What is your role and what are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I am responsible for marketing the Seal technology used by many Global 2000 companies to gain insight into both their buy-side and sell-side contracts. This means having a good understanding of the needs of our customers, being attuned to the areas in which our technology can help them and deliver the assets that they can use to evaluate whether Seal is right for them. This can be in terms of white papers, web copy, webinars and so on.
What is something that you wish more people knew about sourcing and procurement?
Clearly, I am motivated to see more and more organizations experience the value they can gain by having a deeper understanding of their contracts, identifying obligations they have, opportunities for revenue recovery or simply understanding whether they are tight with regulations like GDPR. All of these are about gaining insight to aid decision-making. Contract analytics is being adopted by forward-thinking procurement functions across financial institutions, energy companies, telcos, process and discrete manufacturers, indeed, across nearly every industry. My role is to help more companies understand the power of contract analytics.
In today’s current pandemic, companies are looking to their contracts to see if there is language which might give them a respite out of trying to meet their obligations to their customers across the supply chain – this is usually referenced in the force majeure clauses but also needs to take into account business continuity provisions and termination rights. This is one area where the power of contract analytics can be engaged.
As the year comes to a close, it's a good time to look back at the goals you set this time last year. Whether you're on track or have a ways to go, take advantage of these opportunities to focus on your professional development. Listen to some inspiring executive advice from the podcast, take an hour to join a webinar or consider sharing your expertise at one of our upcoming events.
Services providers such as consultants and agencies account for a significant portion of workforce spend and are crucial to business performance. Yet many companies under-manage them, leaving value on the table and creating risk. For the second year of research with Oxford Economics, SAP Fieldglass takes a deeper dive into services procurement. Join us to learn how workforce leaders realize more value from these providers.
Over a career spanning more than 30 years, Steve has held senior procurement and operations positions with large and small, public and private, and for-profit as well as non-profit organizations. He joined College Board in 2016 after serving as Vice President of Global Sourcing at National Geographic Society, and prior to that, as Vice President of Supply Chain Management at Vertis Communications, a national printer of advertising circulars and direct mail promotions. Hughes started his purchasing career at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City following five years of military service as a U.S. Army officer at Fort Bragg, NC with the 82nd Airborne Division, where he completed 40 military parachute jumps.
What are some examples of the challenges and rewards you experience as CPO of the College Board?
As a CPO, the perception in most organizations I have been a part of is that Procurement is a bureaucratic bottleneck which stakeholders try to go around or engage only as necessary to get tactical transactions processed. The challenge I have faced over and over again, including at the College Board, is transforming the way all levels of the organization think about the procurement function from being a shared services cost center to a strategic resource for the organization that optimizes the value we receive from our supply chain.
While there are rewards in seeing an organization gradually change it perceptions of the procurement function, the greatest reward is the privilege of developing a team of procurement professionals who ultimately make that transformation happen through their efforts to build collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
Here's your weekly briefing of the latest thought leadership, networking events and training with SIG.
New Speakers Announced for the Midwestern Regional SIGnature Event
The Midwestern Regional SIGnature Event will take place on March 6 at the beautiful Minneapolis Central Library downtown. The impressive line-up of speakers includes Nancy Brooks, Vice President of Procurement Commercial Office with Best Buy; Rohan Ranadive, SVP, Head Intelligent Automation at BB&T; Linda Tuck Chapman of Ontala; Shirley Hung, a Vice President with Everest Group; Clare Horn, Process Excellence Lead of Virtual Operations; and Dawn Tiura the President and CEO of SIG. Join us for a full-day of thought leadership and networking. This is a free event for buy-side participants and their team! Visit our website to see the agenda and register.
When critical supply chain partners are financially weak, they become more likely to be the source of unpleasant surprises. Such supplier problems can damage a company’s brand reputation and sales. To avoid surprises, companies can leverage risk management strategies and predictive analytics to gain visibility into latent supply chain risks.
SIG University continues to certify the most well-rounded procurement professionals in sourcing, supply management and third-party risk management. Take advantage of a 15 percent discount when you enroll by March 15. Classes begin on April 15.
SIG Speaks to David Gingell, CMO, Seal Software
What is your role and what are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I am responsible for marketing the Seal technology used by many Global 2000 companies to gain insight into both their buy-side and sell-side contracts. This means having a good understanding of the needs of our customers, being attuned to the areas in which our technology can help them and deliver the assets that they can use to evaluate whether Seal is right for them. This can be in terms of white papers, web copy, webinars and so on.
What is something that you wish more people knew about sourcing and procurement?
Clearly, I am motivated to see more and more organizations experience the value they can gain by having a deeper understanding of their contracts, identifying obligations they have, opportunities for revenue recovery or simply understanding whether they are tight with regulations like GDPR. All of these are about gaining insight to aid decision-making. Contract analytics is being adopted by forward-thinking procurement functions across financial institutions, energy companies, telcos, process and discrete manufacturers, indeed, across nearly every industry. My role is to help more companies understand the power of contract analytics.
In today’s current pandemic, companies are looking to their contracts to see if there is language which might give them a respite out of trying to meet their obligations to their customers across the supply chain – this is usually referenced in the force majeure clauses but also needs to take into account business continuity provisions and termination rights. This is one area where the power of contract analytics can be engaged.