Art of Procurement – Détails, épisodes et analyse

"If your only role is cost management and processes, that's scary to me. The value of procurement is so much more than that." – Etosha Thurman, Chief Marketing Officer, Finance and Spend Management at SAP

AI is rapidly changing procurement's mandate and the expectations that business leaders now have. 

Technology is no longer just digitizing processes; it's opening the door to new operating models and deeper business impact. To thrive, procurement teams must deliver far more than savings. They must bring innovation, resilience, and data-driven influence to the table.

In this episode, Philip Ideson welcomes Etosha Thurman, Chief Marketing Officer, Finance and Spend Management at SAP. Etosha's career spans sourcing at P&G to leading finance and procurement solutions at SAP. She shares stories and hard-earned insights on how AI is reshaping procurement, what it means for team structure, and why soft skills matter more than ever.

Whether you're exploring practical use cases for AI or looking to reposition procurement as a strategic partner, Etosha offers advice you won't hear elsewhere. She also dives into driving internal investment and how procurement leaders can tell a more powerful story about their work.

In this episode, Etosha explores how to:  

• Identify which procurement skills are critical and which may be automated  
• Rethink your operating model to match AI-enabled workflows  
• Secure buy-in by linking procurement to business growth and resilience  
• Turn data and technology investments into lasting business value  
• Build a stronger brand and tell your procurement story for greater influence

Links:

• Etosha Thurman on LinkedIn
• Learn more about SAP's Spend Management software
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

"The value you bring as a procurement function has transcended being a cost saver. They are now a discussion partner with other functions and bring value in the form of intelligence." - Adrian Vicol, Data Strategy Lead & Data Architect, Siemens Energy

Procurement leaders are facing more complex questions about data than ever before. As organizations move toward AI and automation, the need for clean, reliable, and actionable data is skyrocketing – but most teams are still wrestling with legacy challenges and data silos. 

Getting this right is no longer optional; it's becoming mission-critical.

In this special episode, recorded on-site at ProcureTEX in London, host Philip Ideson speaks with Adrian Vicol, Data Strategy Lead at Siemens Energy. Philip was there at the invitation of Beroe to speak with some of their customers about turning data into actionable insights.

Adrian shares a no-nonsense perspective on what it really takes to close the data-to-action gap for procurement. You'll hear firsthand how Siemens Energy is building a strong data foundation, implementing practical governance, and reshaping the way their procurement teams deliver value across the business.

In this episode, Adrian discusses how to:

• Define a clear North Star for procurement data strategy and automation
• Structure strong data governance with business and technical roles
• Approach legacy data cleanup pragmatically to build trust in analytics
• Integrate internal and external data for real-time insights  
• Engage procurement professionals to share expertise and drive adoption

Links:

• Adrian Vicol on LinkedIn
• AOP Provider Directory: Beroe
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

"Play the long game, avoid myopic thinking and approaches to solve immediate problems as much as you can, and treat your suppliers as your customers or clients." 
– Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility

Procurement leaders are facing unparalleled uncertainty – trade wars, shifting regulations, and headlines that change overnight. Pressure is mounting to build more resilient, agile supply chains, but most organizations are battling change fatigue as well as a need to redefine value. 

Procurement has to rewire their operating model for a future where disruption is the norm.

In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility. Darshan shares real-world stories about how teams are grappling with global risk and why some are seeing volatility as an engine for growth, while others are retrenching. The conversation addresses how CPOs can actively manage optionality in their supply chains, and how procurement leaders can spot – and address – risk fatigue in their teams.

If you want to understand what it means to create a cost-effective and resilient, opportunity-ready supply chain, this episode gives you the roadmap.

In this episode, Darshan discusses how to:

• Adapt your approach for regional differences in geopolitical risk
• Invest in supply chain optionality, even if it adds time and/or cost
• Transition from transactional work to collaborative, strategic relationship building
• Use data and human judgment to separate real risks from noise

Links:

• Darshan Deshmukh on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube
• Overcoming Procurement's Fear of AI with ProcureAbility

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.

"Procurement organizations that are able to master knowledge around their workflows and categories, and bring that intelligence on demand into their processes and tech, are going to really be able to get that 5x, 10x, 20x kind of performance advantage. It's a game-changer."  - Pierre Mitchell, Chief Research Officer and Managing Director, Spend Matters

Procurement technology is a fast moving target, and well-known industry analyst Pierre Mitchell is one of a handful of highly experienced people who can provide a nuanced perspective on the evolving landscape of procure tech, both looking back at what's been accomplished while simultaneously predicting the trends that will drive us into 2025 and beyond.

In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Pierre, who is the Chief Research Officer and Managing Director at Spend Matters, about the critical factors impacting the procure tech market, how to avoid data paralysis, the road ahead for procurement and generative AI, and how procurement leaders can wade through a crowded, fragmented, (and still growing!) procure tech landscape. 

They also discuss:

• The most important procure tech trends to pay attention to in 2025
• What procurement leaders should look for in an intake and orchestration platform
• The likely outcomes, key developments, and challenges for the procure tech market in 2025

Links:

• Pierre Mitchell on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

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.

"For procurement, now is the time to raise your hand and sit at the table where your company is deciding on AI use cases, because that is going to transform your trajectory in the industry and the company." - Mary Purk, Co-Author of "Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI's Early Years – AI Adoption Report" by AI at Wharton

It's been two years since ChatGPT democratized AI technology access and became the most rapidly downloaded consumer application in history. Since then we've seen a steep acceleration of AI-driven innovation, opportunity, and concern. 

Just like every other area of the business, procurement has their own unique story about the way AI continues to change the way they function and create value.

In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Mary Purk, co-author of the recently published AI adoption report "Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI's Early Years" by AI at Wharton and GBK Collective. The report provides data on AI adoption trends within businesses and across functions and the impact that AI is having and will have in the future. 

Mary and Philip discuss:

• How far procurement has come since ChatGPT's release in 2022 and where they're headed in 2025 and beyond
• Why procurement managers are better positioned than any other role in the business to drive AI transformation in the next 12-18 months
• The pros and cons of make versus buy when weighing your organization's approach AI-driven procurement technology
• The perception of AI's impact, and what that says about opportunity within procurement to demonstrate their success and secure their future

Links:

• Report: "Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI's Early Years – AI Adoption Report" by AI at Wharton and GBK Collective
• Mary Purk on LinkedIn
• Microsoft AI Learning Hub
• Hard Fork podcast on Spotify
• Microsoft Podcasts
• Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube

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.

"If you want to be a customer of choice, it's not going to come down to the contract, it's going to come down to the relationship, even at the individual level." - Oliver Jones, Director (Procurement) for H&Z Management Consultancy

Procurement may be a highly tech-driven function – and growing ever more so by the day – but at its core, the quality of procurement's relationships with internal stakeholders and suppliers ultimately determine their success or failure for the business. 

In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Oliver Jones, Director (Procurement) for H&Z Management Consultancy, about why the "relationship" part of supplier relationship management (SRM) is vital for procurement's ability to deliver value to the business. He also shares his perspective on how procurement can overcome some of the more common obstacles to creating strong relationships, but why, in the end, it's well worth the effort – for procurement, for suppliers, and for the business in general.

They also discuss:

• How multiple metrics of procurement's success – like risk management, ESG, or value beyond savings – are all tied back to (and dependant on) supplier relationship management
• Why the 'center-led' operating model is the optimal framework to enable successful supplier relationship management
• Best practices for dividing procurement's focus and prioritization among tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 suppliers

Links:

• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement
• Oliver Jones on LinkedIn

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.