The Procurement Show
The Procurement Show takes a different approach to the subject of procurement. Hosted by procurement expert Jonathan O'Brien and co-hosted by Paul Philpott, it explores the more interesting bits of procurement. The show is brought to you by Positive Purchasing and produced by Fresh Air Studios.
Episodes
69: Crafting Supply Side Data Collection & Insight
What is behind getting good supplier data and intelligence? That’s a good question! So, Jonathan and Paul are asking that very question to the CEO of Craft, Ilya Levtov. He set up Craft in order to solve the problem of looking up information about companies, so he has all the information about finding information!Brought to you by Positive PurchasingTransform how your teams work with an integr
68: No Data, No AI – Why Clean Data Matters So Much
We all need clean data. But did you know that if we don’t have good clean data, we don’t have AI! To help keep Jonathan and Paul clean is a man who has emerged from the dark side of sales and is now a Managing Partner with ProcureVue. They specialise in analysing spend data within companies. It’s Andy Symmonds.Brought to you by Positive PurchasingDiscover how Positive Purchasing can help you
67: Procurement is a Joke! – Lessons from a Comedy Writer About Why and How We Need to Be More Innovative
Innovation is the key to survival, but why are so many in the Procurement World so bad at it? Seeing as Jonathan and Paul are so funny, they decided to speak to someone that isn’t in the Procurement World … but is a comedy writer who also helps businesses rethink what they do in order to turn themselves around. He’s also the CEO and founder of Brilliant-Thinking.com and he’s Felix Riley!Brought
66: Digital Procurement Transformation – How Maersk Got it Right
If a lot of companies are getting procurement tech wrong, why is that? What should they be doing? Where do they get this tech from? Who can help them implement it? Jonathan and Paul explore all these questions and more. To do this they need an expert! Who better than the former Global Director and Procurement Platform Tech Lead at AP Moller-Maersk, Adam Brown…!Brought to you by Positive Purchasin
65: Driving Procurement in a High Growth Industry
If you’re working in a growth sector, that comes with its own challenges, but what if you’re working in procurement in a growth sector? Does it mean you work differently? Does it mean that AI will have a greater effect on you? To answer all this and more, we have a guest making a rare second appearance on the Procurement Show! This time he’s Director of Procurement for At North. Although he is st
64: Why Trump Wants Greenland: Geopolitics, Power and What It Means for Business
Western influence, Arctic security and the global implications of Donald Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland - and what it means for procurement, trade and supply chains.In this breaking-news special of The Procurement Show, Jonathan O’Brien and Paul explore why Donald Trump wants Greenland, the geopolitical and strategic importance of the Arctic, and what renewed US interest means for global p
63: What the C Suite Expect Procurement to Do
With so many crises going on in the world and having a huge effect on businesses, the C Suite will be expecting great things from procurement. But what, exactly…? Gordon Donovan, VP Research for SAP in Melbourne works with Economist Impact, so he seems to be the perfect person to ask!Brought to you by Positive PurchasingTransform how your teams work with an integrated suite of digital procuremen
62: How to be Really Good at Buying Travel Services
With businesses getting back on the trains, ‘planes and automobiles post-Covid, it’s important for everyone to get the best deal when it comes to sending employees to conferences and meetings. To give us the best advice, we’ve got three experts on hand: Tim Fitzgerald in Spain, Scott Tempero in Manchester and Karen Thornton in the studio. All of them are Travel Counsellors. We find out what the
61: Functional Extinction from AI – Can Procurement Survive?
