The Sourcing Hero

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

Ep 86: When Politics Snares Supply Chains feat. Juliette Rowsell

If you feel like working in supply chain and procurement has become a political minefield, you’re not alone. Between increased regulations, high stakes geopolitics, and administrative differences, complexity is up and the pace of change is accelerating.
 In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Juliette Rowsell. Juliette is a reporter at Supply Management magazine, the hard copy publication from CIPS. In the April-June 2022 edition, she wrote an article titled, What happens when politics snares supply? that opens with the following quote, “Amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, already stretched global supply chains went into meltdown over access to commodities and how suppliers reflect political alliances.” 
In this conversation, Juliette shares her media-based perspective on the current state of supply chain management as related to geopolitics and global disruption:
What it has been like covering supply chains as a journalist over the 18 months
How political supply chain management has gotten and why professionals can’t afford to avoid it
The challenge faced by professionals who want to stay informed without being polarized by sensationalized media coverage 
How the rise of national trade protectionism continues to challenge global supply chains

Ep 85: Revolutionizing the Acquisition Experience feat. Jaime Gracia

When you think about frictionless procurement and leading customer experiences, the federal government is probably not the first entity that comes to mind. And yet, the work that they are doing internally and in collaboration with their supply partners is truly transformational.
 In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jaime Gracia. Jaime is the Director of Strategic Enterprise Programs for the U.S. Department of State and he has over 20 years’ worth of experience in procurement. One of the efforts he is currently leading is the Acquisition Experience (Acq-X) program, a transformation program that he joins the podcast to discuss.
In this conversation, Jaime described many of the ways that his team at the U.S. Department of State is working on reduce friction for ‘customers’ while remaining compliant with federal regulations:
The operational paradigm shift Jaime and his team are leading through the acquisition experience project 
How procurement can better address the challenge presented by the end of budgetary cycle ‘feeding frenzy’ that often happens 
How he balances regulatory compliance with frictionless processes to design an experience that meets everyone’s needs
The change that had the greatest impact in terms of how his customers perceive the procurement experience

Ep 84: Tackling the Trends of Quiet Quitting and Firing feat. Kris Lance

There are always prevailing trends in talent management, but they seem to be higher profile in the wake of the pandemic. First was the Great Resignation, and now we’re all talking about (and looking for examples of) quiet quitting and quiet firing. 
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 trend of quiet quitting and quiet firing:
Whether they are really a new phenomenon or whether we are just more aware of the dynamics now
What companies and managers might do from a policy perspective to protect their teams and output from quiet quitters
How employees should handle situations where they or their co-workers are being quiet fired
The possibility that we’ve lost the ability to deal with tough issues head on, including personnel performance

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