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PODCAST · business

Art of Procurement

by Philip Ideson

Learn from procurement experts. Host Philip Ideson talks with thought leaders who share the trends, strategies and tactics that you can lever to elevate the role of procurement - and your career.

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Episodes

  1. EP 019: Startup of the Week: Mandel AI

    "Supply chains are going to get more complex. As we adopt more agents, there's going to be more coordination, not just between humans but between bots and humans and bots themselves." Nick Gospodinov, Founder and CEO, Mandel AI Today's procurement organizations live in two worlds: ERP platforms…

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  2. 888: Remove Friction, Build Trust: Prioritizing the Partnerships Behind the Data

    Procurement teams are under steady pressure to do more with less, and AI has made boards impatient for faster, smarter answers. Most teams can't build every capability they need in-house, so the CPOs pulling ahead are redesigning their operating models around the right external partners. Getting...

  3. Ep 03: The Agentic Procurement Diaries: Boring Enough and Safe Enough: When AI Gets the Keys

    Dear Diary… "I was watching a lot of smart people, day in and day out, looking across documents, opening folders." Most procurement teams pick AI use cases by asking what the technology can do. Liza Tsimbal started somewhere else. On a random Tuesday, an OEM technical issue had a room full of…

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  4. 887: Sustainable Procurement: Where Policy Meets Practice W/ Nicole Darnall

    "If you're not thinking about what you inherit through your procurement decisions, then you're not truly serious about managing your climate impacts." - Nicole Darnall, Professor, Arlene R. & Robert P. Kogod Eminent Scholar Chair in Sustainability, American University - Kogod School of Business...

  5. EP 018: Provider of the Week: Candex

    "Everybody's trying to simplify. Everybody's trying to make the process better and the end-user experience for buying better." - Jeremy Lappin, Co-founder and CEO, Candex Are you frustrated by the endless friction and noise around tail spend? Candex Co-founder and CEO Jeremy Lappin shares how...

  6. 886: The AI Performance Gap: What Procurement Leaders Are Doing Differently W/ Christopher Sawchuk

    "It has to start with the business outcomes that we want. This becomes an operating model decision. Technology has to support the operating model that we're designing." - Christopher Sawchuk, Principal and Global Procurement Advisory Practice Leader at The Hackett Group AI adoption is quickly...

  7. Ep 02: The Agentic Procurement Diaries: The Work-Work Balance: Building an Agentic Supply Chain at SLB W/ Jeffrey Ostrander

    Dear Diary… "I use AI a lot to help scout out things or pose challenges and see where solutions are being marketed along those lines." Jeffrey Ostrander runs a nearly $5 billion business in one of the most dynamic supply markets on the planet. His team has left the starting block on agentic AI....

  8. 885: Procurement Should Be a Safe Pair of Hands in a Complex World W/ Frank Mckay

    "Do we have a supply chain that we are building that is going to allow us to navigate and be agile enough, no matter what the world continues to throw at us?" - Frank Mckay, Chief Supply Chain & Procurement Officer, Jabil Procurement and supply chain have traditionally operated as distinct...

  9. EP 017: Stop Buying Technology. Start Changing the Operating Model W/ Mason Morgan

    "AI makes the answers cheaper, so the good questions and good judgment really become the coin of the realm." - Mason Morgan, Managing Director, Managing Director at CrossCountry Consulting focusing on AI and innovation in S2P Procurement technology has come a long way, but simply adding new...

  10. 884: Beyond On-Time Delivery: Measuring Supplier Stability W/ Shayan Farshid

    "You don't need an advanced platform to begin. You just need consistent definitions, discipline, to look at the data, and a willingness to move beyond the on-time delivery average to make really good decisions going forward." Traditional supplier scorecards can tell procurement whether a supplier...

  11. Ep 01: The Agentic Procurement Diaries: Why This Is a Once-in-a-Few-Centuries Revolution

    Dear Diary… "I believe we are in the midst of a revolution — and I think in a revolution, we as a vendor also want to invest a lot in educating the community on what's really changing and how it's changing." This episode kicks off a new Art of Procurement podcast series, produced in partnership...

