The Procurement Show

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 Purchasing Produced by Fresh Air Studios, Studios for Podcasting, and ADR

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 can only refer to by his first name, Dave. Brought to you by Positive Purchasing. A branded podcast production by Fresh Air Studios.

A podcast about 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 tariffs anyway? Jonathan and Paul discuss tariffs, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the relationships between the US, UK, Canada, Europe, Russia and China and take a close look at President Trump's negotiation tactics. Essential listening before everything changes again…! Brought to you by Positive Purchasing. Produced by Fresh Air Studios, Branded Podcast Production for Business.

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 Andric.  She actually left procurement to take on this role.  Jonathan is still recovering from this shocking revelation. Brought to you by Positive Purchasing Produced by Fresh Air Studios, Podcast Production Services

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 Purchasing. Produced by Fresh Air Studios, contact us to find out where to record a podcast in the South West!

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! Brought to you by Positive Purchasing. Produced by Fresh Air Studios, podcast recording studios in the South West.

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 Jonathan to stop being a “such and such”. Powered by Positive Purchasing, and produced at the Devon podcast studios of Fresh Air Studios.

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 lead?  And did Paul eat all the chocolate that was brought into the studio?  Find out the answers to these and other very important questions… Brought to you by Positive Purchasing, and produced by Fresh Air Studios Podcast Production, with podcast studios for Devon and Cornwall.

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 he did it.  We also discover that Jonathan and Paul are quite old. Brought to you by Positive Purchasing Produced by Fresh Air Studios, podcast studios in the South West.

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 a focus on technology and AI.  We also find out if Jonathan still possesses any of his old vinyl… Brought to you by Positive Purchasing, and produced by Fresh Air Studios - the podcast production company.

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, Paul wants to bring back Clippy! Brought to you by Positive Purchasing, and produced by Fresh Air Studios Podcast Productions

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 Vakil. And listen out for what you should and shouldn't measure in Ask Jonathan. Brought to you by Positive Purchasing, and produced by Fresh Air Studios.

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 Purchasing. Podcast Production by Fresh Air Studios in Plymouth.

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 a new word. Brought to you by Positive Purchasing Produced by Fresh Air Studios in Plymouth

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 Harmeston, who has over 30 years' experience in consulting and operating at executive level in procurement. Brought to you by Positive Purchasing Produced by Fresh Air Studios, Podcast Media for Corporate and Business

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 might not be all Fact… Produced by Fresh Air Studios, Business Podcast Production

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 might not be all Fact...

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 of Procurement and Capability Standards for Fresenius Medical Care. Not only will you find out his answer, you'll also find out in this episode that Excel spreadsheets are quite exciting.

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 are doing and make changes for the better.

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 hype? Let's find out. NB: Some sequences have been shortened for easier listening.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

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.

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, when he was negotiating with his advertising clients, he came to 'really hate Procurement!' So we had to find out why he came over to what he calls 'The Dark Side'.

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 Social Value Portal.

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?

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.

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 and logistics training and certification awarding body) and Procurement Director at Nolato Medi Tech (specialist advanced injection moulding company supplying the pharma and medtech industry). There will be very few mentions of ABBA and Ikea.

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 language.

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.

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.

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.

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'?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 supply, the underdeveloped world, farming, and how technology and people can adapt to the future.

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 suppliers or even break away and form new supplier relationships? Jonathan has all the answers and information you need.

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 if their new book - was turned into a movie!

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.

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 headlines, and consider if procurement was at fault or could even help prevent these incidents from happening again.

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 your advantage.

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 understanding of the supply chain in order to drive change.

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 future crises.