Procurement Pulse

A vendor you stopped working with years ago still has your customer data. They get hacked. Suddenly, your company is in the headlines.Or your only aluminum can supplier goes on strike — and your product can’t reach customers.These aren’t “what if” scenarios. They’ve happened to global brands, and they show how risk management is about more than compliance checklists or IT security. It’s about protecting every part of your business.In this episode of Procurement Pulse, SCOPE Recruiting Co-Founder and Head of Recruiting Friddy Hoegener and co-host Evan Cave interview guest Tiffany Bray, Independent Consultant at Risk Right LLC, about why risk management needs to go way beyond onboarding and compliance.They dig into overlooked offboarding steps, real supply chain breakdowns, and how some companies actually use risk planning to win new business. Tiffany also shares what other industries can borrow from banking’s “tight ship” approach to vendor management, and why a solid backup plan might be the best sales tool you have.What We Discuss:00:00 Welcome to Procurement Pulse00:39 What third party risk management really means01:24 The simple risk most companies overlook03:01 The Volkswagen data breach case study04:14 Why vendor offboarding matters05:59 How banking does risk management differently08:07 The Budweiser aluminum shortage crisis12:11 Current tools and AI in risk management16:54 Using risk management as competitive advantageConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Tiffany Bray | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-bray-mba-ctprp/ About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: Every recruiter at SCOPE is a former supply chain professional. Freddy and Melissa, both former ABB global category managers, started the company because they were tired of recruiters who didn't understand the roles they were filling. The result? Better matches, higher retention rates, and fewer headaches for everyone involved.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com. 

Are you hiring for today or for 24 months from now?In this episode, Darryl Fitzpatrick, CRO of Intellek, challenges the "plug-and-play" hiring mindset that's dominating procurement and supply chain recruiting right now.His point: Everyone's chasing unicorns - ready-made experts who can hit the ground running on day one. But what happens when you hire someone without a development plan, clear milestones, or learning infrastructure in place?You're not just setting them up to struggle. You're telling top talent that you haven't thought beyond their first 90 days.The companies winning the talent war aren't just offering better comp packages. They're showing candidates a defined career path, meaningful metrics, and proof that people succeed there. That's what keeps unicorns from walking out the door six months in.If you expect results in 6, 12, 24 months, you need to invest in getting people there, not just hope they figure it out.What we discuss: 00:00 Hiring with Future Intentions02:51 The Challenge of Attracting Talent04:43 The Importance of Learning and DevelopmentConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Daryl Fitzpatrick https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylfitzpatrick/?originalSubdomain=uk About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

You search for a supplier, contact the top five, pick one, and move on. But what if the absolute best manufacturer for your product never showed up on page one—and never will?Most buyers rely on popular directories like Alibaba, assuming the top search results represent the highest quality. In reality, visibility on many major sourcing platforms is heavily driven by advertising revenue, meaning the first page often showcases the biggest marketing budgets, not necessarily the best capabilities.The secret to finding the actual top-tier factories isn't better keyword searches. It's looking beyond the standard pay-to-play directories at the one thing suppliers can't fake: objective, publicly available data.In this episode of Procurement Pulse, host and SCOPE Recruiting Co-Founder Friddy Hoegener sits down with Ricky Ho, Co-founder and CEO of SourceReady. Ricky has built an AI-powered discovery platform that indexes 1.4 million supplier profiles across 80 countries, specifically targeting the world-class factories that don't rely on advertising to be found.What We Discuss:00:00 Why this founder left a thriving company to fix sourcing00:47 The broken system behind how most companies find suppliers03:50 What AI is actually good at (and what it will never replace)09:49 Why the best suppliers are invisible and how to find them14:49 How Source Ready stays bias-free (and why that changes everything)17:57 AI is flooding suppliers with inquiries — here's what happens next22:48 The signals AI catches that humans miss and vice versa28:42 The death of the entry-level role as we know itConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Ricky | https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-ho-a25a05104/ About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out www.scoperecruiting.com.

