718: A Fresh Take on the Future of Procurement with The Hershey Company’s Sherry Ulsh

Art of Procurement

“You always really need to look at people, process, and technology. If you don’t look at all three and understand where you are and where you need to be in those areas, you are just going to be chasing.” - Sherry Ulsh, Director, Indirect Procurement, The Hershey Company

At the CoreTrust Conference in April 2024, Philip Ideson had the opportunity to sit down with Sherry Ulsh, Director of Indirect Procurement at The Hershey Company, about a wide range of topics, including her own journey from finance to procurement, the evolving role of GPOs, and the changing skill sets required in modern procurement roles.

Sherry shared her views on the importance of supplier relationship management and stakeholder management, both of which are reflected in her belief that procurement’s value and influence in the business are best realized when they achieve a balance of people, process, and technology.

In this episode, Sherry also shares her views on:

• How to define procurement’s value proposition across different industries and organizational models
• The evolving role of GPOs, and how utilization of the GPO model today differs from in the past
• Shaping internal and external perceptions of procurement’s value, and how, for example, CFOs and other C-suite leaders can influence procurement’s perceived value beyond cost savings

Links:

• Sherry Ulsh on LinkedIn
• Subscribe to This Week in Procurement