samantha Stryker responded and said, “For centuries, women fought for equal footing. In the last century, we saw women gain speed and accessibility to achieve ever higher than before….Those who have powered through all the change while painfully embracing the new normal of their chaotic schedules are armed to the teeth to continue expanding women’s presence in leadership, in navigating transformational efforts.”

This session is about celebrating women in procurement, sourcing, and supply chain. But celebration isn’t enough. The industry needs to bring awareness to the gender pay gap, to diversity within the workplace, and to all of the challenges that women are facing. It’s time to take action. Una has a privilege, responsibility, and a platform to do so. The goal of this panel is to prepare listeners to be an ally for women in this industry.

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Now—more than ever—data is becoming a focus in the procurement and supply chain industry. The global pandemic led to every business tightening their spending and attempting to track every penny and every piece of data. That’s where Susan Walsh i.e. The Classification Guru steps in. We’ve never had anyone on this show that specializes in data like Susan Walsh. Listen to this episode of The Sourcing Hero to hear why a focus on data is so important.

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According to Naseem Malik, sourcing talent is just as important as sourcing goods and services. After 15+ years in the procurement space, Naseem has been with MRA Global—an executive search firm that focuses on supply chain, procurement, and operations—for 8 years.

Whenever someone says “We need to save money. We need to foster better supplier collaboration. We need to become better negotiators.” they stress that it’s all about the people. Everything is related to talent. It should be focus #1 for any sourcing organization looking to achieve its objectives.

How does MRA Global do it? What do they look for in candidates? How do they put the human back into hiring? Learn more in this episode of The Sourcing Hero!

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Dawn Tiura—the President and CEO of Sourcing Industry Group (SIG)—firmly believes that we are in a world that is constantly changing. Sourcing and procurement must change and adapt with the world. If you can’t adapt—retire. Because things won’t slow down.

How has Dawn embraced the never-ending change? How does SIG help the sourcing industry embrace the uncomfortable and continue to innovate? How does Dawn stay on top of what’s happening in the world? Listen to this episode of The Sourcing Hero for her insight.

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People outside of procurement don’t always understand or even know what procurement does. Why? Kelly Barner believes it’s because procurement has lost the ability to connect with the rest of the business. How do you break away from that? How do you embrace creativity in your role? How do you widen your lens to see the big picture? Listen to this episode of The Sourcing Hero to hear Kelly’s enthusiastic viewpoint.

Don’t know who Kelly is? Kelly Barner is a Procurement & Supply Chain Writer and Influencer, and the Owner and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point. But her bio doesn’t stop there. She’s also the General Manager at the Art of Procurement and the Show Host for an upcoming Supply Chain Now monthly livestream, “Dial P for Procurement.” Don’t miss this one!

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Every bit of supply chain has stepped up to the plate in various ways in 2020, according to Sarah Barnes-Humphrey. In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, Sarah shares about the eye-opening collaborations she’s seen in the space. She walks through the huge wins that she’s seen, how her podcast and business has grown, and what she thinks 2021 will bring.

Sarah is the host of Let’s Talk Supply Chain, with series under it such as Women in Supply Chain and Blended. She is also the founder and CEO of SHIPZ, a bid-and-ship platform for mid-market shippers. Listen as Sarah shares a viewpoint that this podcast doesn’t normally get.

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Generally speaking, every procurement professional I've spoken to or interviewed for this show is highly intelligent with bits of wisdom seeping from each sentence. This episode is no exception, and I'd go as far to say that Edmund Zagorin is right at the top. He's got a unique perspective as the CEO and founder of Bid Ops, having solved for a major gap in strategic sourcing with their game-changing platform. He'll share how they've helped customers shine through the pandemic, the vision that founded the company, and where they are headed next. Oh, and Edmund reveals what he believes will be the biggest factor in the success of procurement's future. Don't miss this one!

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While she isn't exactly saving the world single-handedly, Stephany Lapierre's passion for digital transformation in procurement is making a massive impact on many organizations through the pandemic. She’s the founder of a supplier data platform that is making a significant impact in the industry and is clearly passionate about what she does. Prior to becoming the founder of Tealbook, she worked at a consulting firm for hyper-growth companies creating strategic sourcing plans and all kinds of incredible procurement solutions. Join the show as she shares her unique perspective and some of the groundbreaking things her company is doing!

