Interview
with Dr. Tom DePaoli about His New Edition
Common Sense Purchasing book available on Amazon
Interviewer: Why did you write a new edition on
purchasing, procurement, supply chain and why the title Common Sense Purchasing?
Dr. Tom: I originally wrote it first and foremost
to help purchasing, procurement, supply chain and logistics professionals. They
are some of the most misunderstood and abused people in corporate America. I
wanted to share many of my hard knock lessons learned so they do not repeat
them. I also wanted to de-mystify many misconceptions about purchasing and the
supply chain. The book needed a major update in the digital age and with the growing
importance of the supply chain.
Interviewer: You changed the book format and
organized it by topics into chapters. Why?
Dr. Tom: There are important categories
that purchasing must deal with. I updated them with my latest writings, thoughts
and predictions. I have added many new articles, resources and insights. Visit
my website https://drtombooks.com/ for more
information. The articles are first organized by subject matter into chapters.
Then the articles are presented in alphabetical order within the chapter. In
the rear of the book has a convenient master reference list of all articles
sorted alphabetically.
Interviewer: Do you expect endorsements from
academic folks or Purchasing societies?
Dr. Tom: Possibly. This is however a practical
book meant to help all purchasing related professionals with day-to-day decisions
and strategy. This is sort of an unauthorized field or operations manual for a
purchasing professional to refer to and cherish. I would hope that some academics would
recommend it just to give some practical advice to students. I wish I had it
when I started out at a junior buyer level. Most of the theory stuff they teach
you just doesn’t pan out or work, we get way too hung up on terminology. Purchasing,
procurement, supply chain, supply chain management etc. This confuses everyone.
Purchasing professionals know what I mean and what I am talking about. Do not
be a terminology absolutist!
Interviewer: You certainly have had a unique
purchasing career. Talk about it.
Dr. Tom: I literally made all the mistakes one
can make in purchasing. They were hard lessons but I kept going and kept a
positive attitude. I was never one not to roll up my sleeves and pitch in. I
typed purchase orders, traced shipments, dealt with suppliers and did a lot of
grunt work in purchasing. It gives you a perspective about purchasing that many
today just do not have. I loved it, but the boring transaction stuff does get
to you. It also gives many purchasing folks a semi-cynical attitude. I just
developed the grizzled veteran grit attitude but didn’t let it destroy my
creativity. I obliterated useless transaction work.
Interviewer: What about change? You describe it as
very hard to make happen. Explain.
Dr. Tom: Most folks hate change and have extreme
difficulty dealing with change. Usually they will only make radical changes if
they are in imminent danger of something very bad happening to them
personally. It is the biggest challenge
in motivation. It requires constant persuasion, cajoling etc. It demands a good
sense of humor. It is very challenging to get folks to accept change in their
hearts. Just explaining concepts to them requires extreme perseverance. The book
says explain a new concept seven times seven different ways and this may not be
enough. It is an endurance contest.
Interviewer: What do you see in the future for
purchasing?
Dr. Tom: I see
a lot of traditional concepts in purchasing being demolished. The area of
e-procurement, artificial intelligence, digital tracking, worldwide visibility
of goods and services, will make quantum leaps in the next five years.
Transaction costs will be minimal. Communication with suppliers and customers
will be instantaneous. Companies will actually know what they spend their money
on and why. Purchasing will lead the way in supplier collaboration and
intelligent world-wide sourcing. Reaction time to upsets will be in seconds or
the speed of the net. Predictive buys will
occur not reactionary. However, purchasing folks still must know the basics of
purchasing, their transactions, negotiating etc. Cross functional teams will be
the norm and purchasing folks won’t be tucked away in their bureaucratic
department dungeon but out and about not only in other company areas but with
suppliers and customers. It is an exciting time that will develop. The burden
of dull transaction work will disappear and liberate purchasing to accomplish
more value adding strategic work.
Interviewer:
You still talk a lot
about purchasing cards in you book. Isn’t this an antiquated method?
Dr. Tom: No not really. From a customer
perspective it is still a much easier way to buy stuff than filling out a
purchasing order. Face it, internal customers hate paperwork and wasting their
time on procedures. I foresee some type
of integration for purchase cards with the web that provides intelligent spend
information to companies. Your customers
don’t want to waste time on transactions. We should make them as painless as
possible.
Interviewer: What about sourcing? You cite it as
key.
Dr. Tom: The most savings still are in
disciplined objective sourcing. You need world class suppliers or you will be
at a tremendous competitive disadvantage. The savings for most companies are
still immense in this area.
Interviewer: You really knock the RFP process in you
book. Explain.
Dr. Tom: Unfortunately, most of them are
corrupted by biases, traditional thinking and rules of engagement. Purchasing
folks need to make sure the chemistry is right with a supplier. This isn’t
something that can be put on a consultant’s quad chart. It has to come from the
gut and be tempered by experience. I don’t think any of us want to live in a
world populated by materials and services from the lowest bidder. I know I
don’t. Too many purchasing folks or sourcing teams compromise or cheat on bids.
My experience tells me this almost always leads to disaster.
Interviewer:
You talk about
integrity and being true to your word as key to being a good purchasing
professional. Why do you say that?
