The Evolution of Procurement

Welcome to the first episode of Scandals of Procurement. Host Emma Shaffer is joined by a rotating guest each week in this new series presented by The Evolution of Procurement Podcast. This series will highlight some of history's biggest procurement scandals and the ripple effects that they have caused.This week, Emma is joined by Steve Isaac to discuss the scandal of the $400 hammer. 

A quick update on the Past, Present, and Future of The Evolution of Procurement Podcast from Darin Matthews!

In this episode, Darin connects with Colette Holt, a leader in procurement law who has spent decades designing, implementing and defending affirmative action programs, local hire and community benefits programs.Colette is the principle of her firm, Colette Holt & Associates, and also serves as the General Counsel for the American Contract Compliance Association.In their conversation, she and Darin discuss her background and the family history that led her to the legal profession. They cover the importance and benefits of supplier diversity programs as well as the vast legal challenges facing programs that seek to support historically disadvantaged businesses.

In this episode, Darin and Dr. Cliff McCue dive deep into the changes in education for members of the public procurement community. They share their opinions on the offerings and opportunities for procurement education and how those offerings have changed as the profession takes its place as a more strategic role. They talk about Cliff's background and how he came to procurement and his advice for the next generation.

In this episode of The Evolution of Procurement, Darin is joined by Mississippi State University's Chief Procurement Officer Don Buffum. Together they talk about the value of procurement certification and the power it holds especially for young procurement professionals. They dive into Don's procurement journey, the mentors who helped him along the way. Lastly the look towards the future of procurement, noting the benefits of greater collaboration between procurement teams and the benefits of collaboration with suppliers, while acknowledging the challenges of such partnerships.

In this episode, Darin is joined by Cardiff University's Dr. Jane Lynch. Together they discuss the impacts of COVID on purchasing and academia in Wales and the UK at large. They touch on the key skills needed for success in procurement, Dr. Lynch shares details of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, and they explore the benefits and challenges of buying local.

In this episode, Darin is joined by Russell Chung, Chief of Procurement and Supply Chain at University of California Berkeley. Together they discuss the critical importance of data driven decision making in procurement and supply chain optimization, the skills that procurement newcomers need to develop and the programs to help them do so, and the great need for digital procurement and contract management systems.

In this episode of The Evolution of Procurement, Darin is joined by Stephen B. Gordon. Together they discuss the research being done on the field of procurement at academic institutions around the country. They look back at the evolution of NIGP and how it has transitioned into the leadership community that it is today. And Stephen talks about where he still sees room for growth as Procurement seeks to take on its more strategic role in public administration.

In this month's episode of The Evolution of Procurement, Darin connects with David Yarkin, the founder and CEO of Procurated and the former CPO with the State of Pennsylvania.Together they discuss David's background and how he found his way into procurement, his experience in putting together an "A Team" in the state of PA, and how via Procurated, he hopes to foster a greater shared knowledge of the vendor landscape among the nation's procurement professional!

In this month's episode, Darin is joined for a conversation with procurement transformation luminary Lourdes Coss. Together they discuss Lourdes' background and experience as a procurement leader across a number of agencies including The City of Houston, Cook County, IL, and more.They dive deep on training and methodologies, they discuss procurement's role as a leader in public administration and the importance of fostering leadership skills in rising procurement professionals. They share their hopeful view of the future of the field of Procurement and the role that new technology plays In that future.

In this first episode of 2021, Darin is joined by Keith Ashby, the Purchasing Manager for Arapahoe County, CO. In addition to his experience as the drummer for Earth, Wind and Fire, Keith and Darin discuss how Keith came to procurement, procurement best practices, and his philosophies as a purchasing leader.

Darin is joined by Negometrix founder and current President of Negometrix USA Jan Siderius for this final podcast fo 2020! Together, they discuss Jan's background and how his work with hospital suppliers led him to the realization that technology could provide efficiency improvements to procurement. They talk through the digital procurement transformation happening in Europe and dive deep into bid evaluation best practices and methodologies.They finish off by discussing the future of procurement technology and the importance of information security in an age where every company is - to some extent - a tech company.