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Time after time you hear from procurement leaders that what is needed most is education. ICN, led by Robert Wright, provides education, training, access to documents, and tools that are leading the way! Robert joins us on The Sourcing Hero to share his journey from negotiating sponsored research agreements for the University of Louisville to becoming a Principal at ICN. He talks about lessons learned and how changing his mindset impacted both what he brings to the table and others’ desire to have him at that table. He has much insight to offer so be sure to check out the episode!

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Once again we are joined by Phil Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement. He is one of today’s top procurement leaders and has a unique perspective on what it means to be a Sourcing Hero.

During this episode, we discuss the results of procurement professional profiles we’ve been collecting and attempt to highlight the commonalities we find among Sourcing Heros and allow Phil the opportunity to comment on our findings. Phil’s insight into the value-role procurement professionals can play for their organization and the stakeholders on the other side of the table, is super helpful. We hope you will take the time to listen.

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, we welcome Joanna Martinez, a 30-year veteran in the procurement industry. She is a former CPO, a speaker and coach, and one of the smartest women in procurement that I’ve met. In this episode, she draws from her wealth of knowledge to share how procurement can gain a seat at the table with top suppliers and leverage strategic relationships to innovate and benefit the business.

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, we welcome Dave Hulsen, the Co-founder and COO of RFP360. Dave has helped transform the RFP process for both the buyer and the respondent. He discusses the barriers to the traditional RFP and how to overcome them, must-know do’s and don’ts, insightful tips, and the revelation of what a truly digital RFP can deliver. You’ll never want to go back to your existing RFP template after learning the creative and forward-thinking benefits of RFP360’s value-packed platform.

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, we welcome Aman Mann, Founder and CEO of Procurify. We discuss how technology can empower procurement and bring value, especially during the difficult time we’re in. As companies have gone remote and decentralized spend during the pandemic, Procurify’s focus on simplification can actually reduce the number of policies and procedures needed. When you change the spend culture in an organization it builds trust and empowers individuals to make the right choices.

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, we welcome Nick Gunn, CEO and Founder of The NiVACK Group. Nick has spent over 22 years in procurement and shares powerful insight about the importance of understanding as the foundation of any strategy. From the motivations of the customer to the greater business goals, understanding equips procurement to determine creative approaches and deliver solutions that bring true value.

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, you’ll hear from our fearless leader, Anthony Clervi, and the one person every procurement professional needs to know - Cindy Rittel. Cindy is Una’s Senior Sourcing Advisor, and every Sourcing Hero’s best friend. She spends her days educating, coaching, and delivering solutions, value, and savings to our members.

Cindy and Anthony discuss everything from the first questions you should ask when considering a GPO to how to pitch a GPO partnership to gain executive buy-in. This episode is packed full of answers to common questions, actionable takeaways, and overall value you won’t want to miss. Get ready to take notes!

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, we welcome Phil Ideson, Founder and Managing Director of Art of Procurement. Phil’s journey is an inspirational tale of overcoming difficulty and learning to be the best version of yourself through resilience, motivation, and perseverance. The lessons he shares apply to the business of procurement as well as your personal life with a challenge to prioritize your health and happiness. You won’t want to miss this episode of The Sourcing Hero.

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In this episode of The Sourcing Hero, you’ll get to hear from Frank Corris, a 27-year procurement veteran and discoverer of what I’ll call, “The Rubric Revelation.” His insight into how procurement professionals can use a rubric to streamline the RFP/RFI process is sure to bring a welcome “aha moment” for Sourcing Heroes.

Frank shares incredible insight and wisdom for both new and seasoned professionals in sourcing, supply chain, and procurement. This is an episode you won’t want to miss.

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Welcome to the very first episode of The Sourcing Hero! Today, we are excited to welcome our first guest, Sarah Scudder, President of Real Sourcing Network. Sarah has been in procurement for about 15 years and specifically specializes in marketing procurement and print services. She's got an interesting perspective on procurement and has a knack for networking on LinkedIn and through online events.

In this episode, you’ll hear her unique perspective on procurement as a fun, challenging, and valuable career. She also shares how to find your voice as a Sourcing Hero and promote the valuable work you’re doing. Stay tuned until the end to hear a list of virtual events for procurement professionals that you won’t want to miss!

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