Design for Impact: How Procurement Can Lead from the Front

Design for Impact: How Procurement Can Lead from the Front

A Humans of Procurement Executive Dialogue ; #Episode 1

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Procurement has never had more potential — or more pressure — to drive real business outcomes. But while many teams talk about being “strategic,” few have built the structure and cross-functional muscle to lead from the front.

This session brings together two of the most accomplished CPOs in the world — Richard Crane (CPO, Haleon and Ex-CPO GSK, Philips) and Fredrick Spalcke (former CPO, Philips, Huawei and Unify) — for a candid conversation on how they’ve made strategic procurement real: through early involvement, supplier-enabled design, and decision-making that spans the full product lifecycle.

Bridging their experience is Christoph Flöthmann, Co-founder and CPO at akirolabs. He’ll distill the practices into a repeatable framework — helping you see what separates teams who “get it done” from those stuck chasing influence. Christoph brings the structure behind the strategy: how to connect stakeholders, model trade-offs, digitalize strategic procurement, and orchestrate value — not just measure savings.

Moderated by Jessica Ojelabi, this conversation will challenge outdated procurement playbooks and offer a clearer path to impact.

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Who Should Attend

This conversation is for everyone in procurement and supply chain — whether you’re shaping procurement leadership, managing categories, enabling transformation, or simply working to make better decisions every day in procurement.

To make it more specific, If you're in roles such as:

• Procurement leadership or CoE
• Category management
• Procurement excellence or operations
• Digital procurement or transformation
• Sourcing, buying, or purchasing

…then this session is especially for you.

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What You’ll takeaway

✅ How world-class CPOs structure for early involvement

✅ What happens when procurement is involved at the point of design — not just sourcing

✅ Why most cross-functional efforts fail — and how to fix them

✅ What separates teams who talk strategy from those who actually deliver it

✅ What akirolabs enables that traditional procurement tooling doesn’t

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**About the Series** - Humans of Procurement

Humans of Procurement is akirolabs’ flagship thought leadership series to celebrate the voices in procurement.

It’s where the most forward-thinking minds in procurement share what’s really working, what’s not, and where we go from here.

Each session brings together bold ideas, tested frameworks, and honest conversations that elevate the role of procurement in shaping the future of business.