P&SC LIVE London: Dave Kern, Tripadvisor Group Keynote
Dave Kern opened his talk at Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit with an anecdote. When explaining his job to his 12-year-old, he realised the struggle many in procurement face: a perception problem.
Procurement’s misunderstood role
Dave begins by reflecting on how, years ago, someone assumed his role involved purchasing office supplies, underlining the misconception that procurement is merely an administrative function.
From past experiences, he recounts how even at executive levels, his work was perceived narrowly as compliance-driven or focused solely on cost-saving. Dave highlights the need to shift this outdated view, repositioning procurement as a strategic, business-enabling function.
Dave emphasises his determination to engage procurement in high-value tasks, moving beyond basic cost control to focus on comprehensive enterprise strategy and operational alignment. He shares insights into his personal journey, most notably at Tripadvisor, where he built an innovative role leading enterprise commercial strategy.
By leveraging procurement's visibility and operational insights across Global Brands, Dave’s team has become essential in driving Enterprise strategic value within Tripadvisor Group rather than mere gatekeepers.
Building a collaborative supply chain
For Dave, the key to elevating procurement lies in fostering collaboration across the enterprise. At Tripadvisor, he saw an opportunity to unify the procurement function across the company’s distinct brands: Tripadvisor, TheFork, Viator and Cruisecritic.
Each brand worked independently, often using different systems and metrics. Dave’s goal was to integrate procurement processes across these brands, an effort he summarised with the simple phrase, "Better together requires working together."
Dave explains that to create this integration, procurement had to move up the funnel — influencing decisions early to align goals and streamline processes across departments.
A major achievement was establishing a ticketing system that acted as a checkpoint for all new projects. Each project had to answer five essential questions, including objectives, timing, dependencies, and return on investment (ROI).
This system ensured that legal, finance, engineering, and other critical departments were engaged early, creating what Dave calls ‘the Shark Tank’ of internal review, where cross-functional teams align, assign, and execute plans collectively.
According to Dave, this approach not only improved efficiency but built trust across departments, reducing project delays and increasing transparency.
He shares, "My focus is to get to yes, not to say no"
Through this proactive engagement, Dave believes procurement needs to transform from a compliance hurdle to a strategic enabler, ensuring projects meet objectives while minimising disruption.
The evolving skillset for procurement professionals
Addressing a question on implementing organisational change, Dave emphasises that procurement teams should be seen as champions, not roadblocks.
His approach, especially in working with the marketing department, was to reduce bureaucracy and facilitate project completion. Although some initial timelines were missed, Dave’s team was able to build goodwill by openly communicating delays and navigating challenges effectively.
The outcome, Dave notes, was a more efficient and cooperative process, something that his team worked hard to maintain.
Dave also provides advice for suppliers. He underscores the importance of seeing procurement as an ally rather than an adversary.
In his view, procurement professionals should act as dual brokers,” balancing the company's financial interests with the suppliers’ goals. Dave elaborated,
"I'm tough, but I’m fair." This approach, he explains, helps build trust, leading to more favourable outcomes for both sides.
Throughout his talk, Dave encourages other procurement leaders to take bold steps and push beyond traditional roles.
His mantra, ‘align, assign, execute’ highlights a vision for procurement that involves deep organisational understanding, strategic alignment, unwavering commitment to value creation and operational excellence.
By repositioning procurement as a strategic function, Dave believes organisations can unlock their full potential.
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