Art of Procurement

“During COVID, we went from just in time to just in case. Unfortunately, now supply chains have to factor in risk mitigation. Finding alternative sources of supply might be a little more pricey, but it reduces the risk.” - Alan Arcand, Chief Economist at Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters

Economic uncertainty and tariff volatility continue to shape procurement strategies and supply chain decisions across N...

Halfway through their 24-episode journey, the co-hosts of “Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement” pause to assess what they've learned so far about how procurement has and is evolving, and, more importantly, what’s ahead for the future.

In this reflective episode, Philip Ideson, Rich Ham, and Kelly Barner bring together insights from their recent conversations that confirm a troubling trend in procurem...

"The way we start looking at every unit of work in a workflow flips from being something that's truly human-led to something that can be increasingly human-reviewed and driven, but not necessarily initiated as a human." Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research at Zip

The pressure for procurement to do more with less means innovation is no longer optional… It's necessary for survival and growth. 

The g...

“The greatest challenge facing the world today isn't tariffs or monetary uncertainty – it's stagnating productivity.” - Baber Farooq, Senior Vice President, Product Marketing SAP Ariba & SAP Fieldglass

Navigating today's interconnected global business landscape has thrust procurement directly into the heart of strategic risk management. Supply chain disruptions, new AI-driven realities, looming ESG regulat...

Sometimes the most damning evidence about an industry or an organization comes from the inside. In this second installment of “Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement’s” deep dive into supplier tactics, two former supply executives continue exposing the ins and outs of the supplier playbook they used on procurement when they were on the other side of the fence. 

Bob Schreiner, former CIA section chief and G...

“Procurement officers are going to have to go hunt for the solutions they need and the workflows that can help their business. I do feel like to do this job properly moving forward, it's an offensive job, and you don't have the luxury of sitting back.” - Matt Ziskie, Co-Founder, Bungalow Capital

How procurement approaches working with smaller, innovative startups can look quite different than other supplie...

“I was humbled by the buy-in from the AOP community because, ultimately, people came on trust. They came on the trust that we would deliver what we said we would for our first in-person event.” - Philip Ideson, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Art of Procurement

Now that Art of Procurement's first-ever in-person event, Catalyst LA, is in the rear-view mirror, co-hosts Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner sit do...

Much like the classic plot twist in old thriller movies where the characters realize the threat is coming from inside the house, the most revealing insights about supplier tactics are coming from inside Fine Tune’s own house in this eye-opening tenth episode of Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement.   

Co-host Rich Ham was initially reluctant to tap into his own team’s expertise for this podcast series, b...

“Change is about first having an awareness. Once you have that awareness, then that other party that you're trying to drive that awareness has an understanding. And when that understanding is there, then they're motivated to take action.” Pratik Patel, Director - Category Management - Labor/North America Technology Spend, Mastercard

Services procurement can be a rewarding field, but it also has some unique...

"I’m a big believer in market intelligence, where we educate the business on the providers and the levers to pull. It's not about just pricing; it's understanding the market." - Amy Fong, Partner, Sourcing and Vendor Management, Everest Group

Service categories are experiencing unprecedented change driven by generative AI, which is shifting workforce models and evolving commercial structures across the bus...

Twenty-five years after co-founding Corporate United, the first indirect GPO in the United States, David McCarty points out an inconvenient truth: the very tools procurement once developed to leverage spend are no longer as effective in today's supplier-dominated landscape.

In this episode of "Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement," David joins co-hosts Philip Ideson and Rich Ham to discuss the evolution ...