A Fireside Chat with Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of PRO Unlimited

On this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape (SIG) podcast, recorded live during the Global Executive Summit, host Dawn Tiura, CEO of SIG, interviews Rana Karimi, Solutions Manager at ProcureAbility, the leading provider of procurement services. Dawn and Rana discuss SIG, its educational programs, and SIG University's certification and training offerings. Rana shares insights into her engineering background, her transition to sourcing and consulting, and her role at providing customized solutions for clients of ProcureAbility. The conversation covers the importance of relationship building in procurement, the impact of automation and AI, and how ProcureAbility transforms global organizations’ procurement operations with their comprehensive services including advisory, managed services, digital, and staffing and recruiting solutions.   

On this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast recorded live during the Global Executive Summit, Dina Ghobrial, founder of Halo AI, discusses her transition from Chief Procurement Officer at Coupa Software to launching Halo AI - a cutting edge platform that aims to revolutionize third-party risk management by leveraging technology to streamline vendor vetting processes. Halo AI utilizes diverse data sources, such as cybersecurity, financial viability, ESG, climate, and sentiment analysis, to generate instant vendor scores. Tune in to hear about Dina’s journey and how Halo AI has the potential to transform third-party risk management within the procurement industry.    Learn more about Halo AI: https://www.gohalo.ai/ 

On this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast, Dawn is joined by Anders Lillevik, CEO and founder of Focal Point. The two discuss the need for an end-to-end enterprise procurement orchestration platform and the role of generative AI in enhancing procurement processes. Anders explains Focal Point's vision and how they aim to address the challenges faced in procurement operations, such as tracking and managing procurement activities, ensuring compliance, and gaining recognition for the work done.    Learn more about Focal Point: https://www.getfocalpoint.com/company/about-us/  

Managed Services (MS) originated from the 1980s outsourcing trend and have since expanded into various business functions, including Procurement. MS entails outsourcing specific business processes to third parties to manage them externally, optimizing tasks like spend analytics, sourcing, supplier management, requisition processing, and invoice management within Source-to-Pay and Procure-to-Pay cycles.   The value proposition for business leaders, such as CPOs and CSCOs, centers on operational efficiency, strategic enhancement, industry expertise, spending control through SLAs and KPIs, organizational flexibility, and cost advantages. Tune into this episode with Carlos Perico, Senior Director at ProcureaAbility, to learn more about whether Managed Procurement Services could be the right approach for your organization.

On this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast, Dawn Tiura interviews Martin Rand, the Co-Founder and CEO of Pactum AI. They discuss the concept of autonomous negotiations and how Pactum AI has revolutionized the way businesses negotiate using AI and chatbots. Martin shares examples of how autonomous negotiations have resulted in significant cost savings and improved relationships for companies like Merck, Walmart, and Veritiv. He also talks about his journey and the inspiration behind starting Pactum AI.   Learn more about Pactum AI: https://pactum.com/

Tune into this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast where Dawn is joined by Larry Flusser, an Advisory Manager at ProcureAbility to discuss creativity in procurement and how it can be leveraged to elevate the procurement function. Larry shares best practices and provides actionable steps for procurement leaders to take for implementing creativity to enhance the procurement function.  Read the blog post mentioned during this episode: https://procureability.com/embracing-the-5-key-pillars-of-creativity-in-procurement-to-create-new-sources-of-value-creation/  Learn more about ProcureAbility: https://procureability.com/ 

On this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape, Dawn Tiura interviews Sagi Eliyahu, the Co-Founder and CEO of Tonkean, about intake orchestration and its importance in managing the earliest point in a process. Sagi emphasizes the need for a seamless and user-friendly intake experience, regardless of the channel used. He also highlights how the integration of intake orchestration with other systems can bring immense value to procurement and other departments. Key Takeaways:  Intake orchestration is the management of the earliest point in a process, where information or requests are collected from one team to another. A seamless and user-friendly intake experience is crucial for ensuring high adoption and compliance. Intake orchestration can be integrated with other systems and channels, allowing users to submit requests through their preferred channels while still following the defined process. Understanding the personal ROI of different stakeholders and aligning with their needs is essential for successful intake orchestration. Learn more about Tonkean: https://www.tonkean.com/ 

On this episode, Dawn interviews Darryl Hammett, the General Manager of Global Demand and Operations at AWS, about his background, achievements, and insights. Darryl shares transitional journey into supply chain management. He emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and the impact of education in his career. Darryl also discusses the need to adapt to a changing world and the importance of considering global perspectives. He expresses his commitment to giving back and supporting initiatives like the SIG Educational Foundation, highlighting the value of networking and the impact of SIG in the procurement industry. Key Takeaways: Continuous learning and education are essential for personal and professional growth. Adapting to a changing world requires considering global perspectives and being an active listener. Giving back and supporting initiatives that create opportunities for others is important for leaving a positive legacy. Networking and connecting with peers in the industry can lead to valuable insights and growth opportunities. Learn more about SIG University: https://www.sig.org/sig-university/about/ Learn more about the SIG Educational Foundation: https://www.sig.org/sig-educational-foundation/

On this episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast, Dawn is joined by Jamie Ogilvie-Smals, Vice President at GEP and Dr. Frank Kobor, Vice President of the Rapid Deployment Team at Bayer to celebrate their team’s winning the Innovations in Outsourcing award at this year’s Future of Sourcing Awards. The trio discuss their partnership and its background, highlighting the specific areas of innovation and the secrets to their success. Learn more about GEP – https://www.gep.com/  Learn more about the Future of Sourcing Awards – https://futureofsourcingawards.com/  Join us for the next Global Executive Summit – https://www.sig.org/events/sig-summit/ 

During this two-part episode of the Sourcing Industry Landscape podcast, Dawn is joined by Amanda Prochaska, Founder and Chief Wonder Officer of Wonder Services, and a finalist nominee for the 2023 Sourcing Star Award at the Future of Sourcing Awards. During part one of this series, Dawn and Amanda grab a semi-quiet corner at our Global Executive Summit to get better acquainted where we learn about Amanda’s background and how she stumbled into the procurement world. Amanda shares her journey into entrepreneurship as the Founder of Wonder Services and what sets her firm apart as a leader in the digital transformation space. Learn more about Wonder Services: https://wonderservices.net/ Learn more about the Future of Sourcing Awards: https://futureofsourcingawards.com/ Register for the next Global Executive Summit: https://events.sig.org/en/60KUru6/2024-global-executive-summit-east-5a3N4z2HMwz/overview