  12. 883: The CPO Agenda: Scaling AI Beyond the Pilot W/ Darshan Deshmukh

    "It's all about building that momentum, creating the value, testing the hypothesis, and then continuing to challenge us to take it to that next level." Darshan Deshmukh, President at ProcureAbility AI adoption in procurement is accelerating, but experimentation alone does not equal…

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  13. EP 016: Startup of the Week: FlockScore W/ Matthew Spencer

    "The earlier you can catch risk, the cheaper it is to solve." - Matthew Spencer, Founder of FlockScore Procurement teams have access to plenty of information when evaluating a new supplier, from certifications and financials to technical capabilities. What they often lack is visibility into a…

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  14. 882: Reengineering Procurement for Greater Impact W/ Polly DeSouza

    "If you want a seat at the table, you've got to pull up the chair." - Polly DeSouza, APAC Transformation Leader Procurement teams have spent years talking about the need to move away from tactical and transactional work and create more time for strategic priorities. As AI begins to take on more…

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  15. EP 015: Provider of the Week: Tradeverifyd

    "It's more the translation of visibility. It's not so much visibility. Visibility is there, but it's what do you do with that?" - Mike Prorock, CEO, Tradeverifyd Supply chain risk has become both more complex and harder to anticipate. Geopolitical shifts, regulatory changes, multi-tier supplier...

  16. 881: Owning Transformation: How to Successfully Lead Procurement Through Change W/ Gretchen Vance

    "Don't ask AI to do something that you don't know how to do yourself." - Gretchen Vance, Vice President Procurement at Forest Lawn Parks and Mortuaries Procurement transformation often comes down to a leader's willingness to push for change, even when the path forward requires taking a risk. For...

  17. EP 014: Provider of the Week: Sievo W/ Sammeli Sammalkorpi

    "The expectation level of procurement is rising. Today's stuff that was not possible a year ago, that felt like science fiction three years ago, is something that we can create for our customers today." - Sammeli Sammalkorpi, Co-founder & CEO, Sievo For CPOs and their teams, procurement data has...

  18. 880: The State of AI in Procurement: Who's Getting the ROI? W/ Nick Heinzmann

    "There's an absolute risk of procurement's role and scope being diminished by AI, unless we embrace new ways of working." - Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research, Zip According to new research from Zip, only 17 percent of organizations can demonstrate clear ROI from AI today. The difference between...

  19. 879: The AI Pilot Phase is Over: How to Move From AI Investment to Genuine Business Impact W/ Joseph Postiglione, Sr.

    "If you're not completely sure about what you want to try to achieve, how will you know you ever achieved it?" - Joseph Postiglione, Sr., Author, Protecting Expected Outcomes in the Age of AI AI investments are accelerating, but many organizations are still struggling to turn promising pilots…

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  20. EP 13: Making Sense of the Procuretech Landscape: Practical Insights for CPOs W/ Samir Khushalani

    "The biggest risk today is not making the wrong AI decision. It is making no decision at all while everyone else is learning." Samir Khushalani, Senior Advisor, Art of Procurement Procurement leaders now face more technology choices than ever, with new AI-enabled solutions emerging constantly. In...

  21. 878: Building Procurement as a Strategic Growth Engine W/ Travis Hodge

    "Procurement's future is bright, when we continue to do it the right way for the right reasons." - Travis Hodge, Director of Enterprise Sourcing & Procurement at nVent Procurement is no longer just a back-office function. As business models shift and digital transformation accelerates…

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  22. 877: Building Trust for Digital Supply Chain Success W/ Mohit Ahuja

    "Visibility is not the end goal. The end goal is how does that visibility enable me to make a quick decision." - Mohit Ahuja, Strategy & Transformation Leader, Caterpillar Business leaders can no longer afford to think about digital procurement as "plug and play." This is especially true in...

  23. EP 12: Provider of the Week: Una

    "It's amazing how you can rise to the top just by doing what you say you're going to do and being honest about what you can't do." - Anthony Clervi, Managing Partner, Una Procurement teams today are under intense pressure to deliver savings, manage risk, and do more with less… all while digital...

  24. 876: AI with Purpose: Designing Procurement's Next Chapter W/ Gaël De Martelaere

    "If you build AI on top of weak foundations, you're going to have a very broken system." - Gaël De Martelaere, Chief Procurement Officer, Hexion AI is driving enormous change in procurement, but success relies on more than just new tools. The real challenge is rebuilding the foundations (data,...

  25. 875: How to Transform Every Procurement Partnership W/ Kate Vitasek

    "When you have a great partnership, the value that you can create is unbelievable if you know how to do it." - Kate Vitasek Despite the best intentions, nearly 70% of business partnerships unravel within three years. Why is it so difficult to build relationships that deliver value, and what are…

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  26. EP 11: Provider of the Week: Valdera

    Chemical procurement's complexity isn't news, but the pace of change – and risk – is climbing fast. With AI sweeping through every corner of the business, leaders charged with sourcing chemicals and raw materials have reached a fork in the road: modernize, or fall behind. Dheev Arulmani, COO and...

