CIPS Futures | The Procurement and Supply Chain Podcast

Departing CIPS Chair Alison Barto on horizon scanning, co-innovation with suppliers and why procurement's role is now about bringing the outside world in. Plus, the remarkable sense of belonging that CIPS members enjoy as part of a global community.

Alison also shares her proudest achievement as CIPS' Chair and the biggest changes she's made during her tenure.

Related links

• Find out more about becoming part of the global CIPS community
• Meet the CIPS Global Board of Trustees

An estimated 28 million people are employed in forced labour in supply chains. Procurement professionals are on the frontline of this global crime - one estimated to be worth half a trillion dollars. It is a challenge the CIPS Foundation is working with UK-based modern slavery charity Unseen to tackle head on by providing funding to turn data from its Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline into actionable insights for procurement professionals. 

In this CIPS Foundation special we lift the lid on an issue that exposes organisations to significant financial, legal and reputational risks - where "plausible deniability" is no longer an option and fundamental human rights are at stake. Andrew Wallis OBE, CEO of Unseen, and Sodexo's Madeline Fitton MCIPS, founder and chair of the BSA Modern Slavery Council, share what progress has been made 10 years on from the UK's landmark Modern Slavery Act.

We uncover the scale of the challenge facing procurement, address why effective legislation must be designed as a "spiky carrot", and provide essential advice on how to identify and respond to modern slavery in your own supply chain.

Further reading: 

• Learn more about the CIPS Foundation
• Read: How the CIPS Foundation is supporting Unseen
• Watch: CIPS Foundation & Unseen tackling modern slavery together
• Find out more about Unseen and the Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline

Is AI the answer to resolving disputes with your suppliers? Yes... and no - as we find out in the final instalment of this mini-series. While the human input and experience of professionals remains critical to forging and maintaining supplier relationships that keep businesses running, we explore where AI is reshaping procurement roles when it comes to negotiation, contract management and resolving conflict.

Hear from resolutiion's Fayola-Maria Jack and Katarzyna Hewelt on how AI is reducing costs caused by disputes by up to a third, and making contract management faster and more accurate at identifying risks - removing future sources of conflict at source. Acting as a co-pilot, AI gives procurement the time to focus on the strategy and relationships that drive true value for their organisations, explain our guests. 

Additional reading:

• Download: CIPS & resolutiion Breaking the Deadlock report
• Read: CIPS Intelligence hub - supplier relationship management
• Watch: Leveraging AI to improve conflict management in procurement
• Read: Interview with resolutiion CEO, Fayola Maria-Jack on how AI is benefitting procurement and supply

This podcast mini-series is brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), in partnership with resolutiion.   

Part two of the CIPS Futures navigating supplier disputes mini-series puts conflict resolution skills and capabilities in the spotlight. We're once more joined by CIPS trainer, Kurt Warren, as he reveals the foundational strategies that procurement and supply professionals must hone to better manage commercial conflict. Realignment of responsibilities and expectations, understanding your "walk away point" and a strong grasp of accurate data are all critical, he advises. 

Plus, how do you spot the signs of a dispute early? Fayola-Maria Jack, CEO and founder of resolutiion and experienced dispute negotiator reveals the key indicators to watch out for.

Additional reading:

• Download: CIPS & resolutiion Breaking the Deadlock report
• Read: CIPS Intelligence hub - supplier relationship management
• Watch: Leveraging AI to improve conflict management in procurement
• Read: Interview with resolutiion CEO, Fayola Maria-Jack on how AI is benefitting procurement and supply

This podcast mini-series is brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), in partnership with resolutiion.   

Commercial conflicts are increasing, taking longer to resolve and costing more. And it is procurement and supply professionals on the frontline of supplier disputes. Listen to part one of this CIPS Futures mini-series where we delve into this critical challenge facing the profession. We unravel the common causes behind supplier disputes and ask whether this is a result of bad practices, or simply an inevitability of complex commercial contracts...

CIPS fellow and experienced global trainer in conflict management and negotiation, Kurt Warren, joins us for the first episode of this three-part series, alongside Joanna Ingram, chief revenue officer at resolutiion. Both guests underline the evolving role procurement practitioners are playing in conflict management and why effective resolution helps professionals demonstrate true value to their organisations.  

Additional reading:

• Download: CIPS & resolutiion Breaking the Deadlock report
• Read: CIPS Intelligence hub - supplier relationship management
• Watch: Leveraging AI to improve conflict management in procurement

This podcast mini-series is brought to you by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), in partnership with resolutiion.   

How do you bridge the gap between today's urgent requests and your long-term, strategic goals? What tools and strategies can you use to plan and lead change better? And why is the simple act of writing things down the best habit to learn to become more confident in your decision making? Procurement futurist and leadership keynote speaker Dr Graham Norris is our guest for this episode. He offers practical and plain-speaking answers to those challenging questions.

