Art of Procurement

846: Building Agility Through Emergency Procurement Readiness W/ Rick Bond and Tammy Rimes

"The first time that you speak with a supplier shouldn't be in a time of crisis. Our best customers work with us regularly, and we're constantly hearing from them." - Rick Bond, Chief Revenue Officer, Safeware When a crisis hits, procurement must move at lightning speed… but without cutting corners. How do public agencies build systems that are nimble, compliant, and ready for anything? The answer to that question lies in proactive preparation, robust cooperative agreements, and the partnerships that power an effective emergency response. In this episode, Philip Ideson speaks with Tammy Rimes, Executive Director of National Cooperative Procurement Partners, and Rick Bond, Safeware's Chief Revenue Officer. Together, they share what really happens behind the scenes when disaster strikes, and how contract strategies and supplier relationships can turn from routine to lifesaving overnight. They also examine hard lessons learned from the pandemic, the critical role of due diligence, and why warehousing strategies are making a comeback. From practical war stories to high-level frameworks, this episode is a playbook for anyone navigating risk and rapid response. In this episode, Tammy and Rick discuss how to: * Create ready-to-launch emergency contracts before you need them * Run fast but thorough due diligence, even with "easy" agreements * Build supplier relationships that go beyond the transaction * Balance just-in-time strategies with smart warehousing investments * Hold both parties accountable for resilience, not just price Links: * Executive Briefing: Cooperative Procurement as a Tool for Emergency Preparedness [https://resources.artofprocurement.com/free-whitepaper-cooperative-procurement-as-a-tool-for-emergency-preparedness] * Tammy Rimes on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammyrimes/] * Rick Bond on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-bond-2257987/] * Subscribe to This Week in Procurement [https://resources.artofprocurement.com/art-of-procurement-podcast-subscribe] * Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ArtofProcurement]

BTW EP 24: Phil-out Season Finale: A Procurement Roast With Purpose

After 23 episodes of dissecting procurement's incentive flaws, behavioral blind spots, and structural contradictions, the "Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement" podcast team closes season one with something different: reflection, humor, a little chaos, and a first look at what comes next. In this episode, Rich Ham seizes the mic for a surprise "hostile takeover," pulling Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner into a rapid-fire look back at the most memorable moments of the season. What follows is part game show, part roast, and part highlight reel. In short, the perfect way to close a project built on saying the quiet parts out loud. Rich counts down his "top seven" insights from guests like Martin Chilcott, Thomas Udesen, Kate Vitasek, and Omid Ghamami, and the topics they discussed, from decarbonization realities to incentive design failures, from short-termism to purpose-driven procurement. The list captures what this season repeatedly revealed: procurement isn't held back by a lack of talent or ambition, but by systems and incentives that don't reflect the impact leaders know they can deliver. This episode isn't just a retrospective. It also marks the transition from discovery to design. After months of interviews, research, and internal debate, the team announces what's next: The Buylaws – a set of guiding principles for a healthier, more purposeful procurement incentive system. Early 2026 will bring a new mini-series dedicated to unpacking each one of these recommendations. As we've learned, procurement's potential is enormous, but potential becomes purpose only when incentives, behavior, and business outcomes finally align. Links: Rich Ham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-ham-51b38a10/]Learn more at FineTuneUs.com [http://finetuneus.com]

