The Sidekick #028 | The Compression of Procurement

April 30, 2026

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The Compression of Procurement

Plus shortcuts to supplier vetting and more.

Welcome to edition #28 of The Sidekick!

We are currently witnessing one of the most compressed strategic environments in recent memory. Between new tariff regimes, energy volatility, and the relentless pressure to adopt AI, procurement leaders are being asked to do everything at once. In this issue, we explore how to move from a firefighting mindset to building a durable, proactive practice.

We also dive into the tactical side of speed: how do you vet a supplier in 48 hours without compromising your organization? We’ll look at the red flags to watch for and how a GPO acts as your ultimate vetting shortcut.

As always, scroll down for our mixed bag of treats: live updates from the ISM conference, the latest AI procurement news, and fresh resources from the Una team.

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Let's get into Issue #028...

Your Guide to Proactive Procurement

How to transform procurement from a reactive function into a proactive force that drives business success.

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Stop Reacting, Start Resilience-Building

Breaking the cycle of constant firefighting.

Procurement leaders are operating in fire-fighting mode. When tariffs, energy price swings, and recession signals hit simultaneously, the natural instinct is to react to the hottest fire. However, constant reaction leads to strategic drift and budget leaks.

The current market demands a pivot toward Proactive Procurement. This is a fundamental shift in how a department functions. Instead of waiting for a disruption to force your hand, you are building a "resilience architecture" that anticipates shifts before they impact the bottom line.

Building a Durable Practice

To move away from reactive sourcing, procurement teams are focusing on three foundational pillars:

Continuous Supplier Monitoring: The days of the "set it and forget it" annual review are over. Organizations are now utilizing real-time risk feeds to monitor supplier health, geopolitical stability, and Tier 2 vulnerabilities.
Scenario Planning: Proactive teams are running "What If" drills on their top spending categories. By mapping out responses to a 20% tariff hike or a 15% energy spike now, they avoid panic when those scenarios become reality.
Smarter Spend Visibility: You cannot protect what you cannot see. Achieving total visibility into indirect spend allows leaders to identify shadow spend and consolidate volume before a crisis hits.

Shortcuts to Supplier Vetting

How to move fast without breaking your supply chain.

In an ideal world, you have months to run a full RFP. But in the real world, a primary supplier goes dark and you have three days to find a credible alternative. When time is the enemy, you need a vetting "short-circuit" that doesn't sacrifice due diligence.

What “Good” Due Diligence Looks Like in 48 Hours

If you only have a few days, focus your energy on these high-impact areas:

Financial Pulse: Don't wait for a formal credit report. Look for recent payment history to their own subcontractors and any recent news of layoffs or restructuring.
Operational Bandwidth: Ask for a "live" look at their current capacity. Are they truly ready for your volume, or are they over-promising to win the business?
Responsiveness: Use the vetting period as a stress test. If a supplier is slow to return a call during the "honeymoon" phase, they will probably be invisible when a shipment is late.

Red Flags in the Fine Print

Even in a rush, scan contracts for these two deal-breakers:

Overly Broad Force Majeure: Ensure the supplier can't use "general market conditions" as an excuse to walk away from their obligations.
Unilateral Price Triggers: Watch for clauses that allow the supplier to hike prices without a verifiable index or a specific notice period.

The GPO Shortcut

The most effective way to vet at speed is to leverage a network that has already been audited. This is exactly what a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) like Una does. By the time you see a supplier in a GPO portfolio, the financial audits, ESG checks, and service level agreements (SLAs) have already been verified.

You gain the speed of a shortcut with the security of a six-month RFP process. Learn more about improving time-to-source here.

📰 In Other News...

Keeping a pulse on the industry.

ISM World 2026 - What Are Procurement Professionals Talking About? Live from Las Vegas, the conversation is dominated by the "structuralization" of risk. Experts suggest that supply chain disruptions are no longer temporary glitches but a permanent feature of the global economy.

Energy News: US Targets 5 GW More Nuclear Power: The U.S. Department of Energy's new UPRISE program will provide low cost financing to increase nuclear power output by 5 GW by 2029 through plant uprates and facility restarts. This initiative aims to meet the rapidly growing electricity demands of AI data centers and manufacturing while bypassing the high costs and long timelines of new construction.

NATO Procurement Snubs Boeing For Swedish-Canadian Surveillance Jet: NATO has selected the Saab GlobalEye platform, built on a Canadian Bombardier airframe, to replace its aging fleet of Boeing E-3A Sentry surveillance aircraft. This decision marks a significant shift toward European strategic autonomy after the U.S. Air Force dropped Boeing's Wedgetail from its own spending plans due to cost overruns and delays.

🤖 AI Procurement News

Artificial intelligence shaping the industry.

Experts Debate AI Innovation at PSC Summit: Experts at the Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE US Summit discussed how AI is shifting from a reactive tool to a predictive one that helps leaders manage complex disruptions while cutting costs. The panel addressed environmental and workforce concerns, arguing that AI will augment human strategic work through a "human-in-the-loop" approach rather than replacing jobs entirely.

Bottlenecks Forcing AI companies to Shift Procurement Strategy: Persistent supply bottlenecks in advanced packaging and memory are forcing hyperscalers to shift from spot purchasing to long term capacity reservations and direct investments in chip design. High demand for AI infrastructure has also led to new strategic partnerships, such as Intel providing manufacturing support for custom AI accelerators to diversify and secure supply chains.

💫 Resources from Una

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