The Sourcing Hero

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

Ep 115: Building a Legacy of Leadership feat. Ret. Lt. Col. Oakland McCulloch

Leadership is easy to talk about, but hard to do. Every leader impacts the people around them - whether positively or negatively - so this week’s guest suggests making a decision from the outset what kind of leader you want to be, and why you want to lead.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Oakland McCulloch. Oak is a Retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army, who shares his perspectives on leadership, vision, and discipline through keynote speeches and his book, Your Leadership Legacy: Becoming the Leader You Were Meant to Be.
 
In this interview, Oak talks about the practice and calling of leadership:
What makes a good leader and why leadership is a privilege
What distinguishes ‘servant leadership’ from other forms of leadership
Particular advice for leading teams through times of change
How we can all become better leaders - and where to look for support

Ep 114: Creating a Difference in Sustainable Packaging feat. Cory Connors

As goods move through the supply chain, the amount of packaging that moves with them is mind boggling. Efforts to increase operational sustainability are gaining steam worldwide, which means that what that packaging is made of and what happens to it after a delivery has been made are of greater concern than ever before.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Cory Connors. Cory was one of the First 100 to go through the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program, and now he is a member of the LinkedIn Podcast Academy. Cory is also the host of the Sustainable Packaging podcast, where he welcomes industry experts to discuss ways to make packaging more sustainable.
 
In this interview, Cory shares his knowledge about leading packaging innovations:
When I think about sustainable packaging, my mind instantly goes to recycling corrugated cardboard… but I’m sure it is much bigger than that. What other materials come up frequently in your conversations with experts?
How sustainable packaging intersects with corporate sustainability/ESG efforts
The metrics and KPIs used to measure improvements in packaging sustainability?
Whether sustainable packaging costs more, the same, or less - especially given a total cost of ownership approach

Ep 113: Learning to Work Side-by-Side with ChatGPT feat. Joshua Palacios

In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Joshua Palacios. Josh is a Senior Sourcing Manager at Ro and according to his LinkedIn profile he “refuses to be overlooked due to his work ethic and achievements.”
 
Josh connected with The Sourcing Hero team in a very unique way… he is a regular listener and had the creative idea to ask ChatGPT what a Sourcing Hero is. Here is what it said:
 
“A sourcing hero is like a Jedi master of strategic sourcing, skilled in the art of identifying cost-saving opportunities, negotiating contracts, and managing supplier relationships. They possess the ability to manage complex sourcing projects while aligning strategies with business goals. With exceptional communication and negotiation skills, a sourcing hero can triumphantly navigate the ever-changing sourcing landscape, bravely facing challenges with their team to conquer the unknown. In short, a sourcing hero is a strategic superstar that saves the day, every day.”
 
In this interview, Josh talks about the different ways procurement professionals can put generative AI - like ChatGPT - to work for them:
How procurement teams can apply technologies like ChatGPT 
Whether ChatGPT can function as a sounding board to develop category strategies
His advice about procurement skills investments given the growing capabilities of tech

Ep 112: Tough Times Don’t Last But Tough People Do feat. Kris Lance

The costs of poor physical and mental health are all around us. Despite having the highest per capita spending on health care in the industrialized world AND the highest health care spending as a percentage of GDP, the United States has the lowest life expectancy at birth, the highest maternal and infant mortality, and the highest death rate from COVID-19. According to Gallup, “Nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers (19%) rate their mental health as fair or poor.” 
 
This is a crisis that affects us 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 share their thoughts about the importance of physical and mental wellbeing:
How our physical health can cross over and impact our mental and emotional wellbeing - and vice versa
The role that stress management plays in each person’s ability to be successful at work 
Common sense practices that may improve physical and/or mental health (listeners won’t believe Kris’ second piece of advice!)

Ep 111: Taking Intelligent Risks feat. Mark Trowbridge

We’ve all been mired in years of paralyzing risk and disruption… but could risk taking be just what this moment calls for? Yes - as long as the risks are ‘intelligent risks.’ 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mark Trowbridge. Mark is an experienced procurement leader with a broad area of focus including sourcing, supply management, contracts management, supplier relationship management, risk management, and inventory management. He is also a published author and speaker whose business travels have taken him throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Malaysia, and the Middle East. 
In this interview, Mark explains what ‘intelligent risks’ are and how procurement can prepare themselves to take them:
The important role that data, insight, and research play in procurement’s ability to decide if risks are intelligent or not
How procurement’s relationships with suppliers can either allow them to or prevent them from taking intelligent risks
The culture of accountability and continuous learning that has to exist for intelligent risk taking to thrive