“Only when we stop accepting the fact that procurement is being made to make decisions that are not the best for the future but the best for business today will we really start to take action.” - Alex Jennings, Former CPO DS Smith, Independent Consultant at APSL Consulting Ltd Alex Jennings is a procurement powerhouse with decades of leadership experience working for well-known brands like GE and Toyota and occupying multiple senior roles before his retirement from corporate life in 2023. But, Alex is still leading procurement into the future, even after retiring as CPO of DS Smith. Most recen ..read more

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention ..read more

“If you think of it simplistically, orchestration is a whole art form. You have to learn what it all means. But in so many words, it is nothing else than acting as if it is your own company. How cool is that?” - Elisabeth Schlag-Lawrence, SVP, Head of Procurement Governance and Enabling, Bayer When procurement is decentralized, it is difficult to achieve the visibility they need to proactively manage risk and compliance, identify savings, and create value and opportunity for the business.  In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes a heavy-hitting panel of Fortune 500 procurement leaders to ..read more

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention ..read more

“I think we are headed for human-centered AI where we have the human at the core, and you are going to augment your capabilities with technology to make your work better. That is where it is going.” - Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility Procurement is acutely aware that emerging technologies like AI are already having an impact on the profession and will change the role and function of procurement even more in the years to come. While some in procurement are embracing, or, at the very least, accepting the new AI-powered future of procurement, others are somewhat more resistant or eve ..read more

“What we have to do from day one is engage the business, sell the value of procurement, communicate the value of procurement, and make quick wins with the suppliers.” - Salvador Serra de Paz Procurement transformation can sometimes feel like a daunting undertaking, especially when there are voices within the business that are hesitant (or downright resistant) to change and view any improvements to processes, workflows, ownership, or technology as threats to their own function.  In this podcast episode, Philip Ideson welcomes Salvador Serra de Paz, who has extensive experience leading succ ..read more

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention ..read more

“2023 was the year of the ‘dabbler.’ We all heard about AI, and we were all playing around with ChatGPT. We were dabbling around, but we were not integrating. I think 2024 is the year that we actually integrate AI and start to create workflows around it.” - Heather Murray, AI Trainer and Advisor at Beesting Digital and Founder of AI for Non-Techies Since the release of ChatGPT in 2023 brought generative AI technology to the masses and ushered in a wave of new AI-powered solutions, companies have been scrambling to figure out how to harness AI to their advantage and wade through all the new sol ..read more

Procurement 6 is a short podcast from Art of Procurement that publishes in the Art of Procurement feed every Friday morning at 6am US Eastern Time. Presented by a member of the Art of Procurement team, each episode has 6 short segments that summarize the week in procurement. Segments range from procurement tips to podcast summaries, from details of events to news or overviews of blog posts that capture our attention ..read more

“The procurement job market is back. That’s great! But, as it regains momentum, both job seekers and companies are going to have to adapt, and I think the road ahead promises growth and transformation and opportunity for anyone who is willing to embrace this change.” -Mark Holyoake, Managing Director, Procurement Recruitment at Holyoake Search  After nearly 5 years of what seemed like a rollercoaster of ups and downs in labor trends – from salary inflation to hiring to economic downturn and then back again to recovery (whew!) – the procurement job market seems to be showing signs of stabi ..read more