Welcome to the Graphite Connect Blog. Check in for frequent articles and podcast episodes that will help your team operate at the highest possible level.
Bart Reekmans shares leadership insights from his military and CPO background. He emphasizes adapting to company culture and prioritizing stakeholder outcomes. Comparing team management to marathon training, he advises engineering "sprints" to build crisis muscle memory. Bart also champions prioritizing collaboration to be a "customer of choice".
Conrad, Zach, and Natasha kick off a leadership series by exploring the purpose of life in an AI-driven world of abundance. They conclude lasting fulfillment comes from overcoming personal flaws, not material wealth. The trio distinguishes management from true leadership, defining the latter as a sacred privilege to inspire, elevate others, and build united teams.
Sanjay Srivastava explains why the rapid pace of AI is the "slowest it will ever be". He warns that while coding costs drop, token and maintenance expenses are skyrocketing. Companies must shift from episodic to continuous transformation, prioritizing domain expertise and an "oak tree" strategy to restructure corporate design and realize true ROI.
This week on Proc N Roll, the hosts interview Joël Collin-Demers on AI in procurement. Joël details "buy to build"—buying a base platform and using AI agents to customize the rest. He also explains MCP as a "menu" that lets AI easily integrate systems, and stresses the need for hybrid IT-procurement talent to lead this tech shift safely.
Limor David-Sternfeld details her path to global procurement leadership. She emphasizes a "figure it out" mindset and deep category preparation. Limor predicts AI will automate tactical tasks, while humans retain strategic negotiations. She advises delaying long-term tech contracts and defines leadership through bravery and clear communication.
Compare the best supplier onboarding software for telecom companies, including features, integrations, compliance tools, and supplier management capabilities.
Learn what bank account verification is, how it works, and why procurement teams use bank account verification tools to prevent vendor payment fraud and validate supplier banking data.
Compare the top bank account verification services for preventing vendor fraud, validating supplier banking details, and securing ACH payments.
Move your procurement team from reactive to proactive, increase visibility, and streamline supplier management.
Employees may find ways to work around procurement if your team’s intake process is long and inefficient.
Volatile energy costs are affecting everyone, including retail, manufacturing, higher education, and healthcare. Budgets shift, forecasts bend, and sustainability targets create extra forks in the road. In plain terms, energy procurement is the discipline of buying electricity and/or natural gas […]
The entertainment industry operates in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment where securing the right vendors and talent while adapting to new and emerging technology is essential for success. Overspending can shrink your profit margins, while cutting costs too aggressively may compromise […]
Can your company handle a major IT disruption? Many businesses assume they’re ready until an unexpected outage or cyberattack proves otherwise. This is an outcome that the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is intended to prevent for businesses in the […]
Easy steps for building an efficient supplier onboarding process to maximize supplier value and build a thriving strategic sourcing program.
Identify and assess risks to mitigate potential threats to your organization and build effective risk management.
What’s your plan when disaster strikes? Because it’s not a question of “if”— it’s “when.” If it happens at your company, it could get expensive; according to IBM, the number of organizations paying over $50,000 in regulatory fines after a […]
Learn to manage and conquer risks with a TAME framework – Transfer, Accept, Mitigate, and Eliminate.
In this week's podcast, Conrad, Natasha, and Zach debate who owns enterprise AI. Zach argues for decentralized, bottom-up innovation where employees test tools and procurement manages rising token costs. Natasha counters that without a centralized strategy, companies risk compliance disasters and "shadow AI." They conclude AI needs a careful mix of top-down governance and bottom-up creativity.
40-year procurement veteran John Dickson explains why the function is at a critical inflection point. He argues against begging for a "seat at the table," urging leaders to earn credibility by deeply understanding business needs. John shares strategies for aligning with finance on value metrics, using category strategies to build stakeholder trust, and why CPOs must actively learn AI.
In this episode of Proc N Roll, Conrad, Natasha, and Zach debate AI's workforce role, from automated assistants to "digital twins" handling volume. They also explore structuring procurement operating models using various archetypes and service layers. Their golden rule: leaders must align their operating model with broader enterprise goals before ever starting to build the actual org chart.
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