369: How Procurement Can Impact the Health of our Local Communities w/ Mary Beth Lang

All companies have been affected by the pandemic over the last year, but companies in the healthcare industry - like Kaiser Permanente - have felt the pressure and the change to their operating procedures more than most. Mary Beth Lang is the Chief Supply Chain and Procurement Officer at Kaiser Permanente, an integrated managed care consortium, based in Oakland, California. In this conversation, Mary Beth tells Host Philip Ideson: The importance of understanding your suppliers' supply chains: how they produce or secure volume, whether their demand is met by contracted demand or spot buys, and where they are reliant upon imports to fill orders How Kaiser Permanente revamped its procurement resources and became more agile during the COVID-19 pandemic. What Kaiser Permanente learned from the pandemic about its procurement processes and what will be changed in the future How the Kaiser Permanente procurement team plays an active role in helping drive community impact Tips on how procurement teams can leverage their spending efforts to support their communities through working with diverse suppliers