When your team asks for development tools and you say "we're not ready,” what are you really saying no to?In this episode, Darryl Fitzpatrick, CRO of Intellek, calls out the uncomfortable truth: "We're not ready for learning technology" actually means "We're not ready to invest in our people."His take? Companies that said they weren't ready for AI 3 years ago are struggling now. The ones who committed early are thriving.The tech is easy. It's cloud-based, simple to adopt. What's hard is admitting that without ongoing development, you're setting your team up to fail in a world that's evolving faster than ever.So the real question: Are you building a team for today, or for what's coming?What we discuss: 00:00 The Readiness for Technology Adoption02:55 The Importance of Continuous Learning and Development04:08 Challenges with Outdated Learning Management SystemsConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Daryl Fitzpatrick https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylfitzpatrick/?originalSubdomain=uk About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

Supply chain isn't just about moving boxes. It’s about the human experience.For too long, our industry has been viewed as a back-office utility. A cost center that simply "makes things happen."But as Patrick Van Hull, Supply Chain Storyteller & Strategist, explains in this week’s episode, the leaders who win in 2026 aren't just the ones with the best data. They are the ones who can tell the best story about that data.What We Discuss:00:00 What it means to be a "supply chain storyteller"02:11 The pivot table mistake that shut down a mining company05:02 Why supply chain gets blamed but never gets credit07:48 "Do good and talk about it" — earning your seat at the table10:29 When supply chain isn't in the room from day one12:57 AI hype vs. AI reality in daily operations15:49 One AI platform or ten disconnected solutions?18:33 Automating the work that burns people out21:27 Entry-level roles nobody knows how to define yet23:47 The new essential skills: Prompting AI and storytelling26:47 Where to find Patrick Van HullConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Patrick | https://www.linkedin.com/in/pvanhull/ About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com. 

You hire great people. But three months in, they're struggling. Not because they lack talent because nobody showed them how to succeed in your specific environment.1,800 learning management systems exist in the market. Most companies either don't have one, use an outdated "Stone Age" system, or have a platform that nobody touches after onboarding.But here's what changed: AI emerged in 18 months and reshaped every job description. The skills your team had last year aren't enough today. And the "just hire ready-made talent" strategy isn't sustainable when unicorns are rare and expensive.In this episode, Darryl Fitzpatrick, CRO of Intellek, breaks down why L&D infrastructure isn't just an HR nice-to-have, it's a competitive advantage for talent attraction, retention, and performance.00:00 Introduction00:28 What is an LMS and how do companies actually use them?01:29 Why LMS engagement drops after week two03:22 Why 300-person companies still don't have learning platforms05:12 When your LMS is built on old HTML and nobody uses it07:45 What separates Intellek from 1,800 other LMS platforms09:24 "We're not ready for new software": What companies are actually saying no to11:30 Why hiring only experts limits your growth14:03 First impressions matter: How LMS impacts company culture and retention18:09 The future of L&D: Alignment, AI, and building unicorns internallyConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Daryl Fitzpatrick | https://www.linkedin.com/in/darylfitzpatrick/?originalSubdomain=uk About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com. 

Your supplier worked perfectly for 10 years. Then overnight, tariffs made them unviable. Now you're scrambling to find alternatives while maintaining quality, delivery, and relationships.Welcome to 2025's biggest supply chain challenge.What worked last month is obsolete today. India looked perfect until it wasn't. Mexico had advantages until the rules shifted. And traditional "set it and forget it" supplier strategies are dead.In this episode of Procurement Pulse, host and SCOPE Recruiting Co-Founder Friddy Hoegener sits down with Flavio Albarino, VP of Procurement at TK Elevator, who's spent over two decades navigating offshore transitions, nearshoring strategies, and supply chain redesigns across multiple continents.What we discuss:00:00 Welcome to Procurement Pulse01:58 Why HTS codes matter more than you think04:48 The 80/20 strategy: Having vendor options ready before you need them08:13 When your 10-year supplier relationship hits a tariff wall11:50 Why e-auctions killed your supplier relationships (and when they actually work)15:24 The "control room" test: How mature is your procurement org?19:34 AI is making market intelligence 10x faster21:35 How to become tactical buyer to strategic leader27:29 What TK Elevator looks for in procurement talentConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Flavio Albarino | https://www.linkedin.com/in/flavioalberino/ About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com. 