If AI is on course to replace many functions in organisations, Jonathan and Paul ask the vital question of whether procurement can survive. The perfect man to tackle this subject is a man who sits on many boards, founded OneSupplyPlanet and describes himself as a man who challenges companies and their people to be better versions of themselves: Guy Strafford.Brought to you by Positive PurchasingU
60: The Connected Ecosystem – How Procurement and Supply Chain Can Unlock New Benefits with Ecosystem Thinking
In this episode Jonathan and Paul are being asked to change their mindsets. Not easy. But the man who is bravely trying his best is Jeff Bever, VP Sourcing and Procurement for Russel Stover. His big idea is to think of procurement and supply chain as part of one big, connected ecosystem, rather than a function. Let’s see if we can all unlock new, big benefits!Brought to you by Positive PurchasingD
59: Making the Circular Economy Happen
Cast your minds back a couple of years and you’ll no doubt remember the podcast with Chris Holmes on the circular economy. We’ve been gathering up all the feedback and we can now answer all your questions and more as we speak with Joe Murphy, Executive Lead for Business Network with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This was set up by Dame Ellen to accelerate transition to the circular economy. So,
58: The Value of Diversity in Supply Chains
It’s time to do a bit of talent spotting on the Procurement Show. Or to be more precise: talent management spotting. Is it time to have a rethink about procurement talent? And in particular, planning for the future talent we need? If so, how do we get there? Well, to answer all these questions and more, we have the talent. Not Jonathan or Paul, we mean Manager at Kearney, Priya Kumari. Disclaimer:
57: AI in Negotiation
We keep hearing about how AI is going to change everything on Planet Earth, but will it change negotiation? And if so, how will it change negotiation? Jonathan and Paul speak to the best person possible, Camilla Borsani from the School of Management Polytechnic de Milano, where she is doing a PhD on the subject. Listen carefully; we might ask questions after!Brought to you by Positive Purchasin
56: How Bayer is Leading the Way on Sustainable Procurement
Sustainability in procurement is a regular topic on the Procurement Show, so it seems like the perfect time to get a guest on who is leading one of the world’s biggest companies in sustainability, namely, CPO of Bayer, Thomas Udesen. Let’s find out what are Bayer’s priorities, how they work to create autonomy and who has stolen part of Jonathan’s script for this episode’s Fun Fact.Transform how y
55: Gen Z – The Future of Procurement
Whether you’re Gen Z, Gen X or Jennifer Aniston, you’ll find something of interest in this discussion. Because this one is all about the future! Gen Z is the future of procurement, so it makes sense to have a special guest who is a self-proclaimed Procure Tech Trailblazer, has launched a series of online panel discussions, and yes, she is Gen Z, she’s Lada Samarska.Brought to you by Positive Pur
54: What the Police Can Teach Us About Negotiation
Please note; this episode includes references to child sex offenders. In this unique and fascinating interview, Jonathan and Paul explore negotiating around establishing the truth, as well as finding ways to compel others to do something or give up something. So, it makes sense to get one of the ultimate experts in on interrogation and interviewing – a former detective from the UK police, who we
53: Trump's Tariffs & Trade - A Procurement Show Special - A Podcast About Tariffs
A podcast about Trump's Tariffs...It’s hard to escape the news of US President Donald Trump and the various tariffs he’s either been introducing, suggesting he’s going to introduce or that he introduces, then moves the date around. So, what does this mean for businesses inside and outside the United States? How are those in procurement supposed to react? And where will it all lead? And what are t
52: Making What We Buy Sustainable
In this edition Jonathan and Paul venture outside the world of procurement and focus on how organizations need to approach driving sustainability for what is made. They also look at how people in the roles of design, development and manufacturing might need to rethink how they engage with procurement. In the driving seat for this journey is Product Sustainability Director of TetraPak, Kristina A
51: What’s Trending in Procurement Tech?