  27. 874: Building Resilience Beyond Tier One: Hard Truths About Risk and Visibility W/ Harald Nitschinger

    "Resilience doesn't mean a supply chain that doesn't see risk. That's impossible. It means setting yourself up to withstand shocks and disruptions." - Harald Nitschinger, Co-founder and CEO, Prewave Today's supply chains operate in a world of constant shocks, but the risks that matter most rarely...

  28. 873: Creating Capacity for Complex Problem Solving W/ Israel Santiesteban

    "We need to evolve from procurement professionals into business leaders with procurement expertise." - Israel Santiesteban, Former Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Supply Chain The next evolution of procurement is about so much more than cost savings. With new digital tools and relentless...

  29. EP 10: Supplier Management as a Connected Discipline W/ Jesse Lee

    "If your business is getting bigger, then supplier management is going to be ever more important to you." - Jesse Lee, Co-founder, CEO of Brooklyn Solutions Procurement's role in managing suppliers is transforming fast: scope is growing, expectations are higher, and the risks are real. Getting...

  30. 872: Beyond Automation: Accelerating Agentic AI Transformation in Procurement W/ Vishal Patel

    "The future of procurement isn't actually AI. It's people using AI to improve business outcomes and improve their own value add." - Vishal Patel, SVP Product & Customer Marketing at Ivalua Many procurement teams have adopted AI in some aspect, but only a few have figured out how to turn those…

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  31. 871: The New Rules of Procurement Leadership W/ Gary Mizhir

    "I measure success by the number of executives that come to us before they make decisions." - Gary Mizhir, Senior Director Head of Innovation & Excellence, FIS The pressure to move from tactical cost savings to strategic business impact is growing, especially as AI, data, and new business needs...

  32. EP 09: Provider of the Week: ProcureAbility

    In this Provider of the Week episode of the ProcureTech Insider podcast, host Jyothi Hartley speaks with Darshan Deshmukh, President of ProcureAbility. ProcureAbility is a leading procurement and supply chain services provider, offering advisory, managed services, digital solutions, and talent...

  33. 870: Managing the New Spend Frontier: AI Tokens in Procurement W/ Jon Winsett

    "You need to get visibility into the AI tokens, what workloads they are being used for, which users are using them, and what department they're coming out of. Most organizations don't have that visibility yet. They just get the bill." - Jon Winsett, CEO, NPI AI tokens have gone from a niche...

  34. 869: The Modern Operating Model: Building a Lean, High-Value Procurement Team W/ Stephen Rauf

    "Don't overvalue the top procurement spot, and don't undervalue the tools and the budget required. It's an ecosystem." - Stephen Rauf, Global Head of Indirect Procurement, Zoetis Delivering more value with fewer resources is an easy thing to want, but tough to execute consistently over time……

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  35. EP 08: Startup of the Week: Suplari W/ Jeff Gerber

    Procurement teams are under increasing pressure to do more with less… less time, less headcount, and often less budget. But, at the same time, the volume of data they manage continues to grow, making it harder to uncover insights and act on them quickly. That's the challenge Suplari wants to…

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  36. 868: Catalyst SFO: (Re)Designing Procurement for an Agentic World W/ Christine Moore and Joe Postiglione Sr.

    "Catalyst is really a unicorn. You walk in the room, check your ego at the door, and everybody is there to learn." - Christine Moore, Managing Partner, RAUS Global Procurement is racing to harness AI, but simply "doing more" won't be enough. At Catalyst San Francisco, the most recent in-person...

  37. BTW EP 32: The Final Phil-Ins: Closing One Door, Opening Another

    In the final episode of "Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement," Philip Ideson, Rich Ham, and Kelly Barner reflect on 18 months of exploration, 32 episodes, and a remarkable roster of guests who collectively proved that procurement's incentive problems are both bigger and more solvable than…

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  38. 867: Building Bridges Between Procurement and the Business W/ Brad DeHart

    "If you focus on stakeholders' needs and add value, the savings will always follow." - Brad DeHart, Senior Vice President, Customer Growth, Continuum Procurement leaders have always been expected to deliver value under pressure, but when resources are thin, the old playbook just doesn't cut it....

  39. EP 07: Procurement as Ecosystem Builder in the Age of AI W/ Saurabh Gupta

    "Procurement has to become an ecosystem builder for the enterprise, because no enterprise can do everything by itself in today's world." - Saurabh Gupta Procurement leaders are feeling the pressure to "be AI-first," yet most struggle to get past the hype and deliver real business value. With AI...