Dr. Tom: Because in the purchasing arena, if
folks don’t trust you, you will fail at any attempt to establish good
relationships with suppliers or customers. Most folks won’t follow a leader who
lies. I strongly believe purchasing is the art of relationship building and if
you can’t build good relationships, you are at a distinct disadvantage.
Interviewer: You emphasize relationships Dr. Tom any
biases or lessons learned in this area?
Dr. Tom: First off women are much better at
relationship building than men. This is not meant to be sexist. Women are
deeply into relationships even as children. Men tend not to be as good in
relationship building. The good part is that men can learn a lot from women
about relationship building. I learned a heck of a lot from a fine team of
women I had the privilege or working with in the paper industry. They were just
darn good at relationship building with suppliers, customers and internal
folks. They practice it all their lives. Whenever a relationship needed shoring up, I
asked a female to take care of it and usually they did. Relationship building is their best pitch let
them go with it and give them lots of slack and free rein. Men tend to be over analytical and women more
intuitive. Relationships don’t work like
some mathematical equation. They require deft handling.
Interviewer:
In the book dedication
you talk about your upbringing. What was so special or different about yours?
Dr. Tom: I had great parents who loved me and set
the expectation bar high. They were people of their word and just darn
trustworthy. They worked very hard and never complained. They had more common
sense that I will ever have. I also had a literal army or Italian aunts and
uncles who participated greatly in my upbringing. They were just great and good
folks. It was a lot of fun. I grew up in a small town where most of them lived
so there wasn’t much I could get away with. The bad report from one of my aunts
or uncles would often reach home before I did. They were not afraid to correct
me or encourage me. They all loved kids and knew that kids were important and
the hope for the future. They were not
shy about expressing their pleasure or displeasure in my behavior. They were very positive and knew this was
important to children. This above all showed that they really cared. I of
course had a lot of freedom in my neighborhood and played with many of the kids
outside. We didn’t have the technology to stay in the house and become
“video-idiots” like kids today. We had to invent and imagine our games.
Interviewer: You talk despairingly about contracts
in your book. Explain.
Dr. Tom: Contracts keep lawyers employed but
often they make true trusting relationships impossible. Face it, many contracts
are just exercises in “I gottcha.” If you think that in some way a contract
will protect you, you are sadly mistaken and have no understanding of out
judicial system. Yes, you need to be reasonably prudent with contracts but to
try to put a clause in to cover every eventuality in a relationship is
foolhardy. Relationships fail also. The
attrition rate can be high. Over 50% of new marriages end in divorce. I’m not
saying that commercial relationships have the same failure rate but don’t
expect nirvana in all attempted relationships. It won’t happen. They take a lot
of work and effort.
Interviewer: Where can our readers get your book?
Dr. Tom: On Amazon or go to my web site www.drtombooks.com.
I hope folks enjoy the new edition book. Even non-purchasing folks get a kick
out of the book. I will continue to publish a newsletter and special reports
that can be obtained at the web site.
Interviewer: Any future book plans Dr. Tom?
Dr. Tom: I am considering a book on
relationships and relationship building specifically with supplier and
customers. It will be practical but more
of a roadmap not a mechanistic method. Relationships are like tides that have
ebbs and flows. Many lessons in personal relationship building apply in this
arena.
Interviewer: Dr. Tom thanks for your time for this
interview. You certainly provide a different perspective about purchasing.
Dr. Tom: You are welcome. Enjoy the new
edition book.
Dr. Tom DePaoli, (Dr. Tom or Captain
Tom), is currently an independent management consultant, the CEO of Apollo
Solutions, which does general business consulting in the human resources,
supply chain and lean six sigma areas. His organization was self-founded in
1995. He retired as a Captain from the Navy Reserve. In other civilian careers,
he was a supply chain and human resources executive with corporate purchasing
turnaround experience and lean six sigma deployments. He has worked for over
ten major companies and consulted for over fifty organizations throughout his
career. Some of his consulting projects include: information systems projects,
re-engineering organizations, organizational transformation, e-procurement,
e-commerce, change management, leadership training, creativity improvement,
global sourcing and negotiating, especially information-based negotiations. His
industry experience is in the chemical, paper, DOD, pharmaceutical, IT, startup,
automotive, government, consumer, equipment, business services and consulting
industries. He has been published extensively in journals, magazines and books.
He is the author of twelve books all available on Amazon. He has instructed at six education facilities
in numerous roles. He is active in
supporting the YMCA, Wounded Warrior, and the prevention of the bullying of
children.
https://www.amazon.com/author/tomdepaoli = Dr. Tom’s Amazon author’s page
http://www.apollosolutions.us = Website of Apollo Solutions his business
drtombooks.com = More information on Dr. Tom’s books and
writings
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dr-thomas-depaoli/0/736/6b3/ = LinkedIn home page
https://apollosolutionsbooksandconsulting.blogspot.com/ = Dr. Tom’s
blog
@DrTomDePaoli = Twitter https://twitter.com/DrTomDePaoli
https://www.facebook.com/ApolloSolutionsConsulting
= Facebook of Apollo Solutions
Contact Dr. Tom = thomasdepaoli@yahoo.com
drtombooks.com for newsletter sign up https://drtombooks.com/contact/
My Books link:
https://www.amazon.com/Tom-DePaoli/e/B003XSV1IQ
