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Smart Supplier Relationships: The New Engine of Sustainable Supply Chains
Season 2 Episode 84
In this week’s episode of the Sustainable Supply Chain Podcast, I sit down with Sam Jenks, Chief Revenue Officer at Kodiak Hub, to explore why supplier relationship management (SRM) is no longer a “nice-to-have” but a mission-critical capability.
Sam shares his journey in procurement technology and explains why traditional supplier management approaches, spreadsheets, siloed systems, tick-box compliance, are no longer fit for purpose in today’s volatile, uncertain, and sustainability-driven landscape. He makes a compelling case for treating supplier relationships as strategic assets, not transactions, and shows how stronger data, collaboration, and lifecycle thinking can unlock resilience, innovation, and measurable sustainability impact.
We talk about how poor quality directly undermines sustainability, why procurement must think beyond ROI to the “cost of inaction,” and how AI, particularly agentic AI, will reshape the way organisations capture insights, manage risk, and reduce emissions across complex supply bases. Sam also points out that most procurement teams still only secure a fraction of the technology they need, and offers advice on building the business case for smarter SRM.
If your organisation is serious about Scope 3 emissions, resilient sourcing, or extracting real value from supplier collaboration, this conversation is for you. It’s about moving past compliance checklists and building supplier partnerships that deliver long-term advantage.
Tune in and discover why SRM might just be the most powerful lever in your supply chain strategy.
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Published on 1 week ago