The Procurement Conversation – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of the Procurement Conversation, we talk with Pauline Potter, Director of Procurement and Sustainability at Evri, about the strategic role of procurement in business and how to get the right mix of cost, service and sustainability. 

She shares insights on identifying value, prioritising tasks, and fostering continuous improvement within her team. 

Pauline also discusses the importance of balancing urgent versus important tasks, building relationships across departments, and driving large-scale sustainability projects. The episode also touches on diversity in procurement leadership and how her team is hiring for new roles.

In this episode, the Rich speaks to Jeremy Smith, Managing Director at 4C Associates, about the critical aspects of building and retaining a great procurement team. 

Jeremy emphasises the importance of diversity, skillsets, and personality in creating cohesive teams. He discusses recruitment challenges, the essential qualities for procurement professionals, and the evolving role of procurement in businesses, especially post-COVID. 

Jeremy also touches on mentorship, the significance of AI in procurement, and trends including digitisation and sustainability. The episode also looks at how 4C Associates differentiates itself in the marketplace through its people-centric approach and cultural values.

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 relationships, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within procurement teams. The dialogue further delves into strategic partnerships, the measurement of procurement success beyond cost savings, and the concept of '10x'ing procurement to vastly enhance its contribution to business strategy and outcomes.

00:25 Introduction to Procurement's Speed Challenge

00:46 Interview with Tim Snow: The Importance of Getting Things Done in Procurement

02:26 The Reputation and Agility of Procurement Teams

04:42 Strategies for Accelerating Procurement Processes

07:31 Balancing Speed, Agility, and Compliance in Procurement

15:55 Addressing Common Procurement Bottlenecks

21:14 Fostering a Culture of Innovation and Continuous Improvement

23:22 Leveraging Strategic Partnerships for Better Outcomes

27:00 Evaluating the Success and Impact of Procurement Initiatives

32:32 The Concept of 10x'ing Procurement for Future Success

35:39 Closing Remarks 

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 can also make this change.

On the podcast I speak to inspirational leaders and industry experts to find out what they are doing to advance the profession. In this latest series I am also talking to the CPOs of the future so we can spread the word to the next generation of professionals who may still be in schools or at university.

Please subscribe and give us a rating to ensure that as many people as possible join the mission.

Thank you.

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 can ensure compliance across different countries. He also provides insight into the potential savings opportunities and advises procurement leaders to use these changes as a catalyst to reopen the discussion about the company's policy stance on engaging contractors.

www.ir35pro.co.uk
Mark's Course: Click here

00:23 Introduction to the Procurement Conversation

00:42 Understanding IR35 and its Impact on Procurement

01:38 Mark's Journey into IR35 Specialisation

02:17 The Challenges and Misunderstandings of IR35

03:05 The Financial Implications of IR35

03:55 Learning from IR35 Experts and Applying Knowledge

04:35 The Market Response to IR35 Changes

07:28 The Impact of IR35 on Global Workforce

08:19 The Role of Technology in Managing IR35

09:28 The Offset Change in IR35 and its Implications

12:48 The Future of IR35 and its Impact on Procurement

15:26 The Role of Procurement in Navigating IR35 Changes
20:07 What should Procurement be doing?

22:11 Conclusion: The Importance of Understanding IR35

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 in this space.

00:43 The Role of Technology in Procurement

01:56 The Importance of Timing in Tech Implementation

04:38 The Challenges of Making a Business Case for Tech

10:49 The Evolution of Procurement Tools

17:26 Tools that Jim has seen which are useful for procurement

21:58 The Skills Needed for Digital Procurement

24:08 Learning from Tech Mistakes in Procurement

26:08 Conclusion: The Future of Procurement and Technology

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, from managing cost savings while focusing on ESG objectives, to dealing with political transitions and supply chain disruptions. 

We talk about our books to read:

• Oversubscribed: How To Get People Lining Up To Do Business With You by Daniel Priestley
• The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure by Grant Cardone
• Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

00:21 Introduction to the Big Conversation

00:50 The State of Procurement in 2024

01:43 The Impact of the Horizon Scandal on Procurement

02:25 The Role of Procurement in Vendor Selection and Relationship Management

03:25 The Challenges and Opportunities for Procurement in 2024

05:33 Big themes and the Impact of Global Events on Procurement

08:38 The Role of AI in Procurement

13:40: Re-imagining Procurement's role

16:42 The Future of Procurement Talent

22:49 Looking Forward to 2024

27:32 Books to Read in 2024

30:53 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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 foster a data driven culture?
• 25:03 - What advice would you give to Procurement teams that are struggling with legacy data?
• 29:56 - How do we influence other parts of the business to get the data we need? 
• 35:43 - The panel's data wishes 
• 39:00 - Data dumping grounds

This week we're talking about the Procurement Talent Wars - the battle for great talent within the function. 

Rich is speaking to Ben Paynter, Procurement Director at Burberry and Martin Smith, owner and founder of the Talent Group and host of Talent Talks podcast to get their inside perspective on the war for talent within our profession.

We cover:

• 0:44 - How the UK recruitment market is - as of December 2023
• 2:12 - We’ve been hearing about a talent shortage for a few years now - how does a procurement leader see it?
• 5:31 - What are the key skills procurement leaders are looking for and what are the hot categories?
• 8:00 - Gap between leading vs simple involvement in activities which candidates put on their CVs
• 10:29 - Migration from perm to interim in IT category at a certain level.
• 12:10 - Is IR35 still having an impact?
• 13:47 - Lack of graduate schemes and talent development
• 16:18 - Confusion over procurement job titles and job descriptions
• 17:53 - Which teams are getting hiring talent right and what are they doing?
• 22:01 - Are there many truly strategic teams out there or are many just talking a good game?
• 25:25 - How much do candidates want to work with a strategic function vs greenfield or brownfield?
• 27:19 - What has the in office, wfh or hybrid position settled on?
• 28:46 - Is there a difference between age or experience level as to willingness to return to office?
• 30:50 - Importance of water cooler moments / maximising value of office time
• 32:11 - Is there anything that candidates should be doing that they are not?
• 36:03 - Annoying practices: Recruiters
• 40:15 - Annoying practices: Hiring managers
• 41:33 - Annoying practices: Candidates
• 46:33 - Importance of feedback

So you are starting a Procurement Technology implementation but you don't have a team?

Which roles are vital for success, who are these people and where can we find the best?

Rich is speaking to Joël Collin-Demers in a two-way interview about our experiences working with the best in the Procurement Technology space.

We talk about which roles we would have on an ‘all-star’ ProcureTech project team.

• First we define a ProcureTech implementation
• How we would craft a project team
• What makes a good ProcureTech:
  •  Project sponsor
  • Project manager
  • Implementation functional lead/team and how many we may need
  • Subject Matter Expert
  • Implementation technical lead/Team and how many we may need
  • Implementation data lead
  • Change management lead
• We also cover some other roles we might need depending on the scope of the project