In this episode, Rich speaks to Jennifer Francis, Category Manager for Indirects at Thames Water.  Jennifer shares her journey into the procurement field, expressing her love for the diverse challenges and opportunities it offers, from building supplier relationships to formulating business strategies and negotiating commercial terms.  Jennifer talks about how she found her calling in procurement and discusses the daily dynamics of her role, the strategic importance of procurement in business, and the challenges faced within the field, such as stakeholder alignment and the evolving ..read more

In this episode of our Young Leaders series, Rich speaks to Ed Gamble, Digital Garage Manager at BP, who shares his journey into procurement, the evolving role of technology in procurement, and the importance of emotional intelligence and people skills in the field.  Ed discusses how his team at BP's 'Garage' seeks innovative tech solutions to improve procurement processes, his accidental entry into the field post-university, and the fulfillment he finds in tackling diverse challenges and collaborating with a wide range of people. He highlights the shift towards digital transformation in ..read more

In this episode of the Procurement Conversation, part of the Young Leaders series, host Rich talks with Ann Dhondt, Category Manager at Vodafone Procurement and Procurement Manager at HANNDS'ON.  Ann shares her journey into procurement, beginning with her creative endeavours in product management and sourcing in Asia.  She expresses her love for the creativity and variability the field offers, emphasising how procurement isn't just about negotiation but also about fostering relationships, creativity, and dealing with various challenges.  Ann talks about her optimism about the ..read more

This week Rich speaks to Tim Snow, CPO at Inmarsat about enhancing the agility and efficiency of procurement. Emphasising the importance of procurement taking a proactive and involved role from the onset of strategy development, the conversation highlights the necessity for procurement to be seen as a partner capable of driving quality, pace, and commercial thinking, rather than simply executing processes.  Key topics include the importance of building meaningful stakeholder relationships, the role of agility in procurement, the balance between speed, compliance, and vendor relationship ..read more

Procurement is the best job in the world. I’ve been privileged to work in it for the last 22 years and have loved every minute of it. I’ve worked on great projects with fantastic people, and The Procurement Conversation podcast is my way of spreading the love and giving back. I have seen how passionate and innovative teams can change the perception of procurement from an administration function to a visionary function, from obsessing over cost to delivering significant value, and from a systems and process oriented discipline to a human centric one. And I want everyone to understand how they c ..read more

In this episode, Rich talks to procurement professional Mark Coulson talks about important changes in IR35 Interim Worker Space, including the significant tax offset change, and the resulting opportunities for procurement teams. This conversation reveals how these changes can de-risk IR35 by about 75%, leading to material cost savings, providing access to better caliber contractors, and avoiding the need to body shop. Mark further suggests that given these changes, companies need to reconsider the restrictions they have put on engaging contractors, especially since newer technology platforms ..read more

Rich speaks to Jim Townsend - former CPO of Walgreens Boots Alliance to get the inside view on Procurement Technology from a CPO. Jim talks about the digital landscape of procurement and the need for a more strategic approach for investment in procurement technology.  The conversation includes the relevance of technology to relation to the maturity and requirements of an organisation, the value and timing of a technology investment, and  the need to focus on what's important, rather than getting distracted by new tech solutions.  Jim also highlights the important of leadership ..read more

Rich speaks to Jim Townsend - former CPO of Walgreens Boots Alliance to get the inside view on Procurement Technology from a CPO. Jim talks about the digital landscape of procurement and the need for a more strategic approach for investment in procurement technology.  The conversation includes the relevance of technology to relation to the maturity and requirements of an organisation, the value and timing of a technology investment, and  the need to focus on what's important, rather than getting distracted by new tech solutions.  Jim also highlights the important of leadership ..read more

Rich is joined by Tom Mills - Head of Procurement and Properties at Bibby Financial Services and Founder of Procure Bites.   They delve into topics such as the state of procurement in 2024, the impact of procurement scandals on the profession's image, the necessity and value of procurement to businesses, and even the potential role of technology like AI in procurement.  Tom shares his perspective on the importance of diversity and supply relationship management within procurement. The conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities that procurement teams will face in 2024 ..read more

This week we’re looking at why Procurement suffers from dodgy data - how it affects the function and what we can do to solve it. Rich is joined by Susan Walsh - the Classification Guru and Natasha Brown Group Procurement Director of Harland & Wolff. We cover: 0:46 - Why does Procurement suffer from dodgy data? 10:53 - What are the key steps in cleansing your data? 13:11 - Examples of where poor data has affected procurement decision making 15:43 - Importance of being data driven as a core procurement soft skill 17:46 - AI vs humans in the next phase of data management 21:58 - How do we ..read more