Ep. 61 Trends in Cooperative Purchasing with Deltek's Paul Irby

Ep. 68 - The Future of Fleet with Ken Hess

On this episode of the Decisions that Matter Podcast, we are sharing a conversation between Procurated Founder and CEO David Yarkin and Ken Hess - Deputy Secretary for Procurement for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Together they discuss the trends that procurement professionals should be aware of when purchasing for Fleet!

Ep. 67 - Procurated Buyer Survey | Results & Analysis

As part of our recent buyer survey we took a look back at the procurement landscape in 2022. Our respondents shared their biggest challenges, from supply chain disruption to staff turnover. We dove into the issues and some potential solutions for tackling them. 

Take a look at the full report.

This podcast is brought to you by Procurated, the first supplier evaluation and vendor management platform created exclusively for public sector purchasers.

Ep. 66 - Diversity, Inclusion & Small Business Opportunities with Pennsylvania's Kerry Kirkland

Procurated’s Denitra Gober is joined by Kerry Kirkland, Pennsylvania’s Deputy Secretary for Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities for a conversation on the ways that government can better engage the supplier community. 

The discussion covers ways that agencies can use grassroots organizations, community engagement and sheer determination to overcome obstacles and create a procurement process that is inclusive, expansive and fortified in supporting historically underutilized businesses.

Ep. 65 - A Public Procurement Life with Jack Pitzer

Procurated’s founder and CEO, David Yarkin, sat down with Jack Pitzer, a public procurement legend whose career began in 1966 and spanned more than 40 years, to discuss the evolution of procurement during his tenure, and what it means for the future. Jack worked in two state procurement offices (and was the CPO of IA) and ran procurement for a university and a large local government. He was a leader in National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO), becoming its president in 1984.

To understand the future of procurement we must understand the history that has brought us to the point where we are today. Jack provides context and insight into the decisions that have led to our recent transition to a more digital world and an emphasis on technology, collaboration, and communication. 

Ep. 64 - NIGP Recap & Takeaways w/ Procurated's Becca Moran, Mike Derr, Jenny Doherty, and John Walters

Becca's goal is to elevate the role of public procurement by bringing buyers together on the Procurated platform and making it easy for them to share insights and find great suppliers. She leads the product, design, engineering, marketing, and community functions for the company. Together, her team discovers new ways to solve user problems, builds innovative solutions, and develops creative strategies to drive engagement with the government and supplier communities served by Procurated.

Before joining Procurated, Becca led product management at Xometry, a custom manufacturing marketplace. Earlier in her career, she served in technical project management and business development roles at Politico, a leading digital news outlet.

Michael Derr joined the Procurated team as Community Engagement Manager in 2021 and is excited to bring to the Procurated Team his 25 plus years of experience and wealth of knowledge to the Procurated Team in supporting the needs of our clientele.

Prior to joining Procurated Michael worked as the Contracts/Purchasing Officer for the County of Monterey, where he was directly responsible for the following operations: Contracts/Purchasing, Fleet Operations, Records Management, Mail Operations, as well as the oversight of two Food Service Operations and one Daycare Center.

Jenny Doherty joined the team in July 2022 as the Vice President of the Community Engagement team, where her mission is to serve government customers by giving them a voice in the supplier performance process to inform purchasing decisions. Jenny has a broad breadth of public procurement experience in both state government and higher education. As the Chief Procurement Officer for Pennsylvania, she saved over $100 million in year one and implemented technology innovations and private-sector best practices to streamline the RFP process and created transparency and efficiency with a new e-procurement solution (Jaggaer). She also recognized the value of commercial feedback and brought together suppliers and purchasers for the Commonwealth’s first Supplier Forums.

As the Director of the Shared Services Procurement group at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), Jenny was a thought and change leader and transformed the siloed university procurement teams into a unified commodity-based shared services team. In parallel, she implemented SAP Ariba to make PASSHE a leader in higher education. Prior to joining PASSHE, Jenny led Amazon Business’s State Government sector, where she brought together state governments, purchasing cooperatives, and the digital marketplace to drive best-value procurement. Jenny started her procurement career as an entrepreneur with FreeMarkets in Pittsburgh, PA.

John Walters joined the Procurated team as Community Engagement Manager in 2022 and is excited to bring to the Procurated Team his 24 plus years of experience in enterprise software and public procurement.

Prior to joining Procurated, John was a co-founder of Periscope Holdings, a leading e-procurement solution for state and local governments. At Periscope, he led the development of the BuySpeed product, executing 4 statewide e-procurement implementations. He also led the NIGP Code and NIGP Consulting groups within Periscope. He is an author on procurement topics and a frequent speaker on public procurement best practices.