The Sourcing Hero

Ep 136: Making the Impossible Possible in Global Sourcing feat. Chris Volz

Global supply chains reach the furthest corners of the earth, bringing back valuable, well-made goods and putting us in touch with people we may never meet. Some of the challenges of this are logistical like time zone differences and travel delays. Others are more cultural, and tie into the most core issues of relationship building: culture, communication, and trust.
 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Chris Volz, a Client Success Manager at China Performance Group. Chris has over two decades worth of experience in different verticals. He prides himself on his empathy, attention to detail, and innovative ideas… traits we could all use in greater concentration!
 
In this interview, Chris shares his experience and perspective on how businesses from different parts of the world and in countries with very different cultures can come together for mutual gain:
What he suggests companies focus on when sourcing internationally
How procurement teams can invest in communication and then build on that to establish long term trust-based relationships
The importance of recognizing the ‘win-win people’ in every situation
 
Links:
Chris Volz on LinkedIn

Ep 135: Packaging is a Magical Place feat. Matthew Wright

Packaging is everywhere, from plastic clamshells to cardboard boxes, and protective wraps to banana peels. The most successful packaging gets the core product where it needs to go in the right condition, and contributes to the customer experience in a way that it rewards the purchase process.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Matthew Wright. Matthew is the Founder and CEO of Specright, where he applies his 25+ years of experience in packaging to help companies derive maximum value from this constantly changing and highly strategic category. Matthew is also the author of “The Evolution of Products & Packaging: How a spec-first approach is revolutionizing the way companies make things.”
In this interview, Matthew shares his point of view on some of the procurement-specific challenges and opportunities associated with packaging category spend:
What is packaging and what are some of the top business challenges and objectives that intersect with this category of spend?
How should companies think about what they are communicating (or not) and achieving (or not) through their packaging?
What are some of the common data challenges associated with packaging specifications?
How can procurement encourage the business to make decisions that take a broad range of objectives into consideration when selecting packaging designs and suppliers?
 
Links:
Matthew Wright on LinkedIn

Ep 134: The Complexity of Navigating the Panama Canal feat. Kris Lance

40 percent of all U.S. shipping containers travel through the Panama Canal each year, representing an annual cargo value of $270 Billion. It is the shortest operational ocean route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and plays a critical role in U.S. supply chains and those of global trading partners as well.
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 talk about recent news stories associated with the Panama canal, some of which are getting a lot of attention and others almost none at all:
Drought conditions have led authorities to reduce traffic through the canal, leaving as many as 200 ships stuck waiting to get through
Other opportunities for Panama to be a strategic partner to the United States, including semiconductor production
Geopolitical risk associated with the safety and ownership of the Panama canal given recent activity from China and Iran
Links:
Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Episode 130: Building and Understanding Trust with Kris Lance
Episode 125: When Implanted Neuro Chips Are Top of Mind with Kris Lance
Episode 121: Agriculture as a Political Hot Topic with Kris Lance

Ep 133: Fostering a Sense of Belonging feat. Michaela Payton

It is always hard to be the ‘new kid’ whether in a neighborhood, at the office, or across the world. Learning to fit in, and finding a place to belong is as much a journey of self-discovery as it is a pursuit of acceptance. Going on this journey, and connecting with others in the process, can enhance personal happiness as well as professional performance. 
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Michaela Payton. Michaela is an Indirect Senior Procurement Manager at Lidl’s U.S. National Contracts Service Center. She grew up in Germany and has spent time living in California, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Virginia (with a brief time back in Germany in between). 
In this interview, Michaela shares what she has learned on her personal and professional journey about what it means to truly belong:
Learning how and where you belong each time your join a new community of any kind
The cultural aspects of communications, including adapting to the customs of each community
Why actively investing in creating a sense of belonging gives us an opportunity to deepen our empathy towards others
Links:
Michaela Payton on LinkedIn

Ep 132: The Innovative Power of Raw Curiosity feat. Wes Davis

In 1918, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and naturalist writer John Burroughs took one of many long distance road trips together. The combination of their unique forms of genius, especially when viewed against the backdrop of WWI and the Influenza pandemic, makes it possible to see just how critical their curiosity was to every form of success they achieved.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Wes Davis. Wes has a Ph.D. in English Literature from Princeton University and taught at Yale for nearly a decade. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and The Nation. Wes is also the author of multiple books, one of which is the recently released ‘American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs’ - and that book will be the focus of our conversation today.
In this interview, Wes talks about some of the unique characteristics of these consequential historical figures and sheds light on how we can learn from their mindset today:
Why the ability of Ford and Edison to thrive in the industrial and natural worlds was part of their collective genius
How unique and changeable the social and business landscape was in the early 20th century
Whether Ford, Firestone, and Edison were, in fact, Sourcing Heroes in their own right

Ep 131: Walking the Walk to Embrace Generative AI feat. Kevin Frechette

Generative AI like ChatGPT has taken the world by storm. Imaginations have been seized, and people have responded with every emotion from excitement to fear to confusion. But procurement has seen the world respond to new technology like this before - remember Blockchain? Will this time be different?
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Kevin Frechette. Kevin is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fairmarkit. One of the things he focuses on in his conversations with procurement professionals and teams is understanding how procurement can be transformed using data, automation, analytics, AI, and machine learning.
In this interview, Kevin shares what he is seeing and hearing as procurement works to figure out how to create value with the help of generative AI:
Whether generative AI will keep its prominent position in the tech landscape or fade back into the background
How companies should discuss the inclusion of AI in their products, lead with AI’s instant cool factor or leading with user experience 
Concerns from information security teams and how that may affect procurement’s current adoption trajectory

Ep 130: Building and Understanding Trust feat. Kris Lance

New research from MIT shows that trusting employees are 260% more motivated to work, have 41% lower rates of absenteeism, and are 50% less likely to look for another job. But… one in four workers do not trust their employer. Trust is the easiest thing in the world to lose and the hardest to get back - and it plays an important role in every type of relationship.
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 trust from a number of perspectives:
Why an employee might (or might not) trust their employer
What the most trusted brands in America have in common in 2023
How to foster trust in supplier relationships through shared cultural values
 
Links:
Kris Lance on LinkedIn
Episode 125: When Implanted Neuro Chips Are Top of Mind with Kris Lance
Episode 121: Agriculture as a Political Hot Topic with Kris Lance
Episode 117: Title 42 Comes to an End with Kris Lance

Ep 129: Transforming the Digital Customer Experience feat. Jay Dettling

All companies (and procurement organizations for that matter) have a customer experience. Investing in frictionless processes, digital technologies, and value delivery is critical - but before any of that happens, it is essential to get to know the customer better, to understand what they want and what they need.
In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Jay Dettling. Jay is the CEO of Hero Digital, a customer experience company. His background is in building and growing companies by bringing transformation and partnerships to the forefront.
In this interview, Jay talks about the importance of customer experience to a company’s customer acquisition and retention:
What he means when he talks about the fast-growing practice are of customer experience management
How we can better understand the human needs of our customers
Ways that a customer experience can contribute to (or detract from) a company’s competitive differentiators
His advice for organizations that want to understand the customer experience they are currently offering and find ways to improve it