If you’re drowning in a sea of procurement tech, you need someone to throw a lifeline; and on this episode, Jonathan and Paul have found just the man. They are joined by Chief Research Officer and MD at Spend Matters, Pierre Mitchell. He’ll guide us through all the latest tech and will teach us one or two new bits of jargon.Brought to you by Positive PurchasingTransform how your teams plan and lea
50: Fiftieth Episode
Jonathan and Paul celebrate fifty episodes of the Procurement Show by selecting highlights from their favourite guests as they cover five themes: technology, AI, sustainability, procurement excellence and people. They also invite members of the backstage team to select their favourite past guests and to offer up an obscure fun fact. Bring on the cake and Champagne!Explore the full suite of high-
49: The Importance of Soft Skills and Emotional Intelligence in Procurement
Good emotional intelligence – or EQ – can be an important factor in a successful and healthy life, both personally and professionally. But what is emotional intelligence? Can you learn it? Can you teach it? And how can it help us be more successful in procurement? Jonathan and Paul speak to “The Procurement Protagonist” himself, Tom Mills to find out all this and more. Hopefully, he can help
48: Tony’s Chocolonely
Much excitement in the studio this episode, as it involves talking about chocolate. Jonathan and Paul are joined by Pascal Baltussen, Chief of Impact & Operations at Tony’s Chocolonely. They discover why it’s Tony’s Chocolonely’s mission to eliminate child labour from the chocolate manufacturing industry. What do they do? How do they do it? Why don’t others in the industry follow their le
47: Lessons from the Frontlines
There’s an old song by Oasis where they sing about starting a revolution from their bed. In this episode we meet someone who did exactly that. Well, from his bedroom in Pennsylvania during lockdown. Luká Yancopoulos founded Grapevine – a company using tech to reimagine the world’s medical supply challenges – and without any prior knowledge of procurement. Jonathan and Paul find out how and why
46: Is Procurement Undervalued (and Can Tech Help?)
Jonathan has been out and about in Amsterdam (but he very sensibly didn’t take Paul with him…) The reason for his travels was DPW – the most notable conference and digital tech showcase for those in the procurement world. You can hear from lots of people that Jonathan met, but most prominently he talks to Michelle Baker, CPO of Virgin Money, who discusses a wide range of procurement topics, with
45: Why Procurement Tech Implementations Fail
There’s a lot of old and crusty tech out there that can often be of little use these days. But why is it that when some new procurement tech is implemented, it can often be not up to scratch or can even fail altogether…? In order to investigate this, we have CEO of Kinetic Talents and an Advisor to Apty, Matt Palackdharry. Unsurprisingly the question of AI pops up. Perhaps more surprisingly, P
44: Cyber Security in the Supply Chain
In procurement, cyber security is extremely important, because you’re not only dealing with your information, but also the information of your clients and suppliers. So, how do we tackle threats? And how do we make sure our information is secure in the hands of others? To take us through the dilemmas and the solutions, Jonathan and Paul are joined by the Chief AI Officer at Resilinc, Sumit Vaki
43: The RFP is Dead! Long Live the RFP.
A bold statement, but is it true? Why do RFP’s fail? Is all the technology and the ever-evolving AI making RFP irrelevant? To guide us through all of this and more, Jonathan and Paul are joined by a man who makes RFP’s easier and more sensible, Chris Heard, CEO of Olive Technologies.We now just need to figure out who Duncan is and what his role is in all of this.Brought to you by Positive Purcha
42: Why We Need to Orchestrate Procurement Tech
There is a lot of new tech about and there will no doubt be more on the horizon, but why does so much procurement tech implementation fail? There is a need to “orchestrate our tech”. But what does that mean?To help them find out, Jonathan and Paul are joined by a self-proclaimed “Procurement Geek” – namely, the Co-Founder at ORO Labs, Lalitha Rajagopalan. Elsewhere in this episode, Paul invents
41: Time for Procurement to Return to the Office? With Kathleen Harmeston.
To return or not to return? That is the question. After everyone was working from home due to Covid, some businesses are insisting all staff return to the office. Others are doing partial returns. But what’s best for staff? What’s best for businesses? And how does it affect procurement?Jonathan and Paul are in the studio – not at home – a and they’re asking all these questions to Kathleen Ha
40: Implementing SRM.
