Podcast
The Nico Orduz Interview | Podcast
41 minutes
Description
Nico Orduz shows why strategic sourcing is not just getting it cheaper. It is getting involved early, protecting the business, and making trade-offs you can stand behind before the design locks you into the wrong costs and the wrong suppliers.
Nico is the Global Director of Strategic Sourcing at Time Manufacturing, where he built the function from scratch. He explains how procurement should partner with engineering from day zero, how to balance price with quality and risk in safety-critical products, and how to avoid vendor lock-in by being clear about who owns the drawings.
The conversation also covers supplier-led value engineering, should-cost modeling, and what tariffs look like once they stop being noise and start showing up on invoices.
Speakers
Spencer Penn
CEO & Co Founder
Nico Orduz
Global Director of Strategic Sourcing
Key moments
Intros – Kellogg MBA
Nico Orduz shares his path into procurement and how a generalist MBA at Kellogg helped him think beyond traditional supply chain constraints.
Marketing and procurement
How marketing frameworks influence stakeholder buy‑in and why procurement leaders must sell ideas, not just present numbers.
Selling to procurement
Why procurement professionals need sales skills and how internal selling determines whether sourcing strategies succeed.
Disagreements and stakeholder alignment
Real‑world examples of conflict inside matrixed organizations and how value framing resolves deadlock.
Making trade‑offs
How procurement balances price, performance, safety, and flexibility based on what failure actually costs the business.
Working with engineering teams
Why procurement must partner closely with engineering, especially in safety‑critical products and capital equipment.
Stage‑gate process
How structured toll‑gate approvals prevent sunk‑cost mistakes and align cross‑functional leadership early.
Design inputs and supplier expertise
Where procurement adds value without overstepping and how suppliers contribute innovation when engaged correctly.
Vendor lock‑in
The risks of supplier‑owned IP, how to protect sourcing flexibility, and when lock‑in becomes unavoidable.
Duopolies and limited markets
What procurement can and cannot control when only two viable suppliers exist.
Should‑cost modeling
Why cost models matter, when they fail, and how they inform smarter negotiations.
Strategic sourcing in practice
How mature sourcing organizations think beyond price to long‑term value creation.
Global trade environment
How geopolitical risk and regionalization have permanently changed procurement expectations.
What keeps procurement leaders up at night
A candid look at the risks, responsibilities, and pressures facing modern sourcing teams.
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