Darin welcomes procurement technologist Jenti Vandertuig to the podcast! After serving over 14 years as head of procurement for the County of Santa Clara, CA, Jenti continues to consult and teach the art of procurement. This has included procurement advising and consulting for the San Francisco 49ers, as well as an adjunct faculty role for the University of California, Santa Cruz.While at the County of Santa Clara, she re-engineered and revitalized the procurement department. This included building a team of world class procurement professionals, optimization of a procure-to-pay process for the agency and creating a digital vision to transition the County from paper-based processes to cloud-based digital solutions. Her focus was on leveraging technology to reduce cycle times and improve customer experience. Prior to coming to the US, Jenti earned her degree at the University of Madras in India. She has also completed executive certificate programs at the Harvard Kennedy School and Stanford University.

Darin welcomes Peter Smith, the former president of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply in the United Kingdom. He has also served as managing editor for Spend Matters Europe, part of the world's leading family of procurement websites. Peter has held executive level procurement positions in both the public and private sectors. He is a frequent columnist and well-known author and in 2010 published the book “Buying Professional Services”, published by the Economist. Peter holds a Master's degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University and is a lecturer at for the Procurement MBA Program at the University of Birmingham. Together, they discuss Peter's thoughts and advice on the future of procurement and the differences between procurement in Europe and the US as well as his latest book: Bad Buying: How organizations waste billions through failures, frauds and f*ck-ups.

In this episode, Darin is joined by Nathan Mosley, CPPB who currently works as a Sourcing Manager with Facebook. Together they discuss Nathan's background and his experience moving from aerospace to government to social media. They discuss Nathan's experience as a leader in promoting diversity and inclusion in procurement, along with his advice, recommendations, and outreach strategies for engaging diverse communities.  

This special episode, recorded live from NIGP's 2020 Forum, features conversations with three amazing procurement leaders:- Stacy Gregg, CPPO, CPPB - University of South Carolina - NIGP Instructor and the past President of SCAGPO- Annie Teav - Multnomah County, OR - 2017 Buyer of the Year and an NIGP Young Professional Scholarship Winner- Richard Pennington, CPPO, JD - Recipient of NIGP's 2020 Distinguished Service Award

In this episode, Darin is joined by Bill Cooper, Associate Vice President & Chief Procurement Officer for the entire University of California system. Together, they discuss:Bill's background leading up to his time in procurement and supply chain, including his service during the Vietnam War and his work in the private sector.The ways that a large and complex system like the University of California handles collaboration and decision making.UC's Procurement-200 and Supply Chain-500 programs.And what lies ahead, not just for UC but for Higher Ed procurement in general as we move into unprecedented times for the economy and for the public funding of education

In this episode, Darin is joined from Western Australia by longtime colleague and one of his personal procurement heroes, Professor Guy Callender. Their conversation includes:- Their work together in the earliest issues of The Journal of Public Procurement- Procurement's acceptance, over time, into wider public administration circle - The challenges posed by a high number of disparate certifications - The differences in public and private procurement, and the dangers of approaching public procurement with a singularly cost-focused approachAnd much more!

In this first episode, host Darin Matthews is joined by NIGP CEO Rick Grimm. Together, they discuss:Rick's background - How he “fell into” public procurement and his experience leading up to his role at NIGPThe current state of the procurement profession and what the promise of the next generation of procurement professionalsNIGP's latest credential program, the CPP, a proven way for public procurement professionals to invest in their long-term career growthThe impacts of COVID-19 on both NIGP and the procurement spaceHow the current infrastructure for creating a prepared workforce will shape the profession in the decade to comeLessons to be learned from international procurement colleagues

Coming later this month - In The Evolution of Procurement, your host Darin Matthews is joined by leaders, buyers, educators, and technologists from around the Procurement industry to explore the past, present, and future of Procurement. Subscribe today!