Implementing effective supplier relationship management in a global organisation is a huge challenge. So, in this episode, Jonathan and Paul talk to someone from a huge organisation – namely, Graham Scott from Jabil. This is a company that has revenues of over $34billion and employs 140,000 people in 28 countries. So, Graham knows what he’s talking about. Meanwhile, this episodes Fun Fact migh
39: The Future of Digital Category Management
How do you think digital category management will transform how we determine and implement breakthrough sourcing strategies into the future? Well, in this episode, Paul and Jonathan ask that very question to Stephane Morel, who is Director Procurement Capabilities Standards for Fresenius Medical Care. Not only will you find out his answer, you'll also find out in this episode that Excel spreads
38: Driving Gender Equality in the Supply Chain
Jonathan and Paul speak to Amy Cross about gender equality in procurement. Amy is a columnist, author and senior editor for magazines, including the first US magazine for midlife women. Amy founded Gender Fair, which explores how companies serve women. Together they discuss gender equality around the globe in business and in the procurement process, including how everyone can assess how they ar
37: AI: Cutting through the BS
Is Jonathan really presenting this edition? Well, it's possible. Although it sounds as though he and Paul will have to fight for the right to the Procurement Show. They're joined by the CEO of Voiceovers Ltd, Gary Churcher and data scientist, Emily O'Brien. There are also a couple of other surprise guests. Together, they tackle the fascinating issue of AI in procurement. Is it scary? Or is it all
36: How We Will Negotiate in 2050?
Jonathan and Paul hop into their very expensive time machine and travel 26 years into the future to find out how we will negotiate, the domination of AI and if people will actually be required in the negotiation process. We also discover whether or not Paul is a human being.
35: The Future of Procurement Intake and Orchestration with Nick Heinzmann
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Nick Heinzmann. Nick is Head of Research at Zip, providing 'intake to procure and intake to pay solutions'. We discover exactly what intake is and what it means for the global marketplace and for the future of procurement teams in every industry. Jonathan also has the latest traffic news, particularly for ice truckers...
34: How to Build a Responsible Supply Chain feat. Justin Dillon
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Justin Dillon, CEO of FRDM. As an artist, entrepreneur and humanitarian, his work has awakened a global movement and helped change laws as well as lives. So, who better to tackle this subject? We also discover that Jonathan could possibly be a genie...
33: The Power of NLP - Release Your Inner Procurement Professional
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Martin Crump. Martin runs Evolution Online, helping procurement teams all over the world as a coach, consultant and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Master Trainer. Martin tells us what NLP is and how it can help all departments in businesses of all sizes, not only in procurement. We also discover whether or not Paul has any friends.
32: The Future of Procurement
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Dr Elouise Epstein. Elouise is the author of Disruptive Procurement and the new book, Trade Wars, Pandemics and Chaos. She is also a partner at Kearney. Together they discuss the future of procurement, including the impact of AI. Elsewhere in the podcast we learn how to pronounce Arkansas.
31: Transforming Procurement from a Zero Base
Jonathan and Paul explore how to build high-performance strategic procurement from the ground up. In order to talk through this, they're joined by CPO of Green Cargo in Sweden, Andreas Takacs.
30: I Hate Procurement
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Marcus Evans who has spent 30 years in advertising running agencies including Ogilvy BBDO and TBWA, where new business (sales) was one of his main activities. They look at how procurement teams cope when they're faced with highly trained salespeople. Marcus is now a lead trainer for Positive Purchasing's Red Sheet Negotiation program. A while back he told us that, w
29: Procurement's Role to Drive Social Value
Jonathan and Paul look at how procurement can help drive sustainability, how this changes in the public sector and what the public sector needs to do differently. Our special guest is Guy Battle, who works across multiple industries developing sustainability solutions for businesses. He's currently co-chair of the Public Sector Chapter of the Sustainable Procurement Pledge in the UK and CEO of Soc
28: How ALDI is Driving Sustainability Across its Supply Chains
Jonathan and Paul look at procurement behind the everyday things we buy with Katharina Wortmann, Director of Sustainability Strategy for ALDI SOUTH Group. They discuss how sustainable the things we buy really are, what retailers are doing to drive sustainability and the work that goes into supplier relationships. And where did Katharina get that t-shirt?
27: Navigating the Procurement Tech Landscape
Jonathan and Paul discuss the immense procurement tech landscape, which is no easy thing to navigate. They're helped through this overwhelming topic by digital procurement advisor, founder of the site Procurement Software and presenter of the Procuretech podcast, James Meads. Together they attempt to understand what's out there and James might even get in some skiing and possibly a kebab.
