The Future of Procurement

SAP Podcasts
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Technology

Cutting-edge thought leadership, trends, and insights in Procurement, served up in casual, coffee-chat style conversations

  1. 1d ago

    Episode 033: How AI in the Classroom is Shaping the Future of Work with Anil Kumar

    Professor of Business Analytics, Anil Kumar provides insights on how AI is being used in the classroom to shift how students are shaping the future of how work is done in the AI era. Guest: Anil Kumar – Professor of Business Analytics, Texas A&M University College of Business 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 is your comfort level with AI?  How deep have you gone down the AI rabbit hole of using the models, tools, and applications to create things to optimize your life?     Are you an AI Native or are you an AI Immigrant? Our guest today, Anil Kumar, helps us understand the impact that AI is having on one of the most important areas of society…the classroom.  A professor of Business Analytics at Texas A&M University, Anil explains that today’s students are among the first generations that have grown up with AI as part of their everyday lives and are well-positioned to use that to reshape how people and AI co-exist in the workplace of the future.   One of the biggest surprises is that Anil does not shy away from students using AI in the classroom.  In fact, he encourages it.  His belief is that these are the tools and skills that will drive businesses going forward and that the ability to build things though “vibe coding” or other methodologies will be critical to helping solve some of the biggest challenges organizations face today.   As an added bonus, students and young people are often curious about the world and offer a fresh perspective on how to solve problems.  As the future of work evolves to adapt to this new AI-first mindset, fresh perspectives are exactly what will drive success and deliver AI with purpose.  Anil suggests a collaboration between active students and business leaders could revolutionize how students prepare for the workforce while also providing these businesses with these fresh ideas for how to utilize AI in new ways.   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/ Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/   Follow Anil:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kumaranil2025/   Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/   Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/     Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/   Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to ⁠⁠TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    49 min

  2. Jun 5

    Episode 032: Factoring AI into Your Procurement Strategy with Jay Brand

    Fellow SAP Solution Advisor, Jay Brand shares his unfiltered thoughts on the driving factors of procurement transformations and how AI should factor into the procurement strategy. Guest: Jay Brand – Director, Strategic 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   Is the technology the ultimate driver of change in a procurement transformation?  Can software magically fix poor processes, bad data, or unclear goals and KPIs?  Does the transformation end when the new software goes live?  Will AI be the solution for all these challenges? Our guest today, Jay Brand, has been on both sides of the aisle having gone through procurement transformation during his time at 3M in addition to helping customers navigate transformations today at SAP.  Drawing on his experiences, Jay answers these questions and more, with his signature style and directness that his customers and colleagues love.   Jay stresses the importance of a solid plan, strong leadership vision, and measurable KPIs in guiding the direction and success of any transformation program.  He cautions against some of the typical roadblocks like analysis paralysis and designing to perfection and instead offers the mantra of “move fast and break things” as a way to fail fast and move on – figure out what works and adjust what doesn’t.   Additionally, Jay uses a vivid analogy to explain that true transformation doesn’t end when the go-live party happens.  Implementing the new software is just one step in a constant cycle of analysis, reflection, adjustment and adoption that continuously evolves as circumstances change in the organization.   Finally, Jay discusses the role AI will play in all this and offers up a somewhat bold prediction that although AI will make things faster and more efficient, the role of the procurement professional and the processes of procurement will remain largely the same.     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/ Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/   Follow Jay:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-brand-436901b/   Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/   Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/     Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/   Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to ⁠TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    50 min

  3. May 19

    Episode 031: Being Intentional using a Bluefield Transformation Strategy with Curt Reppart

    Associate Partner at IBM, Curt Reppart talks about a new, selective transformation approach that helps his customers find balance in new and existing technology, processes and data. Guest: Curt Reppart – Associate Partner, IBM 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   When taking on any major business transformation or technology upgrade in your organization, two major decisions always take center stage.   1)    Where do we begin? 2)    Will we go Brownfield (lift-and-shift our existing system) or Greenfield (start fresh with new standards)? Our guest today, Curt Reppart, has been helping companies navigate these questions for years and offers great perspective as an Associate Partner at IBM.  Though it sometimes may make sense to do a Brownfield, lift-and-shift transformation or start completely fresh with a Greenfield implementation, often these options carry significant trade-offs such as carrying forward technical debt and poor processes or create massive disruptions to the business.   At IBM, Curt often suggests a third path to his customers and that is the Bluefield Implementation strategy, where customers use a selective approach that drives deliberate decisions about which configurations, processes and data to keep, redesign, or retire and where to adopt a more fit-to-standard approach.   Further, Curt makes a compelling case for Procurement being the ideal entry point for this transformation journey as it is often a highly disconnected, fragmented and over-customized area of the business in a space where collaboration extending beyond the four walls of the organization requires a certain level of standardization and conformity to succeed.  This makes procurement the perfect catalyst for being intentional about what to keep and what to simplify.     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/ Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/ Follow IBM: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ibm/   Follow Curt:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtreppart/     Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/   Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/     Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/   Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    56 min

