The Future of Procurement

Episode 024: Bridging the Gap in Maintenance and Procurement with Aaron Horn

Guest: Aaron Horn – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Strategic Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Finance & Spend ---------------------------------------- What happens with the priorities of maintenance engineers in asset intensive industries don’t align with the polices and compliance goals of procurement?  Friction…barriers…transformation roadblocks to name a few.  Our guest today would even go so far as to say he “hated” the procurement processes he was asked to follow.    But what if there was a better way for these teams to collaborate? Although he’s a Solution Advisor at SAP today, helping customers drive procurement excellence, in a prior life our guest Aaron Horn worked as a Maintenance Reliability Engineer in the Oil Refining industry.  Aaron draws on this background to give a unique perspective on the challenges of managing the conflicting priorities of maintenance managers and procurement teams and the importance of collaboration and feedback in bridging the gap. As more companies look to technology to enable business and procurement transformation initiatives, Aaron emphasizes the importance of maintenance professionals being involved in procurement decisions and conversations to better align priorities and embrace continuous improvement to adapt to changing business needs.  The surprising conclusion – fostering empathy might be just as important as the underlying technology and AI. So, let’s dive in, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. I am your host Erik Derenne, and you’re listening to The Future of Procurement Podcast.  ---------------------------------------- Follow SAP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/] Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/] Follow Aaron:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arhorn/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/arhorn/]   Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/] Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/]   Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/] Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to: TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com [TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com]

Episode 23: From Tactical to Strategic with Mike Jasper

Guest: Mike Jasper – Director of Transformation Product & Client Success, Extropy Advisors Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Strategic Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Finance & Spend ---------------------------------------- One of the most common misconceptions of major procurement transformation projects where new technologies are implemented to drive automation and efficiency across the source-to-pay cycle is that a headcount reduction is inevitable.  If a company can process more transactions faster and with fewer Users, then some people will lose their jobs.  But what if that isn’t the best way to maximize value from these investments? Our guest today is Mike Jasper, Director of Transformation Product & Client Success for Extropy Advisors.  Having spent over two decades leading organizations through complex change, Mike brings a forward-thinking approach and commitment to align businesses at every level in embracing digital transformation and driving a strategic vision for the future. Mike reflects on these experiences to showcase how best run companies look at digital transformations as an opportunity to drive value by shifting resources from manual, tactical activities towards more strategic initiatives.  He specifically focuses on the area of Accounts Payable and describes how automating the invoice process (ingestion, coding, matching, exception routing, etc.) can free up AP resources to focus on more complex and value-add priorities such as tax optimization, tariff impacts, DPO terms extension and early payment discount opportunities. So, let’s dive in, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. I am your host Erik Derenne, and you’re listening to The Future of Procurement Podcast. ---------------------------------------- Follow SAP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/ [https://url.sap/rf4rnq] Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ [https://url.sap/th50ft]ariba [https://url.sap/th50ft]/ [https://url.sap/th50ft] Follow Extropy Advisors: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getextropy/ [https://url.sap/lxr1d3] Follow Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljasper/ [https://url.sap/0o3a7t] Follow Erik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/ [https://url.sap/n99e6h] Follow Justin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/ [https://url.sap/tvkq53]  Follow Sarah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ [https://url.sap/ombre8] Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to: TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com [TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com]

