Art of Procurement

"Isn't it true that everybody talks about supplier management, but nobody does it?" 
This observation from Summit Procurement CEO and Founder Alan Veeck captures the delta between procurement's aspirations and the reality on the ground. It's a gap, he says, that AI might finally help close, but only if organizations resist the temptation to simply slash headcount when AI-powered efficiencies arrive.
In this episode of "Buy: The Way...To Purposeful Procurement," co-hosts Philip Ideson and Rich Ham speak with Alan Veeck to explore what procurement unleashed to pursue actual value might look like and why the resistance to that vision remains so formidable.
Alan presents listeners with a thought experiment: imagine a CPO given two directives: first, embrace AI to drive maximum efficiency, but second, keep every team member despite the bandwidth freed up by AI. His answer reveals momentous untapped potential: those 25 entry-level people whose salaries total $2.5 million annually? In a billion-dollar enterprise, he says, they could find 10x that value "in their sleep" within months through proper supplier engagement, category management, and relationship building. 
This notion also brings procurement's existential challenge into the light. Without fixing flawed incentive structures, procurement will "continue to be the ones asking for a seat at the table." 
One-off conversations and content won't solve these issues. Instead, Alan says it's time to convene "the smartest thinkers in our industry" into what Rich dubs a "fellowship." The goal: creating industry standards for measuring value across different contexts, giving organizations practical frameworks to escape the savings delusion.
As Rich notes, there's no general ledger line item for savings, only costs. Procurement can be "the hero of the expense side of the ledger," but only if they muster the collective confidence to take the necessary steps.
Links:
Alan Veeck on LinkedIn
Rich Ham on LinkedIn
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"Right now, procurement needs to define their future role in the business. Procurement needs to drive that for themselves, because if we don't, then someone is going to drive it for us, and that could drive us out." - Gordon Donovan, Vice President Research - Procurement & External Workforce, SAP
Business models are being disrupted, and so is procurement. This year's Economist Impact report reveals a sharp drop in C-suite confidence, a dramatic return to basics on cost and compliance, and AI taking center stage as both opportunity and challenge. 
Amid these changes, how can CPOs set a strategy that's fit for tomorrow, not just today?
Gordon Donovan, VP of Research for Procurement and External Workforce at SAP, returns to the show with exclusive data and a candid view on industry shifts. Gordon breaks down what really matters in this year's survey: the operational realities behind AI, the new direction for category management, and why rethinking old processes is the only way forward.
In this episode, Gordon discusses:
Why procurement confidence shrank up to 18% globally  
The importance of zeroing in on cost and compliance as resurgent priorities  
Rethinking category management for a complex new landscape  
How to pinpoint where AI delivers and the barriers still holding teams back  
Why now is the time to reinvent, not just digitize
Links:
Gordon Donovan on LinkedIn
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It's no secret: procurement teams are under increasing pressure to deliver savings, handle more work with leaner teams, and modernize outdated processes… all at once. While software solutions have flooded the market, much of the daily reality still involves spreadsheets and emails, especially for indirect or non-strategic spend.
Stan Moskovtsev, co-founder and U.S. CEO of Zinit, wants to solve this. Drawing on his years leading digital procurement at McKinsey, Stan built a SaaS-enabled B2B marketplace that addresses these day-to-day pain points. In this ProcureTech Insider Startup of the Week episode, Stan joins Jyothi Hartley to unveil Zinit's unique "AI-native" architecture, outcome-based commercial model, and flexible approach to getting clients up and running quickly.
Curious how a new breed of marketplace could break the cycle of underutilized tools and lagging ROI? Hear firsthand what drives procurement results in markets large and small.
In this episode, Stan discusses:
Why procurement teams still default to email and Excel, even after investing in tools
How outcome-based pricing removes cost barriers and drives adoption
What it means to build with AI at the foundation not as an afterthought
How Zinit enables fast, low-lift pilots and delivers clear ROI on tail spend
 
Links:
Stan Moskovtsev on LinkedIn
Visit Zinit's Page in the AOP Provider Directory
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"Don't speak about category savings because that's procurement lingo. We need to speak about gross margin expansion at the end-product level." - Sammeli Sammalkorpi, Co-Founder and CEO, Sievo
Spend analytics has moved well beyond spreadsheets, but most organizations are still guessing about what 'good' performance looks like. 
When Sievo analyzed $1.4 trillion of procurement spend, the findings were both confirming and, in some places, eye-opening. With the business landscape changing rapidly, adaptation backed by data is more important than ever.
In this Art of Procurement podcast episode, Philip Ideson and Kelly Barner are joined by Sammeli Sammalkorpi, Co-Founder and CEO of Sievo. Sammeli details Sievo's approach to benchmarking, the surprising patterns in the data, and where CPOs may be missing untapped value. He also shares practical ways to reframe procurement's business impact, anchoring spend to revenue, and challenging old assumptions about control.
The conversation covers fresh ways to benchmark your team's performance, build actionable industry comparisons, and rethink what matters in spend analytics.
In this episode, Sammeli discusses:
Why even the most mature organizations still miss large opportunities
How to identify the hidden business impact of spend spikes and payment terms
The importance of comparing industry benchmarks to spot real, actionable gaps
Rethinking "control" in procurement: Is a PO always required?
How clean data unlocks speed and better decisions
Links:
Sammeli Sammalkorpi on LinkedIn
State of Spend Report 2025
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AI is already changing procurement, but, for many, the bigger and more difficult question is what will happen to people in the process.
Procurement has long been constrained by capacity: too much data, too many transactions, and not enough time to step back and think strategically. Now, with AI accelerating analysis, automating tasks, and reshaping workflows, that constraint is starting to loosen.
But more capacity doesn't automatically create more value.
In this episode of Buy: The Way…To Purposeful Procurement, Friddy Hoegener, co-founder of Scope Recruiting and a former procurement practitioner, joins co-hosts Philip Ideson and Rich Ham to explore what AI really means for procurement talent, hiring, and the future of the function.
Friddy sits at a unique intersection. He has lived procurement from the inside and now evaluates it from the outside, helping companies hire the people who will define its future. What he sees is both promising… and unsettling.
On the one hand, AI is making work more efficient. Recruiters no longer spend hours taking notes or writing candidate summaries, and procurement can analyze data faster and make decisions more quickly. Entry-level roles that once focused on repetitive tasks are beginning to evolve into something more strategic.
However, AI is also distorting how talent is evaluated, and not always to the benefit of the candidate or the employer. It has never been easier for candidates to look polished, tailored, and highly qualified on paper. Resumes, outreach messages, and even interview preparation can be AI-assisted, making it harder than ever to distinguish between genuine capability and well-generated output. As a result, the traditional filters procurement relies on are breaking down, forcing hiring teams back to something more fundamental: actual human conversation.
Links:
Friddy Hoegener on LinkedIn
Rich Ham on LinkedIn
Learn more at FineTuneUs.com