  4. Apr 28

    Episode 030: Next-level Business Transformation with Tony Gainsford

    Business Transformation Leader Tony Gainsford joins us to explain how he used Supplier Collaboration, Process Mining and Automation Tolerances to drive successful procurement transformation at Molex. Guest: Tony Gainsford – Business Transformation Leader, Molex 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 Oftentimes people think of a business transformation or a procurement transformation as simply a technology project. That the best way to transform and improve the way the business runs is to just find newer software, with fancier bells and whistles, and that alone will solve all the issues, improve all the KPIs, and drive value for the organization. And if that still doesn’t deliver the expected ROI, the expected results? What next? Our guest today is Tony Gainsford, Business Transformation Leader at Molex. Tony has spent decades running successful transformation programs at Molex and knows first-hand what it takes to avoid common transformation pitfalls and achieve desired outcomes. In fact, Tony led an effort to digitize collaboration with all their Suppliers across the entire order-to-pay process through the SAP Business Network and strengthened the relationship with his Suppliers in the process. Tony highlighted just how important it is to have a solid vision before beginning a transformation project and the need to be flexible along the way as new information is uncovered. He reflected on the benefits of using process mining and data mining tools to identify the gaps, bottlenecks and workarounds and how changes to the configurations, tolerances, rules and processes can turn issues into competitive advantages. The biggest revelation is that even in this age of AI, automation and digitization, the human relationship is still a vital component of the transformation process. 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/ FollowSAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/ FollowMolex: https://www.linkedin.com/company/molex/   Follow Tony: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-gainsford-03764b10/   Follow Erik: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/ Follow Justin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/  Follow Sarah: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    58 min

  5. Apr 10

    Episode 029: Diving Deep into AI in Procurement with Ryan Skorupski

    SAP AI expert Ryan Skorupski takes us deep into the world of all things AI in procurement shining a light on what it is, what it can do, and what the potential implications are for the future. Guest: Ryan Skorupski – Senior Director of AI/ML, SAP Spend Management 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   Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve undoubtedly heard that AI is here and it’s the next big thing for businesses.  It will automate tasks, provide incredible insights into our data, streamline operations, cut costs, and improve revenue.  Companies are pouring billions of dollars to create AI models, build data centers and infuse AI into every part of their processes.   But what exactly is AI?  Where are we today on the AI maturity curve?  What’s possible right now and what could be possible tomorrow?   Our guest today is Ryan Skorupski, a Senior Director of AI and ML for Spend Management solutions at SAP.  With a background in finance, mathematics, data science and machine learning, Ryan brings a unique and knowledgeable perspective to the table.  Today, he’s on the front lines for building the AI foundational model at SAP and applying it to the full suite of procurement applications and processes.   Ryan takes us back through the history of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) and how they are being used and applied in the business world.  He emphasizes the importance of data in training the models and grounding the models to provide not just procurement-specific AI, but ultimately AI that’s fine-tuned to your specific company needs.  Ryan also cautions that there is still much we don’t understand about how AI works and how to best utilize AI within the business, so it is imperative that everyone from IT to the business becomes trained on the capabilities of AI, the limitations of AI, and how best to infuse AI into our operations.   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/ Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/   Follow Ryan:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-skorupski/   Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/   Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/     Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to ⁠⁠TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    1h 14m

  6. Mar 13

    Episode 028: Discovering the Secrets of Category Management with Andy Moe

    SAP Solution Advisor, Andy Moe reflects on his past experiences in Category Management to share the secrets of great category managers and why having a category strategy is crucial in today’s turbulent economy. Guest: Andy Moe – Director, Solution Advisory, SAP Spend Management Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Spend Management Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Strategic Solution Advisory, SAP Spend Management Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Spend Management ===== Procurement at large corporations with massive amounts of spend across a variety of categories is not easy.  Especially in these highly unpredictable socio-economic times where disruption seems to be the rule rather than the exception.   What was once simply a function of finding the best prices, procurement is now tasked with balancing price, quality, availability, and delivery times while mitigating risk, maintaining good supplier relationships, favorable payment terms, sustainability regulations, and much more.   So how does procurement take on this herculean task?   Enter the category manager…   Our guest today is Midwest Director of Solution Advisory at SAP Ariba, Andy Moe.  Andy draws on his background in Category Management at a large manufacturing company to explain why having a strategy for category spend is vital to handing market uncertainty and maintaining stability in the supply chain.    Andy uses the concept of a physical binder, a relic from his past life, as a prop to explain all the critical facets of a good category manager – how to use data to create an action plan to maximize the effectiveness of each category of spend and ultimately defend these decisions to key stakeholders in the organization.   As technology evolves and the job of a category manager becomes increasingly more complex, these activities have moved away from the analog, physical binder and toward digital solutions that combine data and insights with strategic procurement tools.  This allows the best category managers to respond to disruption in real-time and in the best possible way for their company.   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.  ===== SAP Procurement Webinar Series: ⁠https://events.sap.com/noam-discovery-your-grow-journey-procurement/en_us/home.html⁠   Follow SAP: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/⁠ Follow SAP Ariba: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/⁠   Follow Andy:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-moe-2bb4191/     Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/⁠   Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/⁠     Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/⁠ Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to ⁠TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    44 min