Episode 022: Unlocking Value Through Business Accelerators with Klaus Fischer

Guest: Klaus Fischer – Board Advisor, Nitor Partners and ConvergentIS Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Strategic Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Finance & Spend Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend ---------------------------------------- Is your organization still operating in silos?  In the lack of transparency and collaboration between the offices of the CFO and CPO preventing the business from achieving the types of value outcomes that executives and shareholders expect?  What roles can technology, data and AI play in driving impactful business transformations? Our guest today is Klaus Fischer, a former long-time leader at SAP and current board advisor for two valued SAP partners – ConvergentIS and Nitor Partners.  Klaus has been an avid and passionate champion for helping customers transform and achieve positive business results in procurement, supply chain and finance.  Having joined SAP 35 years ago in Waldorf, Germany near his hometown, Klaus has filled many roles from Engineering to Consulting, Solution Advisory to Strategic Sales and most recently as the Head of North American Center of Excellence helping customers drive real value outcomes across all SAP solutions.  Klaus even played a significant role in SAP’s decision to acquire Ariba in 2012 and combine SAP ERP with the Ariba Network and Ariba’s strong cloud-based source-to-pay capabilities. Today, Klaus continues to be an advocate for helping companies drive impactful business outcomes as a growth and board advisor to two excellent SAP partners that specialize in the finance and procurement solutions at SAP. So, let’s dive in, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. I am your host Erik Derenne, and you’re listening to The Future of Procurement Podcast. ---------------------------------------- Follow SAP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/ [https://url.sap/2cp0yk] Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/ [https://url.sap/yh41uf] Follow Nitor Partners: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nitor-partners/ [https://url.sap/ucjg5m] Follow ConvergentIS: https://www.linkedin.com/company/convergentis/ [https://url.sap/ygsxfx] Follow Klaus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/klaus-fischer-a970a26/ [https://url.sap/ty6b1e] Follow Erik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/ [https://url.sap/uf0uw3] Follow Justin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/ [https://url.sap/22mqge]   Follow Sarah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ [https://url.sap/of7erl] Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to: TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com [TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com]

Episode 021: Procurement Year in Review and Welcome to a New Co-Host

Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Strategic Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Finance & Spend Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Finance & Spend ---------------------------------------- Justin and Erik celebrate the one-year milestone of The Future of Procurement by reflecting on the first 20 episodes.  Looking back on the growth and learning, some of their favorite and most memorable guests, and recalling some of the interesting things they learned along the way.  Not to be forgotten, they also show special love to the Flex and the City segment that ran several times throughout the year with a unique focus on services procurement and the flexible workforce. Next, Erik and Justin welcome a new voice to the podcast, Sarah Nelson, a fellow Finance & Spend Solution consultant.  Sarah joins the podcast for year two as a third co-host who brings a fresh voice, great new ideas and a desire to keep the podcast fun and accessible to all listeners. Sarah shares her procurement origin story with us, gives us a sneak peek at some of the fresh ideas she’s bringing to the podcast, and dives in headfirst with her perspective on what the future of procurement will look like…and it’s not the obvious answer. So, let’s dive in, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. I am your host Erik Derenne, and you’re listening to The Future of Procurement Podcast.  ---------------------------------------- SHOW NOTES: Follow SAP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/] Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/] Follow Blackline: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackline/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackline/] Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/] Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/]   Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/] Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com [TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com]

Episode 020: Bringing Finance and Procurement Together with Blackline

Guest: Stuart Van Houten – Chief Commercial Officer, Blackline Guest: Riyaz Samnani – SVP of Presales & Value Engineering, Blackline Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Finance & Spend ---------------------------------------- Have you ever noticed that the functions of procurement and finance are often siloed and disjointed at companies?  That often their goals and initiatives are not always in sync with each other, and that time-consuming, manual processes are required to reconcile spend and finance data at the end of the month, quarter, or year?  As procurement and finance are evolving to become more strategic, how can technology help break down these silos? Our guests today are Stuart Van Houten, Chief Commercial Officer of Blackline, and Riyaz Samnani, SVP of Presales & Value Engineering at Blackline.  Stuart is passionate about driving sustainable growth and long-term success and brings over 30 years of experience leading high-growth technology organizations, most recently having led North American sales and business development initiatives at SAP.  Riyaz, brings his enthusiasm for building best run solution demonstrations and value-based business cases to his customers with over a decade leading procurement and finance teams at SAP, Coupa and Basware prior to joining Blackline. An SAP Partner and a leading AI-enabled financial operations engine, Blackline helps customers accelerate their record-to-report and invoice-to-cash activities which eliminates delays, strengthens controls, and delivers trusted data throughout the organization.  Stuart and Riyaz bring their procurement acumen to their new roles at Blackline to uncover how smart businesses are joining their financial operations and data with procurement data and initiatives to drive the next generation of technological transformation…with AI and data and the center. So, let’s dive in, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. I am your host Justin Morse, and you’re listening to The Future of Procurement Podcast. ---------------------------------------- SHOW NOTES: Follow SAP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/] Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/] Follow Blackline: https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackline/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/blackline/] Follow Stuart: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartvanhouten/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartvanhouten/] Follow Riyaz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samnani/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/samnani/] Follow Justin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/]   Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com [TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com]