The Sourcing Hero

Ep 65: Equity, Empathy, and Entrepreneurship feat. Karl Sona

Corporate programs like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) are growing increasingly common and high visibility. And while the stated vision they are associated with is admirable, they aren’t enough to drive the changes most of us want to see. For that, we’re going to need a strong combination of empathy and entrepreneurship.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Karl Sona. Karl was working his way through a successful career in medical device sales when he realized something was missing. There was part of himself that he wasn’t able to bring to bear in his work - so he joined the ‘Great Resignation’ and struck out on his own. 
 
Today he is the Founder and CEO of The Kas Company, a firm that specializes in brokering profitable partnerships between corporate brands and black-owned businesses, and the host of his own podcast, Dear Black CEO.
 In this interview, Karl talks about his philosophy - and incentives - for brokering profitable partnerships between corporations and minority-owned businesses:
His perspective on the nature of relationships between corporations and their suppliers
Whether relationships with minority-owned and other diverse-owned businesses should be different 
The role that regulations play in driving companies to increase their investments in ESG versus inadvertently incentivizing box checking
The best pieces of advice and take-aways that he has heard from black CEOs on his podcast

Ep 64: Moving Beyond Stone Age Procurement feat. Patrick Jonsson

For a long time, procurement has struggled to reconcile the tension between tactical activities and strategic goals. A few organizations have broken free and stepped into the leadership space through innovative approaches to talent and technology, but most are still mired in ‘stone age’ thinking and approaches. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Patrick Jonsson. Patrick is the Founder of DigiProCure who provide a Category Management Tool focused on streamlining the category management process. He has led many digital procurement transformations involving a wide array of systems, and witnessed firsthand the need for tools that adapt to each team’s maturity and needs.
In this interview, Patrick describes and defends his “provocative” approach to understanding the changes procurement needs to make:
Why he thinks procurement organizations are in an “adapt or die” moment and what that means
The most common pain points procurement and sourcing organizations need to deal with before they can prosper
A list of practical enablers procurement teams should embrace to get their paradigm shift started

Ep 63: Hitting a Moving Target feat. Steve Trussell

Procurement transformation requires vision, strategy, and skilled execution, but none of those come into play until the situation has been accurately diagnosed. Every organization is different, and the long term vision for each procurement team has to reflect the unique culture and priorities in place. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Steve Trussell. Steve is career sourcing and procurement professional with experience in a wide range of industries and focus areas. After starting his career in manufacturing, he went on to work in retail, automotive, aerospace, and heavy equipment sourcing. Today he is applying his knowledge to the challenges of other procurement teams, helping them understand and address their challenges.
In this conversation, Steve shares a wealth of seasoned advice about leading transformation, communication, and building the right culture and mindset around problem solving:
What to look for when trying to diagnose a new company culture or challenge to be solved
How to separate the symptoms of a procurement problem from the cause of that problem (the ‘true’ problem)
Creating an environment where the team will work collaboratively with other functions to find solutions
How to help people keep their eye on the horizon even while facing urgent, short term issues

Ep 62: Raising the Eyebrows of Procurement’s Stakeholders feat. Cedric Watlington

Procurement has to have equally effective technical capabilities and relationships building skills, but the business needs to meet them halfway. If both sides can connect in a place of mutual trust and mutual gain, the possibilities are limitless. If, however, there is no trust, there will always be a gap between what the business wants and what procurement can do for them.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Cedric Watlington. Cedric is an experienced procurement and sourcing manager with a specialization in technology spend. He is proud to be a continuous learner with an extreme ownership mindset and an operational problem solver. His proven track record of sourcing results includes creating value in the form of savings and supplier innovation.
In this conversation, Cedric shares his perspective on how procurement and the business can both take steps to improve their relationship on behalf of the business:
His approach to building a procurement-business partnership
Whether the “constructive feedback” procurement often receives from the business is deserved and how we can improve their perception
The role of company culture in procurement’s approaches and relationships
How the business could make it easier for procurement to support them 

