The Sourcing Hero

Ep 94: Fostering Sustainability in the Real World feat. Jonathan O’Brien

Over the last 20 years, there has been a groundswell of interest in sustainability. Turning that interest into action will require procurement to be at their very best. If there is one thing missing from many of the efforts that have been made so far, it is taking a cohesive approach to operationalizing sustainability goals and targets. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jonathan O’Brien. Jonathan is the CEO and a founding member of Positive Purchasing. He has over 30 years’ experience of working with household name companies around the world to help transform procurement and negotiation capabilities and is a prolific author.
In this conversation, Jonathan shares his perspective on the state of sustainable supply chains and responsible procurement:
Whether procurement has matured enough to move beyond enforcement/governance and turn the pursuit of supply chain sustainability into a collaborative journey 
How to create a feeling of shared, cross-functional ownership and responsibility for sustainability programs
The ESG trend and whether it creates such a large target that specific initiatives like carbon emissions, human rights, or diversity are at risk of getting lost

Ep 93: Empowering Supplier Diversity Managers to Drive Change feat. Stephanie Lokker

Supplier diversity is a good idea - but that fact plus a vision creates very little value. It takes leadership, ownership, and a lot of hard work to convert the vision and social mission behind supplier diversity into tangible results.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Stephanie Lokker. Stephanie is the CEO and Managing Partner of Lockerbie & Co., where she and her team of consultants solve complex business problems for their Fortune 500 and private equity clients. Also relevant to today’s conversation is that Lockerbie currently holds nine diverse-supplier certifications at both the state and federal level.
In this conversation, Stephanie shares her experience with making supplier diversity programs as successful as the vision that drives them:
To what extent should supplier diversity be clearly owned by one or more full time professionals and to what extent should responsibility be distributed to everyone with decision making authority?
What is the difference between supplier diversity programs and DEI programs?
What skillsets are needed for supplier diversity managers to be successful in their role?

Ep 92: Social Selling for Procurement Professionals feat. Tim Hughes

Social media has changed the way we do nearly everything: stay in touch with friends, gather information, stay informed about the news, and make decisions. But should it also alter the way we buy and sell? Executive and author Tim Hughes says yes - and not only that, our time on social media should be driven by strategy and purpose.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Tim Hughes. Tim is the CEO and Co-Founder of DLA Ignite as well as the Author of Social Selling: Techniques to Influence Buyers and Changemakers. That book, which was published in 2016, was so well received that it is now out in a second edition.
   
In this conversation, Tim explains how social selling should work and the benefits it offers to both procurement and sales professionals:
What procurement and sales need to know about each other in order to partner more constructively
How each of us can become better at leveraging our time on social media
What content means and why it is absolutely critical to our ability to build relationships and influence others

Ep 91: Centralizing the Process for Buying Technology feat. David Campbell

Procurement teams may talk about technology spend as an isolated category, but it actually encompasses a very broad range of products and platforms. When procurement is thinking big picture about technology - and cloud software in particular - the value generated can go way beyond just savings, including the mitigation of external risk.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes David Campbell, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tropic. Just like so many professionals who never intended to end up working in procurement, David never expected to become a CEO. And yet, his unique professional journey gave him just the tools he needed to thrive as a tech CEO.
  
In this conversation, David talks about the impact procurement can have when managing cloud software with company goals in mind:
What he has observed about where the high growth tech sector is investing their talent money
The trends leading cloud software to become one of the top categories by spend
How factors like utilization and risk management provide procurement with an opportunity to create value beyond savings in cloud software spend management

Ep 90: Communicating Effectively With a Remote Workforce feat. Jane Friddell

There have been many changes over the last few years, not the least of which are the channels we use for communication. And while there has been a proliferation of digital options, hard copy will never completely go away. In fact, as it becomes a subset of all communications, hard copy shipments become more important - and carry more weight - than ever before.
 In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jane Friddell. Jane is a Vertical Market Manager at Pitney Bowes, a tech company best known for its postage meters and other mailing equipment and services.   
In this conversation, Jane talks about some of the changes she has observed - some of which are likely to last while others fade:
The biggest communications challenges companies needed to overcome as their workforces went - and in some cases stayed - remote
Which new communications practices/habits will fade away and which are here to stay
The challenges that exist for workers that have to communicate in hard copy with companies, customers, and suppliers
The importance of hard copy tracking and audit capabilities in a data-driven world

Ep 89: Smoothing and Accelerating B2B Cash Flows feat. Chris Tsai

Cash flow is top of mind for all corporate leaders today, even with all of the other challenges they are facing. Delays in the cash supply chain can be just as problematic as delays in the physical supply chain, and while procurement is typically focused on negotiating value and savings from suppliers, being more informed about the opportunity that exists in managing cash flows is substantial - and can bring them into closer collaboration with the rest of the business. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chris Tsai. Chris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Resolve Pay, a company that helps B2B businesses grow by streamlining net terms invoicing. credit, and payments. Especially in today’s economy, all companies want greater financial velocity, and so Chris and his team have focused on making that possible through automation.  
In this conversation, Chris illustrates the importance of smart, efficient cash flow management through payment terms and transparency:
How cash flow management works for inventory-based businesses
The challenges that exist for retailers who have high customer-facing demand but are reliant upon distributors that are concerned about their credit limits
What happens to supplier relationships when companies are stuck waiting for their customers to pay them so they can pay their suppliers 
How more efficient cash flows can lead to hard dollar savings

Ep 88: Global Energy Supply and Demand feat. Kris Lance

Although Europe’s energy challenges may be different than the ones faced in the United States, there isn’t any location or industry that isn’t being affected by the high prices or short supply of gas, oil, and electricity.
 
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 interview, Kris and Kelly talk about global challenges specifically related to energy supply and demand:
The fallout from the “leaks’ plaguing the Nord Stream pipeline in Europe, and how countries are working together to meet collective demand
OPEC’s recent decision to cut oil production
The complex decisions that have to be made when finding new sources of energy
How to balance the desire to become more sustainable with the realities of fuel consumption and supply

Ep 87: Leveraging the Power of the Total Commercial Value Chain feat. Sachin Kasture

Procurement has long struggled to rebrand as a team that cares about more than just costs and savings. But simply adding “value” to a list of project objectives does little to win over skeptical internal stakeholder groups. What we really need is a more comprehensive way of thinking about what the company does and how we fit into that: Total Commercial Value.  
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sachin Kasture. Sachin is the Regional Procurement Lead in Asia for WPP. He has extensive experience as a procurement change agent, combining his knowledge of procurement, consulting, and corporate growth to maximize commercial value.  
In this conversation, Sachin explains the concept behind Total Commercial Value and how procurement can leverage its power:
The business challenges procurement can solve by taking a broader approach
How to rank or prioritize competing business needs when individual stakeholders and stakeholder groups don’t align.
Why managing a global supply chain, which has its own nuances and challenges, can make use of the total commercial value chain concept