[Webinar] Unlocking the potential of services spend management with Art of Procurement and Amway

Tuesday May 13th, 2025: Art of Procurement, Guidant Global and Amway came together digitally to discuss and share insight and advice on unlocking the hidden potential of services spend management.

The webinar featured an exceptional lineup of speakers who shared their expertise:

Cheri Vander Moren, Lead Indirect Sourcing Manager at Amway

Mark Sawicki, Senior Vice President at Guidant Global

Ben De Wulf, Client Solutions Architect at Guidant Global

Kelly Barner, Head of Content and Operations at Art of Procurement

Together, they tackled some of the most pressing questions in services spend management, including:

Who should own the value creation process associated with services?

How can procurement secure stakeholder buy-in from the outset?

What are the minimum standards and benefits that a program should deliver from day one?

How can strategies be structured to evolve as the program matures?

Watch the webinar recording here

Why services spend management matters

One of the central themes of the discussion was the untapped opportunity in managing services spend more effectively. While strategic partnerships often receive dedicated attention, a significant portion of services spend can fall into the category of "everything else." Leaving these expenditures unmanaged often results in missed opportunities for value creation and increased exposure to risks.

Our expert panel emphasized that addressing unmanaged services spend at scale not only drives business impact but also bolsters procurement's role in organizational decision-making. By taking the lead in this area, procurement professionals can elevate their visibility and credibility with executive leadership.

Sawicki stated that at a recent conference of around 60 procurement leaders, a show of hands showed that only 30% felt they had a really good grip of what was happening within their organization across the board.

“When you think about those best-in-class programs and organizations, those are the people that are taking a whole business approach right, thinking about procurement as collectively as possible and being collaborative.

So, when we think about setting that foundation - beginning that collective approach - starting where procurement has some significant influence. We are working with our clients to build engagement and advocacy, generate some results, and use that as a springboard to take it to other departments, functional areas, geographies, etc.

Building more of that utilization on over time, it can take between 2 and 4 years to get that whole business approach and really start optimizing in a more overarching way.”

Looking forward in optimizing services spend

The webinar highlighted that services spend management represents a massive opportunity for procurement teams to lead transformative change within their organizations.

By embracing this challenge, procurement leaders can not only drive business impact but also redefine their role as strategic enablers of success.

You can watch the webinar recording in full here.

Get in touch

Ready to unlock the full potential of services spend management in your organization?

Guidant Global’s experts are here to help you navigate this transformative journey and bring actionable insights to life. Contact us today to explore ways to elevate your procurement strategy and drive meaningful business impact via better services spend management.