Decisions That Matter: A Public Procurement Podcast

This episode follows a Q&A format with questions from our listeners for our team of former state and local CPOs. The group discusses the importance of creativity, curiosity, and strategic thinking to solve problems within government. At their core, great procurement leaders are problem solvers, and the group also shared advice from their own life on how they learned to think differently about procurement and find resources to take their careers to the next level. 

This video features four former Chief Procurement Officers, including: 

Jane Benton: CPO of Arkansas and University of Arkansas

Jason MacDonald: Former CPO of Long Beach and Fresno

Mike Smith: Former CPO of Illinois

Jason Soza: Former CPO of Alaska

For weekly episodes on a range of public procurement topics please like and subscribe to the podcast. You can also visit www.procurated.com for more information about specific suppliers that will help you and your agency improve your supplier evaluation and vendor management. 

Jenn Myers, NIGP-CPP, CPPB  has been with the City of Tucson for 8 years, currently in the role of Procurement Manager. She was selected as the 2020 Young Professional of the Year Recipient.  On this episode, Jenn Myers discusses her start in procurement and the path she took to rise to her current position. She shares lessons learned through her participation in Arizona's local NIGP chapters, and she also emphasizes the importance of the experience she has gained through NIGP's national programs. The procurement community is a collaborative one where people lift each other up, and Jenn is a great example of what can happen when you take the advice of others to heart. Jenn also goes into detail about how she found and fostered her relationship with her mentor, a story full of lessons that we can all benefit from.  She currently serves as Chair on NIGP’s Pipeline and Placement Committee and is very active with her local chapter – the Copper Chapter of NIGP where she currently serves as President.

If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe to the podcast. You can also visit www.procurated.com for all of your supplier evaluation needs, or follow Procurated on LinkedIn for regular content updates.

On this episode of Decisions That Matter, a Procurated podcast, co-hosts Alex Stonehouse and Bernadette Launi dove into the results of the Fall Procurement Trends Survey to analyze the current trends in procurement, and the changes in priority since the previous survey from Summer of 2020 according to public procurement leaders from across the country. As mentioned in the episode, you can access the survey results in the following articles: 

• Fall 2020 Procurement Trends Survey Results
• Summer 2020 Procurement Trends Survey Results

If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe to the podcast. You can also visit www.procurated.com for all of your supplier evaluation needs, or follow Procurated on LinkedIn for regular content updates.

Mike Smith leads a discussion with the rest of the Buying Bunch about the benefits of using external resources. The Buying Bunch is a team of former CPOs from Government Sourcing Solutions with decades of purchasing experience in state government, local government, and higher education. On this episode they’ll discuss how during this tough time it might be wise for governments and schools to consider using outside help to supplement staffing issues, streamline processes, and much more.

This video features:

Jane Benton: CPO of Arkansas and University of Arkansas

Jason MacDonald: Former CPO of Long Beach and Fresno

Mike Smith: Former CPO of Illinois

Jason Soza: Former CPO of Alaska

For more procurement information please like and subscribe to the podcast, and visit www.procurated.com for more information about specific suppliers that can help you reach your goals and objectives.

On this episode Judy Smith discusses procurement in higher education. Judy has an impressive background in both healthcare and higher education, and she served as the Director of Procurement at the University of Michigan, where she worked for nearly 10 years.

We dove into the main differences between purchasing for colleges and universities compared to state and local government procurement, how higher education is handling the pandemic and the warehousing issues that were caused by the PPE shortage earlier this year, and Judy also shares advice for up-and-coming procurement leaders to help them learn and grow in a positive way.

If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe to the podcast. You can also visit www.procurated.com for all of your supplier evaluation needs, or follow Procurated on LinkedIn for regular content updates.

On this episode of Decisions That Matter,  brought to you by Procurated, co-hosts Alex Stonehouse and Bernadette Launi are joined by procurement rockstar, Stacy Gregg, from the University of South Carolina. 