"Will AI take my job?"Every supply chain professional is asking this question. But you're asking the wrong thing.The real question isn't whether AI will replace you, but it's whether you'll learn to use it before someone else does.AI isn't coming for entry-level jobs first. It's transforming how businesses build systems, make decisions, and compete. And the companies still clinging to SAP implementations and legacy ERP systems? They're about to get steamrolled by mid-sized competitors building custom solutions in weeks instead of years.In this episode of Procurement Pulse, host and SCOPE Recruiting Co-Founder Friddy Hoegener sits down with David Heacock, Founder and CEO of Filterbuy, who's used custom-built ERP systems and AI-powered development teams to unlock competitive advantages that enterprise software could never deliver.They discuss why "AI will take your job" is the wrong fear (and what you should actually worry about), how a development team is now shipping code 3-5x faster than two years ago, and why small and mid-sized businesses finally have a weapon against enterprise competitors.What We Discuss:00:00 The AI job question everyone gets wrong02:07 How AI 3x'd development team productivity02:50 Why custom ERP beats SAP (even for smaller companies)04:04 The legacy system trap: Making systems work vs. building what works05:00 Small business advantage: Agility over enterprise bureaucracy05:23 What to look for when hiring in the AI eraConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave David Heacock | https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfilterbuy Filterbuy | https://www.linkedin.com/company/filterbuy About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: Every recruiter at SCOPE is a former supply chain professional. Freddy and Melissa, both former ABB global category managers, started the company because they were tired of recruiters who didn't understand the roles they were filling. The result? Better matches, higher retention rates, and fewer headaches for everyone involved.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

Most companies fail at Lean because the people designing the process aren’t the ones living it every day.Jared Paget, VP of Operations at ClearOne, explains how giving a voice to the people closest to the work leads to better decisions, smarter production, and a stronger culture.What We Discuss:00:00 Why you can't just build products and hope someone buys them — the S&OP foundation01:32 Tying sales team compensation to forecast accuracy (and why it worked)03:53 Every moment on the shelf is waste — the three types of waste to eliminate04:09 The "most infant state" rule: Why customizing too early kills flexibility05:26 The operator buy-in secret: Don't ask about efficiency, ask about easeConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Jared Paget | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredpaget About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

You cut inventory by 50% and achieve 99.8% on-time delivery. Impossible? One supply chain leader did exactly that, but not by implementing fancy software or hiring consultants.The secret? Sitting on the factory floor with operators and asking one simple question: "How can we make your job easier?"In this episode of Procurement Pulse, host and SCOPE Recruiting Co-Founder Friddy Hoegener and co-host Evan Cave sit down with Jared Paget, VP of Operations at ClearOne, who's driven operational excellence across multiple continents and industries. They dig into why most companies fail at lean manufacturing (hint: it's not about the process), how to tell if a company is serious about change versus just checking boxes, and why the person doing the job eight hours a day knows more than any consultant ever will.Jared also shares the counterintuitive truth about AI in supply chain - he's been using it for 20 years, just not the way most people think. And why those entry-level tactical jobs aren't disappearing as fast as everyone fears.What We Discuss:00:00 Welcome to Procurement Pulse00:39 Why SNOP is the foundation of supply chain success03:15 The Nuvea USA story: 99.8% delivery and 50% less inventory07:22 Keeping inventory in its "most infant state"10:45 The furniture manufacturing cautionary tale14:30 How to get operator buy-in without mandates19:12 "You're just doing this to make yourself look good" — handling resistance to change23:47 The real KPIs that prove lean is working28:33 How to tell if a candidate actually knows lean (or just has it on their resume)32:18 What companies reveal when they can't answer "What's the 6-month roadmap?"38:55 AI in supply chain: We've been doing this for 20 years43:20 Will AI eliminate entry-level supply chain jobs?47:02 The one skill that matters most in operationsConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Jared Paget | https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredpaget About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

Will AI replace your job, or make you irreplaceable?Host Friddy Hoegener, Co-Founder and Head of Recruiting at SCOPE Recruiting breaks down what supply chain professionals need to do now to stay relevant as AI reshapes the industry.The conversation reveals why learning to prompt AI is becoming as critical as knowing Excel, and why professionals spending 80% of their time on manual tasks need to level up fast. It also explores where AI still struggles - particularly with creative judgment in recruiting - and what that tells us about which human skills will remain irreplaceable in the years ahead.What We Discuss:00:00 Why learning to prompt AI is the new essential skill01:54 The 80/20 rule: If you're spending 80% of your time on manual tasks, it's time to level up02:27 Why AI still struggles with the creative side of recruiting (and what that means for you)04:05 Why experienced recruiters can spot great candidates instantly (and AI can't replicate that yet)Connect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