26: Focus on Sweden
Jonathan and Paul discuss Sweden. This is the first Procurement Show of many that will look at how procurement and supply chain varies around the world with a focus on what is happening in specific countries In many respects, Sweden is leading the way, so where better to start? To guide Jonathan and Paul through their Swedish podcast is Anette Lindbom - President of SILF (the Swedish procurement a
25: Everybody's Talking
Jonathan and Paul discuss the importance of understanding and managing body language in a negotiation. Body language has often been mentioned in previous editions of the Procurement Show, so this time Jonathan dedicates an entire episode to it. How it can help in negotiation, how you can tell what someone is really communicating to you and tips on what you should avoid revealing with your body lan
24: The Procurement Show Meets Kelly Barner
Jonathan and Paul are joined by are joined by Kelly Barner, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Buyers Meeting Point, a Partner and Head of Content with Art of Procurement and host of Dial P for Procurement and Sourcing Hero. They take a general look at what's going on in the world of procurement and give us plenty to think about in 2023.
23: Digital Procurement - Where to Start
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Ian Platt, Head of Procurement Centre of Excellence for Syngenta. They look at where to start if you want to enable a procurement function for the future, with the right digital tools and the right digital thinking.
22: Data in Procurement and the Supply Chain
Jonathan and Paul are joined by Kris Lance, Senior Director with the group purchasing company, Una. They look at the tech landscape in procurement and the supply chain; including how data helps us and will continue to help in the future.
21: Negotiation
In this episode, Jonathan and Paul discuss negotiation. What are the tactics? What are the best ones to use? What are the ones to avoid? Can you tell when negotiation tactics are being used on you? Plus; will Jonathan be 'good cop' while Paul is 'bad cop'?
20: Powering Procurement for the Future
In this episode, Jonathan and Paul are joined by Andy Martyr-Icke, who leads the environment team at National Grid - the organisation responsible for electricity distribution in the UK. They discuss what procurement teams should be looking out for in the future with regards to power, electric vehicles, sustainability and those businesses claiming to have net zero targets.
19: Sustainable Procurement in a Creative Industry
In this episode, Jonathan O'Brien and Paul Philpott are joined by Annabel Kaur-Barry, who leads digital and production procurement, for Interpublic Group - one of the 'big four' advertising agencies globally. They discuss how sustainability might apply when what is being sourced is less physical and not as tangible in the world of creative procurement.
18: The Coming Food Crisis
Jonathan and Paul discuss the coming food crisis, following a recent article in The Economist. We look at what the crisis actually means for all of us, and what procurement functions should be doing to find their way through the challenging months and years ahead.
17: Scarcity of Resources
In this episode, Jonathan O'Brien and Paul Philpott discuss the planet's rarest resources - some of which might surprise you. Also, they attempt to discover why these resources are so rare, whether or not there are solutions, plus what this means for procurement departments the world over.
16: Communicating Procurement
In this episode, Jonathan O'Brien talks to Paul Philpott, MD of Fresh Air Studios about the ways that procurement departments can communicate with the rest of the business. Including, how to communicate procurement's methods, goals and achievements. Also, what's the best platform to use? Paul has all the answers.
15: Negotiating down price increases
Jonathan O'Brien and Paul Philpott discuss the unprecedented price increases from suppliers in recent times. Jonathan talks about how procurement teams can handle this, minimise the impact and stay in control.
14: Philip Ideson on the Future of Procurement
In this episode, Jonathan O'Brien and Paul Philpott are joined by Philip Ideson of the award-winning Art of Procurement podcast. They discuss whether procurement is moving away from category management, creating a strategy for digital category management, the future of procurement - including AI - and much more.
13: How climate change will impact our supply chain
Jonathan and Paul chat with Dr Deborah Hemming of the Met Office. Debbie is Scientific Manager of the Vegetation-Climate Interactions (VCI) group which conducts research to improve understanding and modelling of the interactions between vegetation and climate. During this episode they discuss the effects of climate change on procurement and supply chain functions. This includes the effects on food
12: Unprecedented! How can we respond to the global supply issues and rising cost?
