Building your Personal Brand – Tom Mills from Procurement Bites

The Procurement Software Podcast

In this episode of the show, host James Meads is joined by LinkedIn "royalty" Tom Mills. Tom is Head of Procurement at Bibby Financial Services and runs his own Substack newsletter called Procurement Bites.

Personal Branding in Digital Procurement – Tom Mills

He's built a great personal brand online and has over 30,000 followers on LinkedIn. He's here to share some advice on personal branding, the digital procurement market and how building your brand can really help you to own and shape both your personal and career development.

Timestamps:

2:04 A unique blend of direct and indirect buying.

• A unique blend of direct and indirect buying.
• How procurement can be done badly.

4:11 Why do you need a personal brand?

• Building a personal brand in the procurement industry.
• The personal brand is important.

6:39 The definition of a personal brand.

• Building a personal brand is about building a personality.
• Personal brand is not fake.

9:27 Using social media to help others learn.

• Mentors and influencers in the early 2000s procurement space.
• Formal learning and development.
• Procurement professionals need to develop a network.
• Prioritise and prioritise.

15:06 Online resources for building your network.

• Virtual content, procurement & supply chain conferences and online resources.
• The difference between 20 years ago and the situation now.

17:44 Is CIPS (or any other qualification) necessary?

• It's one option but shouldn't be seen as the only option.
• Growth of CIPS in the Middle East and Africa.
• Tackling the topic of the "procurement dinosaur".

20:21 The problem with the dinosaur metaphor.

• The two-fold age metaphor for procurement.
• The importance of being very clear.

22:54 Who do you stand for against?

• Tom and James discuss a few things that they stand for and against.
• What are the most lacking skills in procurement?

25:19 The role of internal processes and governance in procurement.

• The biggest challenge in driving digital transformation in procurement.
• The four options to drive digital transformation.
• One wish to drive procurement into the 21st century.
• How to connect with Tom.

And that wraps up another episode of the Procuretech Podcast! Thanks to Tom for sharing his insights with us today, and big thanks to you for listening. We'll be back at the same time next week, so see you there. If you want to learn more about Tom or get in touch with us, check out the useful links below.

Stay in touch!

• Connect with Tom on LinkedIn
• Check out Tom on substack
• Download our Tech Map for Enterprise
• Download our Tech Map for Mid-Market
• Download our Tech Map for SMEs
• Find your perfect procurement tech solution in our Software Finder app
• Sign up for the Procurement Software Newsletter
• Book an Intro Call and let’s talk all things Digital Procurement!
• Connect with James on LinkedIn