Stacy does a wonderful job of pairing her years of procurement experience with her compelling storytelling ability, to give listeners seemingly endless anecdotes to learn from and act upon. 

She details the idea behind Procurement being hurdle, not a roadblock, that stakeholders and end users should look forward to working with because the relationship can and should be mutually beneficial. 

Stacy also discusses a range of other ideas, from the important of procurement ethics and doing what you know is right, to details on how the University of South Carolina has approached opening school in the fall for faculty and students in the COVID-19 era. 

If you enjoy this episode, please like and subscribe to the podcast. You can also visit www.procurated.com for all of your supplier evaluation needs, or follow Procurated on LinkedIn for regular content updates.

Students and teachers are back to school at colleges and universities across the country, many following a hybrid model of in-person learning paired with digital classes, especially for classes with large enrollment numbers. But many schools are trying to get ahead of the "touchless" trend to give everyone on campus the freedom to navigate without relying on ID cards and high-touch interactions. 

On this "Buying Bunch" episode, the team of procurement experts from Government Sourcing Solutions reaches into their 150 years of combined public purchasing experience to share what they have been hearing from procurement leaders across higher education. 

This video features:

Jane Benton: CPO of Arkansas and University of Arkansas

Jason MacDonald: Former CPO of Long Beach and Fresno

Judy Smith: Former Director of Procurement at University of Michigan

Mike Smith: Former CPO of Illinois

Jason Soza: Former CPO of Alaska

For more procurement information please like and subscribe to the podcast, and visit www.procurated.com for more information about specific suppliers that can help you reach your goals and objectives..

On this episode of Decisions that Matter we are joined by Tim Hay to discuss Preparedness in Procurement. Tim brings over 20 years of procurement experience to the table, including long stints with The State of Oregon and NASPO ValuePoint. 

The coronavirus pandemic has forced procurement and preparedness into the spotlight, and has taught us a lot about what could have been done differently, and what we can do in the future to plan ahead and ensure we are prepared for future events. And on top of the pandemic western states are battling raging wildfires, while the southeast is currently in the peak of hurricane season.  Tim walks the audience through strategies to help you best prepare for a variety of scenario. 

This podcast is brought to you by Procurated, the country's leading supplier evaluation tool. 

On this special "Buying Bunch" episode, the team of procurement experts from Government Sourcing Solutions shares their experience last week at the NIGP Forum 2020 conference that was initially scheduled to take place in Chicago, Illinois, but transitioned to a virtual event due to the national pandemic.  The team also gives actionable advice to maximize the impact of connections made and data collected during the week long trade show to ensure a successful end to 2020. 

This video features:

Jane Benton: CPO of Arkansas and University of Arkansas

Jason MacDonald: Former CPO of Long Beach and Fresno

Judy Smith: Former Director of Procurement, University of Michigan

Mike Smith: Former CPO of Illinois

Jason Soza: Former CPO of Alaska

For more procurement information please like and subscribe to the podcast, and visit www.procurated.com for more information about specific suppliers that can help you reach your goals and objectives.

Many times procurement shops find themselves short-staffed or under-trained, whether it's due to the recent wave of retirements, budget shortfalls due to the coronavirus pandemic, or an underpopulated pipeline of incoming young talent. 

There are several things that short-staffed offices can do to help get everything done while still meeting goals and objectives, including mandates like driving savings.   

On this special "Buying Bunch" episode, the team of procurement experts from Government Sourcing Solutions reaches into their 150 years of combined public purchasing experience to brainstorm new ways that procurement departments can organize their work to get the most out of the resources they do have.  

This video features:  

Jane Benton: CPO of Arkansas and University of Arkansas

Jason MacDonald: Former CPO of Long Beach and Fresno

Mike Smith: Former CPO of Illinois

Jason Soza: Former CPO of Alaska

For more procurement information please like and subscribe to the podcast, and visit www.procurated.com for more information about specific suppliers that can help you reach your goals and objectives..