The procurement operating model you choose can make a significant impact on how well (and how quickly) you are able to create value for your organization. However, you don’t simply need to account for efficiency and streamlined processes.
A procurement operating model needs to stand up to evolving technology landscapes, impending supply chain crises, ever-changing geopolitical climates, and so much more. How are you to balance it all–and do so without causing friction within your team?
We’ve gathered the top six Art of Procurement podcast episodes on operating models so you can get the insight and advice you need to select a model that checks every box.
Take a look and listen below!
Episode 751: Extinction or Opportunity: What is Procurement’s Destiny?
“No matter how strong or how solid your foundations might be, the environment in which we operate is changing at such a pace that if we do not evolve with it, we will become obsolete.”
Even though procurement has proven their worth over and over again, teams need to capitalize on the momentum and even build on it into the future.
In this episode, Phillip Ideson connected with Sebastien Bals, EVP and Chief Procurement Officer at Merck Group, at DPW Amsterdam 2024. Throughout the conversation, you’ll hear Sebastien’s take on why procurement needs to focus on the future to be successful, adapt to new technology, and accept that we can’t possibly have all the answers introduced by this new and challenging business climate.
“It’s really nice to have a bigger purpose and actually see the communities that you are changing, the lives that you are altering and impacting through the work that you do.”
Building a center of excellence is hard enough. Throw in the added challenges of operating in geographies with highly disrupted political and economic roadblocks, and you’re in for a turbulent ride.
In this episode, Andrew Savage, Global Lead: Procurement Excellence at MTN, guides you through how he built his COE and how you can achieve similar success by hiring the right people, rethinking your current operating model, and adopting fresh KPIs.
Episode 591: Rethink, Reflect, Reexamine: Strengthening Global Procurement Operating Models
“Organizations are asking, ‘For the next crisis–another pandemic, another supply disruption–can our organization be more resilient, and can we be better prepared? Not just from a policy or process or technology perspective but in terms of our operating model. Can we put more resources in the countries where we are doing our purchasing?”
Procurement knows all too well that it's not a matter of if the next crisis is coming, but rather when it will land. If you’re going to be ready to take disruptions in stride, it may be worth changing how you run your organization now.
In this episode, Jake Taylor, Senior Director of Advisory at ProcureAbility, walks you through the pros and cons of adopting various procurement operating models as well as the change management considerations that will put operating model adjustments into context.
Episode 396: Envisioning the Procurement Operating Model of the Future
“The procurement operating model of the future is going to require flexibility and agility, but hopefully we’re not just moving things from the inbox to the outbox. Instead, we should be managing multiple data sets and predictive analytics.”
Procurement is no stranger to change–and that includes our desire to make transformational changes to how we operate.
In this episode, Conrad Snover, President of ProcureAbility, and Betsy Pancik, their Vice President of Customer Success, break down the what, why, and how of procurement operating systems–and the power choosing the right model has in driving transformational concerns.
You’ll even get insight into evolving talent needs and the pivots you’ll need to make to successfully implement the right systems.
Episode 276: A CPOs First 100 Days – Building a High-Performing Procurement Operating Model
“Given the changes in the technology space, changes in people’s aspirations, changes in what is expected of procurement, it’s just the right time to look at the wider procurement operating model and come up with a view on what’s going to work in the future. What strategy does the business really want procurement to deliver?”
When you step into a new CPO role, you have a finite amount of time to get support–both from procurement and non-procurement teams–and make changes that have a positive impact on the business.
In this episode, you’ll hear from Vikas Tyagi, a Principal at Efficio, as he explains the importance of resetting operating models right from the start of your tenure, the standard elements you should include in your model, and best practices for getting buy-in and changing existing models.
Episode 200: Preparing for the Operating Models of the New Procurement
“The biggest issue that any procurement function has to solve in terms of their value proposition is being able to align the business’s perception of procurement’s value with procurement’s perception of their own value.”
As procurement aims to make changes to the operating models we use, we need to consider how new technologies and strategies will replace existing ones and allow us to thrive in a new environment.
In this episode, Phillip Ideson sits down with Oliver Gall, Head of Global Sourcing at S&P Global to focus on the future of procurement operating systems. Together, they examine some potential unknowns to watch out for, the ways procurement can add value through new operating tactics, and how you can quell some of the anxiety that inevitably comes with change.
