In this episode of Smarter Sourcing, John speaks with Adam Cummins, Principal & Director of Portfolio Procurement at The Carlyle Group. Adam shares valuable insights into the importance of creating mutual win-win initiatives, emphasizing the need for engagements that benefit all stakeholders.

Adams touches on how technology and automation, including AI and machine learning, are revolutionizing decision-making and efficiency in procurement processes. He also discusses the evolving criteria for talent in the industry, highlighting the growing importance of tech-savvy professionals.

Topics discussed:

• The strategic importance of procurement in modern business and how it impacts overall company performance.
• Emphasis on creating engagement strategies that benefit all stakeholders, ensuring sustainable and successful collaborations.
• How AI and machine learning are transforming decision-making and efficiency in procurement processes.
• The changing criteria for sourcing and procurement roles, focusing on the need for tech-savvy professionals.
• Addressing the struggles these companies face in understanding the value of procurement and implementing effective strategies.
• Best practices and lessons learned in the industry to help improve procurement processes and outcomes.
• How procurement strategies are tailored to meet the needs of various portfolio companies within The Carlyle Group.
• Leveraging data and analytics to drive better procurement decisions and optimize supply chain operations.

Guest Quotes:

“I like to understand all the different perspectives of the various players at the table, and I like to also think about each one of the different types of engagements that we go into the initiatives that we go after as something that really does need to be a mutual win for everybody. I know that’s cliche, but, you know, especially for what we do with the portfolio companies and the partners that we have out there, if we’re not making sure that those suppliers aren’t getting something out of this, they’re not going to want to do this right. This isn’t going to provide value for them. So that win is always really something that I try to seek out as much as possible.”

“We’re not going to tell them how to do things, but we’re going to be more encouraging, if you will, at times. And so it becomes an issue of which portfolio companies and which investment teams for those portfolio companies want the help, right?”

“So I think you can always do better, if you will, thinking about it in another way to have those contingencies be more effective and try to do so. But I think there are certainly plenty of examples where you would say you’ve done some, but there’s more that you could do. The question again becomes, how much time and effort and energy can you invest in that and take your eye off of the ball of meeting the needs and the demands of whatever the clients are looking for early.”

“There are some great use cases and examples where it’s already being used, where it has been used for quite some time, and that really was more of a machine learning type of an approach, but that continues to be part of AI. And that’s important for me.”

Get in touch with Adam Cummins:

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