Amazon Business: The New Rules of Strategic Sourcing
Is your procurement function still leading with price? According to two of the industry's sharpest minds, that approach is no longer enough, and it may be quietly costing your organisation far more than it saves.
In a webinar produced by Procurement Magazine in association with Amazon Business, Shannon McCaul, Director at Optis and Mira korhonen-low, CPO at Fornome, take a look at the seismic shift transforming strategic sourcing and supplier selection.
With a combined experience of more than 35 years across procurement, supply chain and category management, this conversation cuts through the noise to reveal what truly distinguishes high-performing procurement functions from those going through the motions.
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The end of cost-first procurement
Today's procurement leaders are navigating a far more complex terrain: geopolitical trade tensions, tightening ESG regulations, AI-driven disruption and supply chains that can shift overnight.
"Procurement was largely measured on savings and compliance," says Shannon. "But today, businesses are being asked to influence outcomes, from supply continuity to innovation and ESG goals."
Cost remains foundational; the two experts were clear on that. But it is now just one variable in a much richer decision-making framework. One that encompasses supplier resilience, financial health, geographic diversification, sustainability performance and long-term innovation potential.
Supplier selection: A more demanding standard
The webinar dives deep into how supplier evaluation has evolved. Where organisations once screened suppliers on price and basic capability, the more sophisticated procurement functions are now applying multidimensional scorecards that assess total cost of ownership, ESG credentials, operational resilience, stakeholder satisfaction and track record under pressure.
Mira highlights the human blind spots that data alone cannot address: "The pitch team is generally not the people who will actually interact with your business. You have to meet the people that do the work."
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AI as Co-Pilot, not decision-maker
Technology is reshaping the function at pace. AI now enables real-time risk monitoring, predictive analytics and market intelligence that would have required entire dedicated teams just a decade ago.
But both experts push back firmly on any suggestion that human judgement is becoming obsolete.
"Supply selection always has to be done by the human," says Mira.
"AI can get us very far in terms of scorecards and performance evaluation, but the cultural fit, the relationship trajectory, the risks that don't show up in historical data, that still takes an expert to make the call."
ESG: From nice-to-have to non-negotiable
For European procurement teams in particular, sustainability is no longer aspirational. With CSRD and CSDDD compliance windows closing fast, ESG performance is fast becoming a mandatory gate in supplier selection.
"It's not a sustainability team problem anymore," says Mira.
"It's a selection problem. Vendors must have the capability to report on that, it can't be an aspiration."
Partnerships built to last
The webinar closes with a powerful argument for moving beyond transactional supplier relationships toward deliberate, investment-grade partnerships, built on regular business reviews, shared goals, performance transparency and mutual respect.
"Show up consistently and treat suppliers like a partner, not a vendor," says Shannon. "The strongest deals come out of good relationships."
Watch the full webinar on demand now and access practical frameworks for modernising your sourcing strategy, building resilient supplier partnerships and embedding data-led decision-making into your procurement function.
