SIG Speaks Blog

Achieving Supplier Relationship Compatibility

SIG University Certified Supplier Management Professional (CSMP) program graduate Samantha Peters explains the objectives, strategies, and collaboration necessary to achieve supplier relationship compatibility.

Samantha Peters, IT Global Procurement, Cigna

Implementing Category Management Strategies

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SIG University Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP) program graduate Stephanie Clark shares an excellent analysis of the category management process from a strategic lens and notes when a well-designed program is enabled, it is equally effective for direct and indirect spend and across spend categories.

Stephanie Clark, Category Manager, Maxar Technologies Holdings Inc.

Connecting the Dots Between Legal and Procurement

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SIG University Certified Supplier Management Professional (CSMP) program graduate Lisa VanBuskirk shows how she connected the dots between legal and procurement and became aware of gaps to show how the two roles working together is so vital.


Before I took this SIG U course, I worked in finance and legal roles for the biotech industry. Much of what I have experienced involves the last few lessons in this course: How to protect our company legally and financially. I have never worked in a company that had a formal governance program from the start. Usually, an internal stakeholder would come to me saying, “We like this vendor. Please get them set up,” and I would make contingencies for the relationship’s failure. After this class, I now understand the importance of being involved even before the contracts are ever written and being involved with choosing each supplier.

I am very used to setting up legalese in master service agreements that cover things like performance metrics and termination clauses. This was a natural part of my day-to-day, which I always thought was enough. However, there was a part of me that thought, “Sure, the legal department understands our terms, but what is being communicated to the supplier project leads so they also understand?” This course helped me understand that, especially after recently terminating a relationship with a critical supplier. It would have been much less work from the beginning if we had a supplier governance program in place to lay out our expectations to all from the beginning to all stakeholders. Being involved with occasional meetings to stay aligned with the process would be very helpful for the continued relationship with each supplier.

Lisa VanBuskirk, Procurement Specialist, Sage Therapeutics

Implementing Procurement's Role in Third-Party Risk Management

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SIG University Certified Third-Party Risk Management Professional (C3PRMP) program graduate Anna Sgro shares how adding procurement roles into third-party risk management systems can be a very effective contribution to your team.


Across many organizations, there is an outstanding need to baseline what, if any, activities are taking place to manage third-party due diligence proactively. From my specific experience, Procurement's role is only sometimes well established and often has limited involvement in third-party risk management. The lack of engagement with the Procurement team introduces unnecessary risk and exposure for an organization.

Incorporating Procurement in third-party risk management and analysis will increase visibility, broaden awareness, and reduce risk by ensuring consistent sourcing, contracting controls, management, and monitoring processes. The standard practice for most Procurement teams includes evaluating new third parties, facilitating the sourcing and contract negotiations, and primarily being responsible for ensuring appropriate terms are in place. However, without a clearly defined path of communication and standardized processes, there's still potential for the organization to be exposed to unknown risks when bringing on a new critical third.

Anna Sgro, Procurement Category Manager of IT, Maxar

It's All About The Fit

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SIG University Certified Supplier Management Professional (CSMP) program graduate Nick Fratto defines why finding the right supplier fit for your organization is so crucial for success.

Nick Fratto, Sales Enablement Specialist, Sourcing Industry Group

Gaining Positive Influence

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SIG University Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP) program graduate Ethan Slade shares how procurement and sourcing professionals can gain positive influence in their organization that helps encourage productivity and change. 

Ethan Slade, Intern, Sourcing Industry Group

A Systems Approach to Sourcing & Procurement

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SIG University Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP) program graduate Thomas Cooper describes how with the increasing pressures on supply chains and sourcing organizations lately, efficiency and effectiveness cannot be understated in an organization.

Thomas Cooper, Procurement Sourcing Manager, Blue Cross Blue Shield Florida

Forming Affective Partnerships

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SIG University Certified Supplier Management Professional (CSMP) program graduate Brett Hillsberg shares an example of values exchange and balancing with suppliers from his past experience.

Brett Hillsberg, Sourcing lead & Category Manager, ASML

Stakeholder and Change Management

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SIG University Certified Sourcing Professional (CSP) program graduate Brynn Wheeler describes how to manage stakeholders for RFX by fostering a trusting atmosphere and inspiring participation.

Brynn Wheeler, Procurement Specialist, Sprouts Farmer's market

The Importance of a Strong Governance Program

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SIG University Certified Supplier Management Professional (CSMP) program graduate Megan Moore shares her experience of the direct application of the training material in real life and how important it is to understand your company's governance program.

Megan Moore, HR Vendor Manager, Fidelity Investments

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