The Sourcing Hero

Ep 83: Creating a Delightful Customer Experience feat. Sarah Kaye

There are differences in procurement by industry, company, and even between direct and indirect procurement, but each team or individual still has an opportunity to make meaningful contributions to the customer experience. Active listening and focusing on what really moves the needle can keep procurement focused on what matters most.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sarah Kaye. Sarah has worked in procurement for many companies that you’ve no doubt heard of: Target, Radisson Hotel Group, WeWork, and now Spin Mobility, an electric scooter and bike-share company. But she actually started her career in marketing and sales… a background that serves her well given today’s procurement challenges.
In this conversation, Sarah combines her experience in sales and marketing with her time in procurement to shed light on:
What it is like to transition from direct spend management to indirect corporate contract management
How procurement can ‘surprise and delight’ customers via indirect sourcing
Ways for procurement to ‘market’ their value-add beyond savings
Why we need diverse perspectives and voices at every ‘table’ where decisions are being made

Ep 82: Winning at the Game of Risk feat. Rohit Hajela

The speed of change is so fast these days that we are living in the future already. As a result, risks from cybersecurity and ransomware are increasing - as are the costs and business implications associated with them.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Rohit Hajela. Rohit started his career working in product development, and over time that evolved into vendor management roles in procurement. Today he continues that work and he has also co-founded a business called Vendor Management Office that helps track third party technology vendors.
In this conversation, Rohit shares his vendor management experience as it applies to:
The risks companies open themselves up to if they don’t actively manage their IT vendors
How procurement can bring IT contracts under management using a two-step process
Ways for procurement to make better use of the IT security or data security questionnaires that are so often included in RFPs

Ep 81: How to Persuade Anyone, Anytime feat. Simon Horton

The power of persuasion is at play all the time and in all settings. Sometimes it is as simple as swaying a group of friends to agree with your restaurant preference, but other times there is far more at stake. Hostage negotiators and diplomats regularly find themselves in situations where their skills are needed to save lives and preserve stability. Most examples of persuasion fall somewhere between the two extremes, making it a critical skill for all business people to invest in.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Simon Horton. Simon is the founder of Negotiation Mastery, where he provides negotiating training and coaching for banks, law firms, global blue chip companies, and even hostage negotiators. He has also written several books including his latest title, just released this past spring and titled Change Their Mind: Six Steps to Persuade Anyone, Anytime.
In this conversation, Simon shares what he has learned in his experience as a negotiation coach and what he heard from the broad range of professionals he interviewed for his new book:
Whether persuasion is a skill that most of us possess, and why we might want to improve
The importance of listening to successful persuasion
How we can prepare ourselves in advance of a situation where we know persuasion will be required for a successful outcome
Managing the ‘long tail’ of persuasion to make sure a person’s agreement actually leads to the desired behavior

Ep 80: What is - and is NOT - in the Inflation Reduction Act feat. Kris Lance

Business leaders and decision makers and constantly in a race to keep up with the pace of change. That includes the competitive landscape, economic trends, and new legislation. Case in point: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Despite its name, legislators on both sides of the aisle agree that this law is not about reducing inflation. So what is it about?
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 the implications of the Inflation Reduction Act:
What connections are there between deficit spending and inflation, and how will this bill potentially affect the economy?
How do the climate-related provisions of the act play out in reality given our current manufacturing capabilities?
How are busy people leading ‘ordinary’ lives supposed to keep up with today’s rapid pace of change?

Ep 79: User-Centric MRO Spend Management feat. Mike Franz

B2C consumer experience expectations have been bleeding into the commercial sphere for a long time, but with the disruption of the last two years, that trend seems to be accelerating. Not only are manufacturing companies looking to improve the experience they offer distributed buyers of MRO supplies, procurement is more aware of the experience expectations as well.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Mike Franz, Founder and CEO of ManufacturingPower.com. As a manufacturing ‘triple threat,’ Mike is now using his broad experience to transform the way small to medium sized manufacturers address their MRO spend by acknowledging changes in consumer expectations.
 In this conversation, Mike talks about how buyer experiences are changing and how procurement can keep up without compromising on their ‘must achieve’ objectives:
How the B2C eCommerce experience is changing expectations of corporate procurement 
How companies can accommodate talent and bandwidth shortages by better leveraging procurement processes and systems
The steps procurement can take to avoid having to choose between data quality and organization and an improved user experience

Ep 78: Empowering Procurement to Create Broader Value feat. Brian Chaplin

Modernizing procurement organizations from tactical to strategic takes more than new technology and upgraded processes. The individuals on the team will need to embrace change as well. Whether it is through improved relationships with internal stakeholders and key suppliers, or distributed authority to generate ideas and make decisions, everyone has a role to play.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Brian Chaplin, Director of Global Sourcing for Medline Industries. Brian has experience managing indirect procurement in manufacturing-centric industries like CPG, aerospace, and energy. He changed jobs during the pandemic, moving into healthcare distribution at a very interesting time in the industry, and has been working to formalize his team and modernize procurement operations since.
In this conversation, Brian talks about his international team’s journey towards strategic, value-oriented procurement:
What it was like taking a role in healthcare during the pandemic, one that requires him to manage a remote team
His vision for how Medline procurement can expand the value they deliver to all North American operations
Positioning the value proposition of procurement in a sales and marketing driven organization
The need for relationships building with suppliers, and how the team is pulling them closer while still emphasizing quality and performance

Ep 77: Manufacturing Macrotrends and the Metaverse feat. Minesh Pore

Although each procurement professional and team does the best they can under the circumstances they are handed, all industries and companies are subject to global megatrends… and they never stop evolving. From where low cost labor is located to how the “fast fashion” industry is managed, the rate of change is accelerating - and having implications worldwide.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Minesh Pore. Minesh has over two decades worth of experience leading multinational organizations in Intraprenuership, corporate transformation, business development, and strategic planning. Today, he is getting the opportunity to put all of that to work as the Founder and CEO of BuyHive.
  
In this conversation, Minesh talks about the macrotrends he is watching and how he thinks they will affect how all of us work in the future:
How the rise of third party platforms and service providers may change procurement’s opportunity to create value
The impact that continued remote working and freelancing may have on procurement talent and staffing
The advantages associated with all corporate functions breaking out of their comfortable silos and having the opportunity to learn from colleagues

Ep 76: Tapping Into the Thoughts of Today’s CPOs feat. Tarek Alaruri and Greg Tennyson

The most interesting conversations at in-person events are rarely started from the stage. Instead, they take place quietly, one-on-one, in the coffee line or during lunch. Procurement has been on a two-year hiatus from these networking opportunities, so now that events are back on the calendar, what are CPOs talking about? 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Tarek Alaruri and Greg Tennyson, both from Fairmarkit. Tarek is their Co-founder and COO, and Greg - a return guest to The Sourcing Hero podcast - is their SVP of Strategy and Procurement.  
In this conversation, Tarek and Greg provide up-to-the moment thoughts and advice about the complexities procurement and supply chain professionals face today:
What they are hearing between sessions at the in-person events they have recently attended
How economic pressures, such as record-high levels of inflation, change the playing field for companies
Approaches procurement professionals can use to stay educated and inspired enough to have informed, action oriented discussions