Corruption in procurement is changing. It is no longer simply a buyer taking a bribe from a supplier. Nor does it exist only in certain geographies or industries. As global supply networks become more complex, risks are becoming harder to spot, from hidden beneficial ownership and inflated intermediary fees to manipulated e-auctions, tailored specifications and AI-generated documentation designed to look legitimate.We’re joined by Sope Williams, Distinguished Visiting Professor in Government Contracts Law at George Washington University and CIPS Global Head of Sustainability Maxfield Weiss, to explore why corruption remains a persistent challenge in modern supply chains. And what procurement professionals can do about it.We discuss why traditional compliance programmes often fail to change behaviour, how technology can both expose and enable misconduct, and why digital literacy is now a core procurement competency. The conversation also examines the importance of asking difficult questions early, strengthening transparency across supply chains, and ensuring that subcontractors and their suppliers can be trusted.Plus, why leaders must "walk the talk" and give their teams genuine authority to challenge corrupt practices. Further reading: Learn more about the CIPS Ethics test - free for CIPS members! The CIPS Corporate Code of Ethics Contribute to The Great Conversation Find out more about Sope Williams, our guest for the episode

Part two of the CIPS Foundation special features Tony’s Chocolonely Chief Impact Officer, Pascal Baltussen, sharing how the company exists to end exploitation and child labour in cocoa farming. Pascal talks us through the company’s five sourcing principles – and why all of them must be done in a united impact model, consistently, to bring about real systemic change.

In the first of a two-part series, CIPS Foundation lead Emma Scott speaks with ActionAid programme officer, Afram Kwame, about the work being done by the charity in West Africa to address the problem of child labour in coca supply chains.

In this episode, we talk to one of procurement's great thinkers, Dr Elouise Epstein, futurist, author and partner at Kearney. In a fascinating conversation with CIPS global CEO Ben Farrell and governance director Kate Tomlinson, she discusses: why AI will change everything but won't take your job; why we should watch how private equity deploys procurement; supply chains as national security assets; and the importance of telling great stories. Plus, we reveal how CIPS and Elouise will be working together to take procurement professionals to a new level of AI expertise. Related links... CIPS has partnered with Dr Elouise Epstein to help procurement professionals tackle AI - find out more about the partnership and future training opportunities What are your views on the impact AI will have on the profession? Contribute to The Great Conversation Find out more about Dr Elouise Epstein CIPS is here to support you with your professional development. Check out our upcoming AI skills training courses

The AI revolution, shifting geopolitical alliances, and a new generation in the workforce. Mike Soutar, author of Next Gen CEO and star from the BBC’s The Apprentice describes these as "the three storms". What does this mean for the next generation of leaders? Mike has 60 lessons, but here are just two: it's a leader's job to maintain momentum; and people don't follow pessimists. Plus, why procurement and supply chain professionals are in a unique position to lead organisations in an uncertain, fast-moving world. From creating space for constructive dissent to building culture in remote organisations, this revealing conversation with CIPS CEO Ben Farrell is a fascinating insight into the future of leadership. This episode is sponsored by Vantify, the vantage point for connected compliance. You can find out more about them at Vantify.com  Related links... Where to buy: Mike Soutar's new book, Next Gen CEO What are your views on future leadership traits? Contribute to The Great Conversation Check out the GitLab Handbook mentioned by Mike Leadership training: Book your place on the CIPS behavioural leadership training course

At a point where biodiversity loss is higher now than at any other time in human history, the World Wide Fund for Nature's (WWF) New Zealand CEO Kayla Kingdon-Bebb has an urgent message for procurement: every sourcing decision you make is a chance to shift the needle. The picture is stark. Wildlife populations are in sharp decline, while nature loss and climate change are amplifying each other. The consequences are playing out before our eyes. For procurement and supply chain professionals, this is an economic risk as much as it is an environmental one. Economies are heavily dependent on nature – its destruction creates new risk exposure. But it’s not all doom and gloom, assures Kayla. Sustainable procurement practices are a critical part of the solution to protecting nature and improving business resilience. This is “procurement’s moment” concluded CIPS’ global head of sustainability, Maxfield Weiss. Plus: why the whales should offer us hope... Related links... Join The Great Conversation - share your perspectives with CIPS on the future of the profession Find out more about WWF New Zealand and the global WWF mission Useful CIPS resources for sustainable procurement Connect with CIPS Global Head of Sustainability, Maxfield Weiss

As CIPS launches The Great Conversation – a world-wide dialogue about the future of the profession – we talk to David Shillingford, a leading investor in supply chain innovation. His message to procurement and supply chain professionals: extreme complexity is here to stay. Also on the agenda: why procurement professionals must learn cross-functional scenario planning; where your hidden vulnerabilities lie; why conflict zones are everywhere; and the most important company you've never heard of. Related links: Join The Great Conversation - share your perspectives on the future of the profession Visit the CIPS Situation Room - get more advice and insight on how current events are affecting procurement and supply professionals Watch the CIPS Webinar assessing the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict Follow David Shillingford for more insight

A critical supplier goes into administration. There are only eight weeks of stock left, yet it will take nine months to switch to a new supplier. What would you do? In this episode, we hear how the NHS Supply Chain's head of supply chain resilience, Tom Brailsford, and his team responded to ensure hospitals and healthcare providers never ran out of the stock they needed after an essential hand hygiene supplier went bust.Brailsford also explains how the NHS Supply Chain have transitioned to a sophisticated resilience model to ensure that 600,000 healthcare products and services a year make it to the frontline of patient care. Plus, we uncover the "cliff-edge" risks keeping healthcare procurement professionals up at night and how a UK cross-government initiative is helping to map multi-tier supplier risk. Further reading: Find out more about the NHS Supply Chain Read the full story on how the NHS Supply Chain navigated supply disruption Get more insight into managing risk - watch CIPS Risk & Resilience webinar week 2025 on-demand

We're joined by Nick Nanos, chief supply chain officer and SVP of wholesale at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), an organisation on the frontline of navigating tariffs, labour disruption and complex global logistics. Hear how his team is spearheading change and innovation in practice to become the strategic lever the  crown agency now relies on to respond to challenges and consistently deliver value.Nick reflects on the qualities required of procurement and supply chain leaders amidst today's volatility. And, as a member and advocate for both the National Institute of Supply Chain Leaders (NISCL) and CIPS, the role he feels professional bodies play in developing those skills. Related links:  Discover more about the National Institute of Supply Chain Leaders (NISCL) Find out how you can achieve NISCL-CSCL and MCIPS dual designation and what it can do for you About the Liquor Control Board of Ontario

Are we witnessing a "rupture" of the rules-based international order? How have tariffs and geopolitical events played out on the ground? And what does this all mean for procurement and supply chain professionals? CIPS global economist Dr John Glen and Fastmarkets commodities expert Ross Yeo make sense of all the noise. Related links CIPS Pulse results Q4 2025: Procurement professionals sound the alarm for sustained consumer price increases in 2026 Find out more about commodity-pricing experts Fastmarkets, a CIPS Official Knowledge Partner Read Canadian Prime Minister's Mark Carney's full speech at Davos