Ep 61: The American Dream Campaign: Connecting Veterans with Opportunities feat. Paul Lawrence

There are many types of organizations looking to assist veterans as they transition out of service. The federal government and state agencies play a role, but so do nonprofits and corporations. Ironically, the trouble faced by most veterans is not a shortage of information, but an overabundance of resources to go through.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Paul Lawrence. Paul was a participant in the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator program with Kelly earlier this year. He is a ‘veteran helping other veterans,’ an advocate that advises nonprofits and businesses about Veteran issues. As a former senior leader at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he has a unique perspective on the challenges organizations face working with and for Veterans, and uses that insight to help organizations serve Veterans successfully, efficiently, and cost effectively.
In this conversation, Paul talks about some of the challenges veterans face and what he has learned about how individuals and corporations can support them:
What he learned by interviewing people working to help veterans during the 11 weeks of his Accelerator-based American Dream Campaign
A surprising insight about service and giving back that he heard from veteran-owned business still in startup mode
The kind of approach procurement professionals need to take if they want to be seen as enablers rather than roadblocks

Ep 60: Make v. Buy in Procurement Tech feat. Sean Sieper

‘Make v. buy’ is a classic business decision - one that procurement often helps the business evaluate for their own needs. But what about procurement’s own needs, especially in the area of technology? It may be that there is an opportunity for added value and control that procurement has been overlooking.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Sean Sieper. Sean is the Director of the Indirect Center of Excellence at Retail Business Services, where his team provides services to the nation’s fourth-largest retail group, including omnichannel grocery brands Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop. He has experience in private brands (i.e. store brand) product sourcing and logistics as well as indirect sourcing.
In this conversation, Sean shares his point of view on the benefits of building custom technology in-house:
When procurement should consider a ‘make’ option for their own technology
The types of talent procurement needs in house to execute this effort successfully
How choosing this route and acquiring the talent required to support it may affect procurement’s relationship with IT
What parts of building a solution procurement should NOT be willing to attempt

Ep 59: Life Hacks for Driving Employee Engagement feat. Ashley Sieb

There are so many demands on everyone’s time, energy, and attention, that trying to get colleagues to engage in a project can feel like an uphill battle. And while driving engagement requires more of an active effort and more preparation than many people may realize, it is certainly not impossible!
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Ashley Sieb. Ashley is a creative, energetic marketing and communications specialist who knows her way around procurement. She also knows how to get - and keep - people’s attention… and then (to use her personal mantra) “find a way forward” that works for everyone.
In this conversation, Ashley shares her tips and perspective on how anyone can drive higher levels of engagement from different types of audiences:
The components of her personal model for driving engagement: the REAL model
Whether all personality types are equally effective at doing what needs to be done to drive engagement
When and how engagement and communication are the same, and when communication is a channel for driving others’ engagement

Ep 58: Thinking in Contractually Mature Terms feat. Jeanette Nyden

Procurement may think of contracts as dusty old stacks of paper to be filed away or stuck in a drawer - but they are not. The combination of complex events we are all witnessing - a pandemic, war in eastern Europe, skyrocketing inflation - may not have been predictable, but they are a test of our current supply agreements. And as much as we are consumed with them right now, these conditions will not last forever. Supply agreements must be designed to bend and flex but not break if companies want to be resilient. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jeanette Nyden. Jeanette is a contracts and negotiation expert who regularly uses her skills to bolster those of buy and sell-side contract professionals. She specializes in performance-based and outcome-based customer/supplier relationships, and has written four books on the subject.
In this conversation, Jeanette shares her expertise in legal and procurement to answer these key questions for the times we are working through:
Why it is important to understand ‘fixed fee agreements’ given today’s inflationary environment
The contract clause types procurement should be looking for or adding to contracts as a way of dealing with inflation
How procurement should respond (with business input, of course) if a supplier seeks to change the price in a fixed fee contract