Areas of expertise

Expected to handle cataclysmic events and act with extreme agility, today’s procurement executives must be brave and bold. The last year has seen both global political and economic volatility; Black Swans (unexpected cataclysmic events) could potentially exacerbate the uncertainty and risk businesses are facing over the next year.

We’ve all heard the famous words of former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and what he memorably referred to as ‘unknown unknowns’. Over the past decade we have seen these ‘unthinkable’ events occurring throughout the world, with ever increasing regularity along with high global visibility. But while they are known about, for whatever reason they are ignored, discounted, bypassed or not reported up the line. How can we use cognitive procurement technologies to help predict and mitigate these crises so they don’t diminish the value of our businesses?

Tania will also explore how to prepare for these Black Swans and Black Elephants and many of the disruptors for business and procurement, from digital manufacturing to social media.

CPOs around the world may be dealing with some sleepless nights as they defend themselves and their companies against powerful disruptive forces.

METOO represents five of the strongest forces that CPOs need to ensure that they have their bases covered on – Markets, Ethics, Transparency, Optionality and Organisational Alignment.

These disruptive forces are set against a backdrop of procurement’s goal to create a cost conscious culture, with CPOs having to work harder than ever to make sure ‘everyone is on the bus’, utilising negotiated contracts and treating every dollar as if it were their own.

During this session, Tania will help you gain a greater insight into these disruptive forces, what you as a CPO or procurement leader can do in response to them and how all of this fits into the cost conscious culture.

Today we are faced with complex supply chain challenges. In fact, it is hard to think about an area of business that modern procurement doesn’t touch – employment law, climate change, human rights…and now social media.

Social media is at the epicentre of a storm created by the exploding digital landscape, which is causing many industries to pivot.

As the complexity of our supply chains have increased, so too have the number of issues we need to deal with. Most of these issues – child labour, unsafe work practices, exploitation and neglect for the environment, copyright – are too big for any one person – or even any one company – to solve alone.

In this session, you will gain understanding of why procurement needs to work more closely and on a global scale, how networks and social media will help the profession get ahead of issues and develop the profession, why procurement is still in need of a brand makeover, and how you can help.

In today’s hyper-connected environment, competitive advantage is determined by building and leveraging global networks to drive efficiency, innovation, customer experience and commercial outcomes. A lot of procurement professionals think that social media is something that other people do. It’s all selfies on Facebook, cat videos on YouTube and a plethora of Kardashians on Twitter. All true. But the reality is that it goes a long way beyond this. So why should procurement professionals be on Social Media?

Procurement and supply chain management professionals within worldwide enterprises, are today involved with some of the biggest challenges their organizations face. Whether they’re addressing a supply chain disruption, striving to maintain cost leadership, recruiting new Millennial talent, or evaluating new technology or suppliers, social media is critical to their success.

Tania will run a session on how to get on top of social media and discuss what world-class procurement looks like in this connected future and how the ability to leverage social media is fast becoming the skill that distinguishes top performing procurement professionals, from the rest.

While it’s been 15 or so years since McKinsey’s ‘War for Talent’ transformed how companies attract and recruit employees, the ongoing scarcity of commercial talent remains one of the greatest challenges for CPOs.  It’s not rocket science that in order to relate to, and recruit the best talent, you need to have a strong presence in those places where your talent is talking…and there is no doubt that the next wave of talent is online.  But how are you using the power of social media to give you an edge in attracting and keeping the best and brightest talent—especially as Millennials become the largest generation in the workforce? 
 
With research confirming most so called ‘Millennials’ and ‘digital natives’ are more likely to choose their next job based on how they rate their boss, over the company they are going to work for, businesses and importantly, procurement leaders, that take a fresh look at their recruitment tactics – including social media – stand to gain competitive ground. This is especially true for procurement leaders, who face an additional challenge: Many Millennials have little knowledge of the exciting opportunities that their profession offers.
 
In this presentation, Tania will discuss how prospective employees today base their opinion of you not solely on your Company’s carefully cultivated public image, but on word of mouth, social groups, strong connections, and online presence.  

Entrepreneur. CEO. Mother. Marketer. Wife. Philanthropist. Public Speaker. There are many words that describe Tania but one that comes up over and over is Networker.

Long a believer in the power of the network, Tania has been connecting and building communities of procurement leaders for over 15 years – first through intimate mentoring relationships, then through regional CPO Roundtables, and now to Procurious, her latest venture to create a global social media network which helps Procurement professionals get ahead.

In this practical presentation, Tania will share why top performers must continually connect with new people, cultivate relationships and shamelessly leverage their network. This “uber networker” will offer her secrets for making lasting, career-building connections.