  7. Feb 12

    Episode 027: Aligning Procurement and Supply Chain Operations with Matt Donegan

    SAP Solution Advisor, Matt Donegan draws from his past experiences in Supply Chain Operations to spotlight the conflicting priorities of Procurement and Supply Chain and how to balance them successfully. Guest: Matt Donegan – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Spend Management Host: Sarah Nelson – Senior Solution Advisory, SAP Spend Management Host: Erik Derenne – Director, Strategic Solution Advisory, SAP Spend Management Host: Justin Morse – Vice President, Solution Advisory, SAP Americas, Spend Management ===== For companies that manufacture things, the supply chain is the lifeblood of the organization.  Production lines must run with maximum efficiency to deliver high-quality products to their customers on-time and at a competitive cost.  This means that the materials necessary for the final product must be procured from suppliers that can be trusted to consistently deliver with quality and speed to keep the production lines running.   Procurement departments are often working off a different priority list, where low costs, low risks, better payment terms and more favorable contractual obligations are the main focus areas.   So, how do we align the priorities of procurement with the needs of supply chain operations?   Our guest today is fellow SAP Ariba Solution Advisor, Matt Donegan.  Matt combines his background and education in Supply Chain Operations with his current role in advising customers in Procurement solutions to uncover the conflicting priorities that can create friction and risk in many manufacturing organizations.   Having worked on both sides of the aisle, Matt brings a unique perspective on the tricky balancing act of managing cost, quality and timeliness across the supply chain that combines technology, collaboration and a human element that fosters good relationships and trust with your customers, your stakeholders and your suppliers.   As technological, economic, political and environmental disruptions continue to strain global supply chains, having the right tools, processes and culture to weather the storm will be crucial for survival and will separate tomorrow’s successful companies from yesterday’s afterthoughts.  What story will you write for the future of your company?   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.  ===== SAP Procurement Webinar Series: https://events.sap.com/noam-discovery-your-grow-journey-procurement/en_us/home.html   Follow SAP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sap/ Follow SAP Ariba: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/   Follow Matt:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-donegan-cpim-003b1252/   Follow Erik:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/   Follow Justin:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/     Follow Sarah:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/ Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    43 min

  8. Jan 26

    Episode 026: The Future of Data in Procurement with Stacy Yoeckel

    Stacy Yoeckel, Founder of Modern Data Compass, joins us to talk about the complexity of data in a modern procurement organization and the importance of a good data strategy for our new AI-focused world. Guest: Stacy Yoeckel – Founder and Chief Data & AI Strategist, Modern Data Compass 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 ===== Data has always been the lifeblood of an organization, and the stakes have never been as high as they are now with generative AI technologies rapidly storming onto the scene to consume massive amounts of your data with the goal of producing intelligent insights to propel your company to new heights.  Unfortunately, without clean data and proper context, AI will only take you so far…   So, what’s the secret to getting the most out of your data to fuel this AI renaissance?   Our guest today is Stacy Yoeckel, founder and chief data and AI strategist at Modern Data Compass.  Stacy helped us understand the differences between Data Analysts, Data Engineers, and Data Scientists and how all three play a vital role in gathering, modeling, and transforming data to be useable and useful to the rest of the organization.   Stacy has spent decades obsessed with data, focused primarily on procurement analytics for several companies across a variety of industries.  This experience combined with her passion for looking at data and finding patterns, led to the launch of Modern Data Compass, where Stacy advises companies on their strategies and readiness roadmap for getting the most out of data, analytics and AI.   With the rise of generative AI and an exponentially growing volume of structured and unstructured data, having a strategy for clean, semantically contextual data in no longer a “nice to have” …it is non-negotiable.  The question is, will you take control of your data before it (or the AI using it) takes control of your organization?   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/⁠ Follow SAP Ariba: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/ariba/⁠ Check out Modern Data Compass: https://www.moderndatacompass.com    Follow Stacy:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacy-y-98a212102/  Follow Erik: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-derenne/⁠ Follow Justin: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinmorse/⁠ Follow Sarah: LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/swnelson12/⁠ Please like, share, and subscribe! Send feedback and questions to ⁠TheFutureOfProcurement@sap.com

    53 min
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Cutting-edge thought leadership, trends, and insights in Procurement, served up in casual, coffee-chat style conversations

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