I recently attended two R&D engagement sessions that covered a healthcare company’s recent endeavor with a CAR-T cancer treatment. In both sessions, I learned a lot about CAR-T. I learned that the CAR-T treatment that organization is developing will treat multiple myeloma; a cancer that is ranked as the 14th most common cancer type and is growing at a rate over 100% YOY, with annual fatalities above 90%. I also learned that there are CAR-T treatments that are already approved by the FDA for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma, and that pharmaceutical companies are also developing CAR-T treatments for…

It might just be me, but does anyone else revel when thinking about procurement’s ability to influence corporate citizenship around the world? Okay, so maybe it’s only me. We can, at the very least, all agree that corporate citizenship is a major buzzword within our global economy. Today, corporate commitment to citizenship, sustainability, and diversity are in high demand for a variety of reasons. Rising generations, as well as those already active in the workforce, are stressing the importance for alignment between personal values and the values of the organizations that they choose to work for. By pairing personal and…

Having just started in a new procurement role, I am in the process of learning about my new responsibilities and about my new team. This will likely not come as a surprise to those who know me, but I’m the type of candidate who always includes a 90-day plan in each of my job applications. When I’m putting my 90-day plan together, I usually get a sense of how passionate I am about the position. I either find myself completely energized by the exercise or I struggle to see the opportunity for me to make a meaningful impact in the…

I am absolutely thrilled to have received feedback on my last article, “5 Negotiation Tactic You Need to Know.” A non-procurement professional, interested in learning about negotiating, asked that I share tips on how to prepare for negotiations. In my first article about negotiations, I mentioned that preparation is the key to executing a successful negotiation. That may have left you wondering “what exactly does preparation entail?” In this sequel, I will discuss fundamental preparation activities, and, as usual, give you examples of how to put the activities into practice.

First of all, negotiating is something we ALL do every…

Published October 16, 2018 by Victoria Vitale

If you read my first article it shouldn’t come as a surprise that my second one is about my favorite negotiating tactics. It is, after all, my favorite procurement activity! While I can’t just focus on one or two of my favorite tactics, I’ve picked five of the most impactful and diverse negotiation tactics that I keep in my toolbox.

I’ll cover classics like “Good Cop/Bad Cop”, new approaches like the “Hero Approach” and a few other effective maneuvers that you can put into action immediately. …

Published October 1, 2018 by Victoria Vitale

I love working in procurement. It’s such a dynamic business function. No two day’s priorities are ever the same and I’m constantly challenged to use different skill sets. My days and weeks are filled with meeting internal stakeholders to understand their business needs, engaging the external market to identify and qualify service providers, developing sourcing strategy through RFX activities and my all-time favorite activity, negotiating. Unfortunately, we’re not here to talk about sunshine and rainbows of the procurement world. This article is centered around the dark side of procurement, the unfortunate means to…