Most supply chain teams obsess over vendor onboarding - vetting suppliers, negotiating contracts, setting up systems. But there's a critical blind spot costing companies millions: what happens after you stop working with a vendor?SCOPE Recruiting Co-Founder Friddy Hoegener and co-host Evan Cave discuss the often-overlooked vendor offboarding process with Tiffany Bray, Independent Consultant at Risk Right LLC.What We Discuss:00:00 Why "out of sight, out of mind" vendor relationships create massive data security exposure01:36 Real examples of what happens when offboarding goes wrong (hint: it's not just about data)02:42 Why you need a business continuity plan for critical vendors (and what happens when you don't)03:39 What COVID taught us about single-source vendor dependency04:44 Why many industries are dangerously immature when it comes to risk management05:22 How to turn your risk management into a competitive advantage and sales toolConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave Connect with Tiffany Bray | https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-bray-mba-ctprp/ About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: SCOPE Recruiting is a boutique supply chain recruiting firm where every recruiter is a former supply chain professional. Co-founders Friddy and Melissa, both ex-ABB global category managers, built the company after seeing how many “generalist” recruiters didn’t truly understand supply chain, procurement, or logistics roles. By hiring professionals first and teaching them recruiting second, SCOPE delivers better matches, higher retention rates, and faster hiring results across manufacturing, procurement, logistics, and supply chain leadership.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out www.scoperecruiting.com  

What happens when you force top talent to choose between their dream job and relocating to a specific city? You lose them to your competitors.In this episode of The Procurement Pulse, host Friddy Hoegener, Co-Founder and Head of Recruiting at SCOPE Recruiting, sits down with David Heacock, Founder and CEO of Filterbuy, who learned this lesson the hard way when his attempt to centralize remote workers in Atlanta became a "largely failed experiment."David shares how Filterbuy's $280 million manufacturing company discovered that the best candidates for niche roles often live in completely different zip codes, and why high-performing candidates will exclude companies that force in-office requirements from their job search entirely.But this isn't just about remote work policies. David reveals his systematic approach to building authentic corporate culture in a distributed workforce, including his three-pronged framework for values that actually work: Model it, Articulate it, and Incentivize it. He also explains why quarterly in-person meetings are non-negotiable and how to hire and fire based on cultural fit even when it means letting go of high performers.What We Discuss:00:00 Why geographic hiring requirements limit your talent pool00:45 The failed Atlanta office experiment01:46 The difference between managing remote vs. in-person teams02:08 The importance of quarterly in-person meetings03:01 Building corporate culture with clear values04:09 The three-pronged approach to authentic company valuesConnect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/ Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/ Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave David Heacock | https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfilterbuy Filterbuy | https://www.linkedin.com/company/filterbuy About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: Every recruiter at SCOPE is a former supply chain professional. Freddy and Melissa, both former ABB global category managers, started the company because they were tired of recruiters who didn't understand the roles they were filling. The result? Better matches, higher retention rates, and fewer headaches for everyone involved.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com. 

Is AI coming for your supply chain job? And which skills will make you irreplaceable when automation takes over tactical work?In this segment from Procurement Pulse, host Friddy Hoegener, Co-Founder and Head of Recruiting at SCOPE Recruiting, breaks down the brutal reality of AI's impact on supply chain careers over the next five years.Friddy explores why tactical procurement tasks like issuing POs and following up on invoices will be 90% automated, while strategic work like vendor negotiations and geopolitical sourcing decisions remain human-managed.What We Discuss:00:00 AI's impact on supply chain careers00:27 Which tactical tasks will be automated first01:15 Why strategic supply chain work stays human02:28 Skills to focus on for AI-proof careers03:46 Why AI can't replace human judgment in recruiting05:01 How SCOPE uses AI for candidate profiling06:21 Creating scorecards to eliminate hiring biasConnect with us:SCOPE RecruitingConnect with Friddy About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: Every recruiter at SCOPE is a former supply chain professional. Freddy and Melissa, both former ABB global category managers, started the company because they were tired of recruiters who didn't understand the roles they were filling. The result? Better matches, higher retention rates, and fewer headaches for everyone involved.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com.

