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Wishing my network a very Merry Christmas! Hope that Santa brings you everything you’ve asked for (and nothing you don’t want …) Have a great break, and hope to see you in the new year Rich.

Procurement is a profession with a very bright future - the signs are clear: * People choosing it as a career rather than accidentally discovering it * Increasing diversity within teams * A clear direction of travel to becoming a strategic discipline * Real value being delivered beyond cost savings * Technology to make us all more effective * Increasing investment from organisations and capital markets But: We cannot take this for granted. Progress can stall or reverse. We must all work towards goals that will advance the profession. It’s bigger than our teams or our organisation. Ask: How am I making Procurement better for tomorrow? What difference am I making?

Last week I was so fortunate to speak at the 10th CIPS Zimbabwe annual conference in the beautiful Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. I spoke about the importance of soft skills to procurement professionals, as well as giving my views on the future of procurement and the importance of continuous learning in procurement on a couple of panel discussions. The other presenters were brilliant - the standout presentation for me was on mental health in procurement by Godknows Simbarashe Muperekedzwa. The message was universal - especially the part on how we all (but especially men) need to talk and cry more to support our mental health. The conference was expertly MC’d by Tsholofelo - from our conversations, I found we share many of the same views about the bright future for the profession. I learnt and experienced so much in such in such a short space of time, it felt like I was away for about 2 weeks rather than just a few days. Some key takeaways: - Many procurement challenges are universal. On the first day, many that we spoke about were the same as the previous week at the 40under40 round table in London - making procurement a strategic discipline, working with stakeholders, need for talent, ESG, what can AI bring etc. - Many of the day to day challenges we all face are elevated in southern Africa - supply chain disruptions, currency fluctuations, external perception of procurement etc. The professionals working in this space are doing a fantastic job under often challenging circumstances. - Like in the UK, there is a way to go on gender equality in leadership. There was a pretty even split of genders in the audience, and this needs to translate into leadership. - Zimbabwe is leading the way in digitising public sector procurement with the great work that Clever Ruswa’s organisation is doing in this space. There is a great opportunity to learn lessons from others whilst demonstrating the benefit that this brings. - The country is so beautiful - even more beautiful than I remember. The culture, landscape and wildlife are so special. - The people are so welcoming and generous. I spoke to many and they are all really driven to reach the next level in their careers and make great change in the world. Many thanks to Preston Hwena Chartered FCIPS, MSc, LLM for inviting me, it was such an honour to speak at the conference, and I hope it is the start of a longer term association with CIPS Zimbabwe. Also great to meet Edson Marcos FCIPS Clever Ruswa Tonderayi Shonhiwa Craig O'Flaherty and many, many others!

Procurement is a people profession, and sprinkling some AI on the issues we face will not solve things over night. CPOs have multiple priorities and new system implementation are often complex and expensive to undertake. Getting beyond the hype, I take a look at why teams need strong foundations before they can get to the panacea.

Procurement is on the front line of the cyber security war. Not matter how much your organisation invests in cyber security, you are only as good as your weakest link - and your suppliers can make you vulnerable to attack. And it's not just IT suppliers that introduce risk - take some of the biggest incidents over the last 15 years: 1) Maersk NotPetya attack 2013 - malware introduced by MeDoc, a 3rd party accounting software which then spread. Costs estimated at $250-300m. 2) BA data breach 2018 - initial access was through compromised SwissPort user accounts. 400K customers affected. 3) Target data breach 2013 - access to systems came from credentials that were stolen from an HVAC maintenance supplier used for electronic billing, contract submissions and project management. 70m customers affected. Whilst these were not the only failure points in each case, they provided the initial access to systems to start these breaches. Having the right supplier vetting processes in place is crucial to help avoid these issues hitting your organisation - and this is not just for IT suppliers.

How to get your first promotion: 1) Be proactive - do things before you are asked. 2) Communicate well - clear, concise and positive 3) Get stuff done - do it when you say you will, or set expectations if it’s not achievable (but don’t make excuses) 4) Be curious - learn about your organisation 5) Work hard It’s more about your attitude than your aptitude.