  40. 866: How Digital Masters Are Preparing for an AI-enabled Future W/ Deloitte

    "Digital masters aren't just deploying technology. They're changing the way procurement runs." - Chris Riley, Partner - Supply Chain and Procurement, Deloitte As AI-enabled tools shift the landscape from efficiency to true strategic impact, CPOs are tasked with making sense of new operating…

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  41. BTW EP 31: The Fellowship Against Fake Savings with Alan Veeck

    "Isn't it true that everybody talks about supplier management, but nobody does it?" This observation from Summit Procurement CEO and Founder Alan Veeck captures the delta between procurement's aspirations and the reality on the ground. It's a gap, he says, that AI might finally help close, but…

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  42. 865: Confidence, Cost, and Compliance: Insights from the Economist Impact Report W/ Gordon Donovan

    "Right now, procurement needs to define their future role in the business. Procurement needs to drive that for themselves, because if we don't, then someone is going to drive it for us, and that could drive us out." - Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Workforce, SAP...

  43. EP 06: Startup of the Week: Zinit W/ Stan Moskovtsev

    It's no secret: procurement teams are under increasing pressure to deliver savings, handle more work with leaner teams, and modernize outdated processes… all at once. While software solutions have flooded the market, much of the daily reality still involves spreadsheets and emails, especially for...

  44. 864: Benchmarking Procurement: Lessons from $1.4 Trillion in Spend W/ Sammeli Sammalkorpi

    "Don't speak about category savings because that's procurement lingo. We need to speak about gross margin expansion at the end-product level." - Sammeli Sammalkorpi, Co-Founder and CEO, Sievo Spend analytics has moved well beyond spreadsheets, but most organizations are still guessing about what...

  45. BTW EP 30: The Talent Shift No One in Procurement Is Ready For W/ Friddy Hoegener

    AI is already changing procurement, but, for many, the bigger and more difficult question is what will happen to people in the process. Procurement has long been constrained by capacity: too much data, too many transactions, and not enough time to step back and think strategically. Now, with AI...

  46. 863: The Agentic Shift in Procurement: The Rise of Autonomous Processes

    "Procurement now gets to decide where to play, who does the work, and how much of that work is done by humans versus agents." - Viji Doraiswamy, VP Product Marketing, Coupa Senior procurement leaders are under pressure to deliver much more than just savings. The next advantage lies in the...

  47. EP 05: Provider of the Week: Prewave W/ Harald Nitschinger

    In a world defined by volatility, procurement leaders need more than gut instinct to navigate supply chain risks. From regulatory pressure to sudden trade disruptions, organizations can't afford blind spots. This is why risk intelligence and AI-powered efficiency are climbing the CPO agenda. This...

  48. 862: AI, Talent, and the New Shape of Procurement in India W/ Dr. Swapnil Dubey

    "In the AI regime, things are going to be disrupted. So be ready to be disrupted." - Dr. Swapnil Dubey In a market as complex and fast-changing as India, procurement's role has transformed from tactical to strategic… and fast. As global manufacturers shift operations and Indian firms chase...

  49. BTW EP 29: The Phil-Ins: Confront the Data Delusion

    "What you think of as the data isn't the right data." This observation from FineTune COO Brian Gamble shines an (uncomfortable) spotlight on one of procurement's biggest challenges: AI has the potential to completely transform the function (in a good way) and drive a significant amount of value…

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  50. 861: Procurement Under Pressure: Disruption, AI, and the New Operating Model W/ Amit Mahajan and Jon Jensen

    "Change is the only constant today. Disruption is happening more frequently, and procurement has to be ready for the unknown." - Jon Jensen, Partner & Managing Director, AlixPartners Procurement leaders are facing more disruption, pressure, and technology change than ever before. Resilience,...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Learn from procurement experts. Host Philip Ideson talks with thought leaders who share the trends, strategies and tactics that you can lever to elevate the role of procurement - and your career.

HOSTED BY

Philip Ideson

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Art of Procurement have?

Art of Procurement currently has 938 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Art of Procurement about?

Learn from procurement experts. Host Philip Ideson talks with thought leaders who share the trends, strategies and tactics that you can lever to elevate the role of procurement - and your career.

How often does Art of Procurement release new episodes?

Art of Procurement releases new episodes frequently with a large back catalog of 938 episodes. Check the episode list for recent publication dates.

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You can listen to Art of Procurement on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Art of Procurement?

Art of Procurement is created and hosted by Philip Ideson.
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