A guru in organisational psychology, Norris shares how practical strategies like 'backcasting' and 'mental time travel' can help procurement and supply professionals unlock their inner strategists, even amidst a backdrop of uncertainty.

Further reading:

• Find out more about Graham Norris
• DOWNLOAD: the CIPS Global State of Procurement & Supply 2025 report, supported by GEP
• READ: The seven skills of strategic foresight
• READ: Graham Norris' emerging AI trends in procurement

 

The third episode of the Professionalising Procurement series, brought to you by the CIPS ANZ team, features quickfire interviews from public-sector practitioners from across Australia and New Zealand. Head of Procurement at ABC, Sarah Collins, shares a candid story of why procurement should always be in the room, while Emma Morrow, Manager Commissioning for Outcomes at New Zealand's Department of Corrections, offers a fascinating insight into an ongoing procurement process that focuses on engaging and collaborating with Māori communities for better outcomes. Finally, Gareth Williams gives a passionate pitch to the opportunities the profession gives people and why procurement should find you - rather than the other way round. Why wouldn't you want to get paid to spend someone else's money...?

We ask each guest what makes procurement such an exciting career choice; the influence professionals have to drive positive change; and the lessons they've learned from mistakes they've made. 

Further reading:

• Cool heads in the storm: CIPS Global State of Procurement & Supply 2025, supported by GEP
• CIPS ANZ regional hub
• Make CIPS your career companion - become a member

Have you seen the new and improved CIPS Professional Register? The directory shares the professional status of procurement and supply chain practitioners around the world, and you can now personalise your profile with specialisms and expertise.

• Check out your listing on the Professional Register

What do businesses owe to faraway workers who make their products? That's the question put by Professor Michael Posner from the NYU Stern School of Business in his new book, Conscience Incorporated: Pursue Profits While Protecting Human Rights. Posner is a world expert in human rights with extensive experience as a human rights lawyer, State Department official under the Obama administration and chair of the Fair Labor Association. He offers a unique perspective on what we can learn from the significant progress the apparel sector has made, the complexities of the solar panel industry, and why human rights should be a business priority alongside performance and revenue. Plus, the evolving risks to human rights coming from the AI space.

His message to procurement and supply professionals facing these issues on the frontline is clear: you must find ways of meaningfully delivering on the promises companies are making.

Further reading:

• Purchase Professor Posner's new book - Conscience Incorporated: Pursue Profits While Protecting Human Rights
• CIPS Ethics eLearning and Test
• Read: demand fair pay and a living wage for your supply chain
• CIPS Foundation supports development of Modern Slavery Helpline

In our second episode of the CIPS Futures podcast mini-series brought to you by the CIPS ANZ team, we talk to Jane Wagner and Samir El-Sabagh, both procurement professionals from the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Aged Care. As a former CIPS Leader of the Year, Jane explains what procurement can learn from the finance profession in following a maturity path to develop capability and ensure that the value of highly qualified procurement and contract management professionals is recognised in strategic roles. 

And we get under the skin of how professional qualifications translate to being better at your job. Samir shares his journey to becoming CIPS qualified, why it's opened new doors in his career and offers candid examples of how he's delivered improved outcomes for the Australian public sector as a direct result of embarking on a learning pathway. 

Further reading:

• About the Australian Public Service Commission's Procurement and Contract Management Profession
• CIPS ANZ regional hub
• Make CIPS your career companion - become a member

Have you seen the new and improved CIPS Professional Register? The directory shares the professional status of procurement and supply chain practitioners around the world, and you can now personalise your profile with specialisms and expertise.

• Check out your listing on the Professional Register

In this CIPS Futures podcast mini-series brought to you by the CIPS ANZ team, CIPS Australia & New Zealand general manager Charlotte Payne hosts Julia Pickworth and Richard Windeyer, co-heads of the Australian Public Service Commission's Procurement and Contract Management (PCM) Profession, launched in 2024. What is the PCM Profession and why now? How will the initiative drive capability to accelerate the professionalisation of the workforce? And what is Julia and Richard's vision for the future of Australian procurement and contract management professionals?

Plus, ever thought of buying submarines and robots? Public sector procurement might be the place for you...

Further reading:

• About the Australian Public Service Commission's Procurement and Contract Management Profession
• CIPS welcomes the announcement of Procurement and Contract Management as a professional stream
• CIPS ANZ regional hub
• Make CIPS your career companion - become a member

Have you seen the new and improved CIPS Professional Register? The directory shares the professional status of procurement and supply chain practitioners around the world, and you can now personalise your profile with specialisms and expertise.

• Check out your listing on the Professional Register