845: Inside the AI Foundation Behind Next-Gen Procurement W/ Fang Chang

"If you don't go on the journey, you risk being left behind. The key is to try, learn, and apply AI in a way that creates real value." - Fang Chang, EVP and Chief Product Officer at SAP AI isn't just another feature on your tech checklist. It's changing the way procurement teams deliver impact… but only for those bold enough to rethink from the ground up. In this podcast episode, host Philip Ideson speaks with Fang Chang, EVP and Chief Product Officer at SAP, who shares what it looks like to rebuild an established platform like Ariba on a true AI foundation. Fang's team didn't just layer new tech onto old workflows; they tore everything down and rebuilt with AI at the core. If you've ever asked whether your team should wait for the "next" wave of AI innovation or start learning by doing, this conversation is a must-listen. Fang walks through technical choices, balancing agility with reliability, and what an AI-powered procurement experience now enables for the business. In this episode, Fang discusses: * Why simply layering AI onto legacy tools leaves value on the table * How to decide where AI creates business outcomes… and where it doesn't * What real agility looks like in a fast-evolving AI landscape * How contextual "insights to action" bring value at every step * The new balance of human oversight with AI-driven workflows Links: * Fang Chang on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fkchang/] * Subscribe to This Week in Procurement [https://resources.artofprocurement.com/art-of-procurement-podcast-subscribe] * Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ArtofProcurement]

BTW EP 23: The Phil-Ins: The Procurement Performance Paradox

After nearly a year of exploring procurement's incentive paradox from every angle, Philip Ideson, Rich Ham, and Kelly Barner reconvene to connect the dots between three of the series' most thought-provoking guests: Jason Brown, David Loseby, and Omid Ghamami. Each offered a distinct lens on the same fundamental question: What does performance really mean in procurement today? Jason Brown framed incentives as an operating system: a structure that shapes behavior and defines what purpose looks like in practice. David Loseby reminded us that real change starts with understanding people, not just systems. And Omid Ghamami challenged procurement to stop claiming victory at contract signature and start measuring success by real-world outcomes actually achieved. As the co-hosts unpack these different takes on procurement performance, they uncover a unifying truth: procurement's metrics may have been right for their time, but the time has changed. Savings-driven scorecards and transactional incentives no longer fit a function expected to deliver innovation, resilience, and strategic value. The discussion also looks ahead to what comes next as the co-hosts think about how AI reshapes the function, causing headcounts to shrink and expectations to rise. Can procurement redefine its purpose before automation defines it for them? The answer, they argue, lies in alignment: between incentives and impact, between humans and technology, and between what we buy and what we're genuinely trying to achieve. Links: Rich Ham on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-ham-51b38a10/]Learn more at FineTuneUs.com [http://finetuneus.com]

844: Contracting for Speed: How Orchestration Empowers Procurement W/ Clare Cassano and Toby Laforest

"Your contracts are your source of truth. You should have a tool that can go through the contracts and help you understand the impact and make an assessment, all in one place." -Toby Laforest, Senior Director PMM - Market Insights and Solutions at Ironclad Procurement leaders can no longer afford to wait for requests to land in their inbox. Facing regulatory change, market volatility, and growing demand for business partnership, some organizations are reimagining their procurement operating models and putting technology and process both front and center. In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Clare Cassano, Head of Procurement Strategy & Execution at Invesco, and Toby LaForest from Ironclad, share how Invesco tackled the shift from reactive service to proactive business enablement. They discuss the tough choices behind their technology stack, the reality of orchestration layers, and why "best fit" often wins over "best-in-class" for their unique needs. Listen in for practical lessons on realigning talent, building true contract intelligence, and future-proofing your procurement process with an eye toward AI and automation. In this episode, Clare and Toby discuss: * How AI-enabled contract management can deliver real-time contract insights, not just document storage * Honest advice about choosing best fit tech over one-size-fits-all suites * Future opportunities (and things to watch out for) related to agentic AI in procurement Links: * Toby Laforest on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tobylaforest/] * Clare Cassano on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/clare-cassano-procurementops/] * From Reactive to Strategic: Transforming Procurement Through Contract Intelligence [https://resources.artofprocurement.com/free-whitepaper-executive-briefing-transforming-procurement-through-contract-intelligence] * Contracting for Speed: How Orchestration Empowers Procurement [https://youtu.be/r4IMo0hDdY0?si=AueDN4xYMcdddlI_] * Subscribe to This Week in Procurement [https://resources.artofprocurement.com/art-of-procurement-podcast-subscribe] * Subscribe to Art of Procurement on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@ArtofProcurement]