The Sourcing Hero

Ep 123: Healing Healthcare Supply Chains feat. Luká Yancopoulos

Many supply chains deal with pain points. Unlike other industries, however, healthcare deals with sourcing and procurement pain points that bring actual pain. In an industry where securing lower costs does not offer the same incentive as it does for others, it takes a different approach to help decision makers see the risks and rewards before them.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Luká Yancopoulos. During the pandemic, Luká and William Danon started Pandemic Relief Supply, a venture that delivered $20 million worth of health care supplies to frontline workers. They received the 2022 UPenn President’s Engagement, Innovation, and Sustainability award for their efforts. That venture is now Grapevine, a system that addresses miscommunications between suppliers and buyers in the healthcare industry.
In this interview, Luká shares the backstory of the company he founded without meaning to, based on a desire to be a force for good during the most difficult days of the pandemic:
Why 40% of healthcare industry spending is wasted due to supply chain inefficiencies and manual human errors
How improved transparency can reduce costs and improve buyer-supplier relationships
His experiences working with skeptics compared to newer, more nimble companies that welcome change

Ep. 122: Helping Women in Supply Chain Set Audacious Goals feat. Nicole Glenn

Despite the broad, supportive corporate messaging around diversity and inclusion, the real work takes place on an individual level - one person at a time. As every person becomes comfortable enough to find their voice and use it, our workplaces and professional communities will continue to grow in diversity, with representation among people from every walk of life.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Nicole Glenn. Nicole is the Founder and CEO of Candor Expedite and a passionate supporter of women working in supply chain and logistics. She is part of the Ladies Leadership Coalition, a podcast for women in business by women business owners.
In this interview, Nicole talks about the ‘why’ at the heart of the Ladies Leadership Coalition and how she walks the walk in her own company:
The messages that women need to hear as they pursue their professional ambitions, whether as business owners or corporate leaders
The changes she has seen in workplace inclusiveness over the last few years and the work that remains to be done
Why everyone needs to learn to be more audacious, opening their minds to what they want in addition to what they offer others

Ep 121: Agriculture as a Political Hot Topic feat. Kris Lance

In an article published in the May 20, 2023 Boston Herald, Bill Wirtz, Senior Policy Analyst at the Consumer Choice Center, wrote, “As the politics of farming affects the livelihoods of each American, it transforms agricultural policy into an electoral issue.”
From farm to table and hand to mouth, few topics have the potential to be as contentious as the food supply. Whether your focus is energy consumption, environmentalism, labor conditions, or Federal regulation, agriculture touches them all.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Senior Director at Una, for a recurring monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.
In this conversation, Kris and Kelly revisit the topic of agricultural regulation and its impact on the economy and food supply, at home and around the world:
Why it may take a lot more than money to help farmers transition to ‘green’ ways of operating
How to balance the competing concerns of risk, regulation, and resilience associated with the food supply
Perspectives being introduced by advocates such as Eva Vlaardingerbroek about our overall readiness for the green transition

Ep 120: Increasing the Placement of Women in Senior Executive Roles feat. Sanja Cancar-Todorovic

Although women start most professional careers in the same proportion as their male colleagues, far fewer of them reach the top rungs of the corporate ladder. The reasons for this are many, but there is work that can be done to increase the role that women play in leading companies across industries.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sanja Cancar-Todorovic. Sanja is the Head of Enterprise Procurement, Outsourcing & Third-Party Risk Management for Home Capital Group. She is also a dedicated and passionate advocate for increasing the placement of women in senior executive roles - in procurement and beyond - and the author of BE BOLD and Brilliant: Unlocking your Personal and Professional Potential.
In this interview, Sanja talks about why she is passionate about helping women escape impostor syndrome and achieve their personal and professional goals:
How working with and advocating for female professionals became a passion of hers
Why women struggle to reach the highest positions on the corporate ladder
What all of us can do to promote procurement and supply chain as fields that women can be highly successful in

119: Understanding the Impact of Emotional Intelligence feat. Phil Johnson

The rate of change and level of stress faced by most people today certainly justifies an emotional response. But how self-aware and self-possessed are we? The answer to that questions has to do with our emotional intelligence.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Phil Johnson. Phil is an executive coach, podcast host, and author who focuses on fueling people’s personal and professional success through stronger emotional intelligence. His book, The Servant Warrior Leader: Mastering Authentic Business Leadership, brings together the power of emotional intelligence and the challenge of leadership - especially given the rate of change we face today.
In this interview, Phil shares his in-depth expertise to answer questions such as:
What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?  
How does a person’s EI affect how they deal with stressful situations?
Why is EI especially important now?  Is it possible to develop or improve EI?
How can leaders safely start an EI-based conversation in the workplace?

Ep 118: Scaling Supply Chains for Profitable Growth feat. Marcia Williams

Growth - especially fast growth - is such an exciting time for a company. Unfortunately, all of the good opportunities growth presents have a way of leaving a mess in their wake. It often falls to procurement and supply chain professionals to clean up the mess, using metrics and frameworks to establish order so that operational scale and profitability can follow.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Marcia Williams. Marcia is a Forbes Contributor, Founder and Managing Partner of USM Supply Chain Consulting, and the author of multiple books, the most recent of which is Scaling Supply Chains with Maria: Financial and Operational Frameworks and Analytics for Massive, Profitable Growth.
In this interview, Marcia talks about the important role procurement and supply chain teams play in fostering continued growth:
What ‘goal trees’ are and what they offer supply chain teams
The role that six sigma can play in supply chain management
The financial understanding procurement and supply chain teams need to be successful - whether that means specific financial metrics or their relationship with finance

Ep 117: Title 42 Comes to An End feat. Kris Lance

On May 11th, Title 42 came to an end with the expiration of the Federally-declared public health emergency established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Title 42 allowed the border patrol to turn away migrants without allowing them to claim asylum, but carried no penalty for repeated attempts to cross the border illegally. Title 8, now in effect, allows migrants to claim asylum, but it can take years for a court date to arrive. It would seem that there are no easy answers, and lives hang in the balance.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes back Kris Lance, Senior Director at Una, for a recurring monthly conversation about current news stories. Kris has experience in multiple industries and has his finger on the pulse of the trends and topics that procurement, sourcing, and supply chain professionals need to be aware of.
In this conversation, Kris and Kelly discuss the difficult set of circumstances and very real risks that are playing out on the U.S. southern border:
The impact that these stories, images, and videos cannot help but have on any empathetic human being
Whether it is possible to balance the concerns of national security and public safety with genuine concern for people fleeing bad conditions, risking it all in order to escape
The community and business impacts that are created from the lack of reasonable immigration policy in place today

Ep 116: Winning the Mythical Talent War feat. Jon Hansen

Despite investments in education and efforts to recruit from a strong and diverse talent pool, CEOs have always been worried about procurement skill sets. They refuse to believe that the talent they have in house is ‘up to’ the strategic objectives they plan to set forth. Perhaps the problem is less the talent they have in house, and more the way they evaluate and incentivize the application of that talent. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jon Hansen. When it comes to procurement podcasting, Jon is the ‘OG,’ with a show that dates back to 2009. Jon is also the co-author for the book Procurement at a Crossroads, and he has covered the procurement space more thoroughly and honestly than anyone else in the industry. 
In this interview, Jon addresses what he describes as the ‘mythical’ talent war and provides his recommendations for how procurement can win it:
Why C-level concerns about the match between procurement skill sets and what the company requires from procurement may be misplaced
How procurement can address the fact that just as many people seem to fall out of procurement as fall into it
Why the post-pandemic era may be one of the best recruiting opportunities procurement will ever get