What does it take to walk away from Wall Street and build a $280 million manufacturing company in rural Alabama? And how do you scale culture across 1,000+ employees when half your corporate team works remotely?In this episode of the Procurement Pulse, host Friddy Hoegener, Co-Founder and Head of Recruiting at SCOPE Recruiting, sits down with David Heacock, Founder and CEO of Filterbuy, who left his finance career to build a vertically integrated, tech-powered manufacturing brand.David left his Wall Street career to build Filterbuy into a $280 million direct-to-consumer manufacturing company specializing in HVAC filters. But this isn't just another startup success story, it's a masterclass in scaling operations, culture, and people across multiple facilities while navigating the realities of American manufacturing.Filterbuy operates seven facilities across the US with about 1,000 employees, including 50-60 remote corporate workers. David shares hard-won lessons, why geographic hiring requirements kill your talent pool, and his three-pronged approach to building real corporate culture: Model it, Articulate it, and Incentivize it.What We Discuss:00:00 Introduction3:31 Why forcing geographic requirements limits your talent pool significantly5:32 Which manufacturing roles can be remote vs. must be on-site8:54 The three-pronged approach to culture: Model it, Articulate it, Incentivize it15:55 How AI is transforming factory operations and data analytics17:25 Why AI won't take your job, but people who use it will21:21 The competitive advantage of building custom ERP systems vs. legacy solutions25:14 Why next-day delivery matters more than you think for commodity products27:11 The reality of bringing manufacturing back to America (and why it's not that simple)Connect with us:SCOPE Recruiting | https://www.scoperecruiting.com/Connect with Friddy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/fhoegener/Connect with Evan | https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-cave David Heacock | https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfilterbuy Filterbuy | https://www.linkedin.com/company/filterbuy About Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: Every recruiter at SCOPE is a former supply chain professional. Freddy and Melissa, both former ABB global category managers, started the company because they were tired of recruiters who didn't understand the roles they were filling. The result? Better matches, higher retention rates, and fewer headaches for everyone involved.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com. 

Why do so many supply chain hires flame out in their first year? And why does finding good talent feel impossible right now?In this first episode of the Procurement Pulse, we break down what's actually broken in supply chain recruiting, and what companies that consistently hire great people are doing differently.Host Friddy Hoegener, Co-Founder and Head of Recruiting at SCOPE Recruiting, along with co-host Evan Cave, Sr. Supply Chain Recruiter, talk about the reality behind the hiring process. Both worked in the supply chain before becoming recruiters.Evan spent years at Randstad, one of the world's largest recruiting firms, before joining the company. He's seen both sides: the corporate machine that prioritizes speed over quality, and the boutique approach that actually works.Before starting SCOPE Recruiting, Friddy was a global category manager at ABB, managing $80-90 million in procurement across everything from mobile phone contracts to aluminum casting. He's been the hiring manager trying to find the right person, and now he's the recruiter trying to deliver them.Together, they explore why the best supply chain professionals never apply to job postings, which roles AI will actually eliminate (and which ones are safe), and the simple scorecard system that stops hiring managers from talking past each other in interviews.What We Discuss:00:00 Welcome to The Procurement Post1:16 Evan's Background: From Gym Manager to Recruiter3:53 Problems with Large Recruiting Firms7:44 Why Speed Hurts Quality in Recruiting8:38 Finding Passive Candidates14:10 Friddy's Background in Supply Chain18:08 Why SCOPE Hires Former Supply Chain People20:42 Which Jobs AI Will Replace24:18 Skills to Stay Relevant with AI28:28 Problems with LinkedIn's AI Matching33:46 Using Scorecards to Remove Bias38:56 Large Companies vs. Small Companies43:01 What's Coming in Future EpisodesConnect with us:SCOPE RecruitingConnect with FriddyConnect with EvanAbout Procurement Pulse: Real conversations with supply chain and procurement professionals who've been on both sides—building teams, solving problems, and staying ahead of what's coming next.About SCOPE Recruiting: Every recruiter at SCOPE is a former supply chain professional. Freddy and Melissa, both former ABB global category managers, started the company because they were tired of recruiters who didn't understand the roles they were filling. The result? Better matches, higher retention rates, and fewer headaches for everyone involved.If you're building a supply chain team and the usual recruiting approach isn't working, check out scoperecruiting.com

Learn how to stay ahead in demand and supply planning with insights on forecasting tools, talent acquisition, and strategies for success.

In Episode 3 of the Procurement Pulse Podcast, we explore the power of circular supply chains. Learn how this innovative approach to supply chain management can drive sustainability, enhance efficiency, and future-proof your business. We cover industry insights, strategic challenges, and the emerging skills necessary for success in this evolving landscape. Tune in to stay ahead of the curve and prepare your organization for the future.

In this episode of the SCOPE Podcast, we explore the pros and cons of centralized procurement, using Google’s transformation as a case study. We discuss how centralization can lead to significant cost savings, better supplier management, and improved compliance, but also the challenges it can bring. We’ll also emphasize the critical role of top talent in making centralized procurement a success. Join us to find out if centralization is the right move for your organization.

In this episode of the SCOPE Podcast, host Friddy explores how industry giants like Google and Cisco transformed their procurement strategies by centralizing operations, particularly in indirect spend categories like travel and IT. Discover the challenges they faced, the role of SCOPE Recruiting in overcoming these obstacles, and why centralized procurement is key to efficiency and cost savings. Friddy also shares valuable recruitment tips for building a strong procurement team. Tune in to learn how the right talent can drive operational excellence in your organization!