Tony McAlpine

Open Debate Topic - how do we visualize the gap/different between teams that are leaning into Agents vs holding off? My view - biggest difference will be the quality of their procurement teams. Talent attracts talent 🏆 Also callout - we're already at 300+ registrants for our Thurs webinar covering this topic, Human In The Loop, and several others - link in the comments (LFG Deepinder Singh, Jordan Morrow, and Brian Clark for joining me on Thurs) Breakdown of the visual (this is v1 so needs to get iterated on): * Current state (Purple line): Continue to have ppl doing their jobs which includes 50% of their time on "soul crushing work" #Bill McDermott. - There's a certain type of person that will stay in a role like this for an extended period of time. Also, although inevitably the team will get slightly more eff - its going to be linear progress as you scale your HC (and that's to keep doing the same things over and over again = head banging against the wall). * Team's that promote/hire agentic first players (green dotted line): - Smaller teams - Will spend the first 12 months finding out for to apply AI and Agents to address the "soul crushing work" = which is also good for several downstream KPIs - After the first 12 months - the magic starts to kick in. These players will be hungry to continue innovating and pushing the limits = not just following the process, consistently re-imagining it. - Multiplier effect: Due to that team being on the cutting edge, energy will be higher, they'll likely take more pride in their work, work harder; then the gap really widens, A+ players from other teams/orgs that want to innovate and learn will be drawn to that team. Eventually these teams will start to have a gravitational pull in the market (you can already see the early innings of this in the market today) Looking forward: 2-3 years out, the real acceleration happens, the "next wave" of AI/Agents hits, whether thats Super General Intelligence helping to create agents or something else - this team will be agile and ready to experiment and deploy whatever's on the forefront. Compensation: These team's won't be inexpensive (not the $100M Meta offers - but the comps will increase) - that said, the ROIs and competitive advantage in the market will far outweigh the cost of a small but mighty team of innovators. Would love thoughts/views/counter positions on this - I'll also bring up ppls comments in the Thurs webinar to spark a healthy debate :) Joël Collin-Demers, Vinay Singh Chauhan, Ross Weems, Sachin Kasture, Monica Jianette, Koray Köse, Xavier Olivera, Swapna K., Christopher Parsons, Chris Sawchuk, Laurence Kirk Vanya Petrovic #AI #Agents @ Fairmarkit

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How much of a priority is AI in your procurement function? It continues to dominate discussions I am having with businesses and CPO’s yet how many have adopted and implemented, it seems very few. Those that have are reaping the rewards and reinvesting to capture more benefit and efficiencies so their teams can focus on those activities that can’t be replaced by AI or tech. I can see those procurement professionals with SME knowledge in AI being highly sort after and of very high value in the market over the next 2-3 years.

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🛒 Procurement in healthcare isn’t just about buying — it’s about enabling better care. This might seem daft but it dawned on me recently that as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, I sometimes forget that not everyone sees procurement the way we do. Here’s a simple analogy: Some people think of procurement like a shopper looking for the best deal — a former boss of mine, who was an FD, certainly did! 🙂 But in healthcare, it’s more like planning a weekly shop for a family with complex dietary needs, a tight budget, and long-term health goals. It’s not just about price — it’s about value. 💡 That’s where Value-Based Procurement (VBP) comes in. It shifts the focus from “What’s cheapest?” to “What delivers the best outcomes for patients, clinicians, and the system?” We need to start asking: > Are we buying what’s clinically effective? > Are we supporting innovation that improves outcomes? > Are we aligning procurement with the goals of value-based healthcare? Procurement has the tools, the data, and the strategic position to drive real change — but only if we stop underselling its role. Whether you’re in Nashville or Nottingham, let’s reframe the conversation — and start using procurement as a lever for better health and to create tangible, measurable value for patients. I'd be interested to hear how healthcare procurement is viewed in your country. #ValueBasedProcurement #HealthcareProcurement #CIPS #VBHC #StrategicProcurement #HealthcareTransformation

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To understand the state of current procurement training, we surveyed +100 people across a breadth of companies. It was enlightening and pointed to major gaps that exist, and what needs to change for the profession to stay competitive. Negotiation is the most common training type 💡 There is less focus on category management and contract management 👀 Noticeable absence of strategy creation, supply security, and ESG 🤔 33% rated their training as average 🆗 42% rated their training either poor or below average 👎 📈 Procurement is evolving rapidly, and the skills required to succeed are shifting just as fast. Comment below to request the full report and explore our findings today 👇

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What #Procurement trends are we seeing in 2025? We're 2 months into the year but what are the burning topics for the profession and what's keeping us awake at night. 💾 We're all focused on digital transformation, sustainability, and risk management. 🤖 AI and automation are revolutionising procurement processes, improving efficiency and decision-making. ♻️ Companies are increasingly adopting sustainable sourcing practices, prioritising eco-friendly suppliers and products to meet consumer demand for greener practices. 💪 Supply chain resilience is a top priority, with businesses focusing on risk mitigation strategies to handle disruptions. 🧱 Blockchain is enhancing transparency and traceability in the supply chain. 📅 Data-driven insights and strategic supplier partnerships are becoming more critical in driving value and innovation within the procurement function ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm Rupert Gaster, with 25 years in the recruitment industry and 20 years supporting the Procurement profession, I can offer industry insight, career guidance and an extensive network. ⬇️ Please add any thoughts & ideas below 👍 Follow Rupert Gaster to receive my updates ♻️ Repost to help others on this topic

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