Jonathan and Paul discuss what procurement in an inflationary environment means and what can be done about it. With unprecedented changes in the supply chain as well as differences to how trade works at a global level, it's unlikely that these situations will return to how they used to be. So how can we best cope with these changes and the added expenditure? How do we renegotiate with existing sup
11: Procurement with Purpose - Part 2
Jonathan's guests are CEO of Vizibl, Mark Perera and MD of Procurement Excellence, Peter Smith. They have co-written the book, Procurement with Purpose and in this second part of our two-part special, they discuss sustainable procurement with a particular focus on how organisations adopt procurement with purpose. In part 2 we explore Category Management, sustainable growth and what would happen i
10: Procurement with Purpose - Part 1
Jonathan's guests are CEO of Vizibl, Mark Perera and MD of Procurement Excellence, Peter Smith. They have co-written the book, Procurement with Purpose and in this first part of a two-part special, they discuss sustainable procurement with a particular focus on how organisations adopt procurement with purpose.
9: Procurement behind the headlines
From a cyber-attack in New York and the Ever Given Suez Canal incident, to legislative changes in Germany and skills shortages in the UK... In this episode we take a look at procurement 'behind the headlines'. Jonathan and Paul are joined by special guest Bill Young, a procurement consultant, commentator, and host of the FORVM 499 podcast. We discuss some of the reasons these stories made the head
8: Negotiation: It isn't what you say... We explore language and tone of voice
Jonathan and Paul discuss the importance of language during a negotiation, and how tone of voice and phraseology can be used to help drive a negotiation in the direction you want. Examples include leading questions, hidden meanings, inflections, and how to tune in to your audience. We explore the subtle nuances we use everyday, and consider ways in which we can proactively embrace these nuances to
7: The Circular Economy, with special guest Chris Holmes, Senior Vice President Global Sourcing at Avantor in Basel.
Jonathan, Paul and Chris discuss the circular economy, what it means, and how the future of manufacturing and procurement methodology is key to ensuring organizations can focus on being more restorative or regenerative towards our planet and society at large. The discussion includes communicating values within an organization to obtain full buy-in, cultures and mindsets, and obtaining a detailed u
6: Procurement in a Pandemic, with special guest Andy McMinn - Chief Procurement Officer at University Hospitals Plymouth and Lead Spend Analysis for NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Special guest, Andy McMinn, Chief Procurement Officer at University Hospitals Plymouth and Lead Spend Analysis for NHS England and NHS Improvement gives an open account of his experiences of procurement during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Including the importance of having a trusted supply chain, wider teamwork, and areas where organisations like the NHS could be better equipped for
5: Sustainability in Procurement - Where does it start?
KA truly global topic in this episode. How can procurement play its part in the worldwide effort towards sustainability? Jonathan shares a fascinating selection of data and detailed industry knowhow to help us understand where we are now, and what the future holds. From identifying hotspots, to strategically analysing your supply chain, this episode contains insight which will be of interest to al
4: The Detail is in the Data, with special guest Antony Fisher from Mintec Limited.
Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to buying; a fascinating discussion about how data can enhance your approach to cost modelling. Where can we find the right data? What sort of data is out there? And when we have all the data, what do we do with it? Our guest is Antony Fisher from Mintec Limited, a business that helps you tap into a wealth of information out there just waiting to be har
3: Why organisations get procurement wrong, with Peter Smith.
With special guest Peter Smith, fellow and past president of CIPS and author of the book Bad Buying - he is an expert on why and where companies go wrong. Featuring a wealth of real-world examples, this interview will make you smile but more likely cringe. Our Procurement Fun Fact is read by Peter Smith and is taken from his book, and our Ask Jonathan explores managing the expectations of stakehol
2: Remote negotiation.
Jonathan talks about negotiating remotely, and how the method has certainly become the 'in thing', albeit through necessity. Plus, tips on negotiating over video platforms such as Zoom and Teams, the good old telephone and other methods - even text messages! From picking up on nuances during a discussion to training yourself to be a negotiation performer. Our Procurement Fun Fact comes from the bo
1: Reimagining procurement for the new normal.
How is procurement adapting to the current global situation? What long-term effects will we see from a world that's shifted more towards using digital? Jonathan and Paul talk about the effects of COVID-19 and the changes to business that may still be coming. Featuring our first Procurement Fun Fact and Ask Jonathan.
