In this episode, we’re joined by Constantin Conquet, Head of Procurement at Monks – the global marketing and technology services provider that accelerates business possibilities and refines how brands and businesses interact with the world – and a seasoned Procurement professional with over 10 years of experience at companies like Adidas and Sanofi. 

Constantin joins Sam for a great discussion about how Sales experience can influence Buying, the role of brands in supplier negotiations, the differences between tech & material procurement, how Procurement should adopt technologies & build their tech stack, and much more! 

(00:39 ) - Introducing Constantin 

(01:30 ) - What does Sourcing & Procurement mean to Constantin?

(02:58 ) - How much does Constantin think that Procurement is commercial vs. soft skills? 

(03:58 ) - How did Constantin’s previous experience in Sales influence his work in Procurement? 

(05:03 ) - Did Constantin’s experience in Sales make him a better Buyer?

(05:50 ) - Did Constantin choose Procurement or did Procurement choose Constantin? And why did Constantin transition into Procurement?

(07:53 ) - Why does Constantin think that Procurement has become so hot today?

(09:20 ) - How can the nature of a company’s brand or product influence their Procurement? 

(12:42 ) - Should Procurement leverage their brand in their supply negotiations? 

(13:51 ) - Do Procurement pros have a harder time or easier time buying procurement technology when they’re also the user profile? 

(16:42 ) - Do Procurement teams ever get handcuffed by the process and focus on digitization instead of digitalization? 

(19:26 ) - How does Constantin stay ahead of the trends as a tech buyer?

(21:55 ) - Is Procurement focused on building a resilient tech stack? 

(24:12 ) - What does Constantin think is the best way to build a culture of learning, development, and change? 

(26:40 ) - When does Constantin think that a company needs IT or tech buying? 

(29:44 ) - How does tech & IT procurement differ from material procurement? And is there anything these disciplines can learn from each other? 

(33:40 ) - How do software providers maintain long relationships with Procurement and can Procurement use a software for more than 5 years? 

(36:00 ) - When is it the right or wrong time for Procurement to buy from a tech startup? 

(39:05 ) - Constantin answers Sam’s quick fire round of questions