Author: Kavita Cooper (CEO)

Following a strong start to our Lunch and Learn series, our second Lunch and Learn session explored an area that many procurement professionals find uniquely challenging: Marketing Procurement.

Led by Nina Chandé, a Marketing Procurement experts with over two decades of experience, the session was a deep dive into the common pitfalls that prevent marketing procurement from reaching its full potential and how we can flip those mistakes into meaningful impact. Nina opened with a simple but powerful thought: “Logic makes us think but emotion makes us act. Procurement needs both.” That quote anchored the entire conversation.

Marketing today is more complex than ever. From digital spend to influencer campaigns and media buying, there are countless decisions being made at pace. When things go wrong, the costs are not just financial. They can impact brand reputation, customer trust and long term growth. That is why getting procurement’s role right matters more than ever.

Nina unpacked five of the most common mistakes organisations make when approaching marketing procurement. These often stem from a traditional mindset that does not suit this fast moving, relationship led category.

The first mistake is chasing savings over strategy. Too often, marketing spend is managed with a cost cutting lens rather than a value creation one. The fix lies in aligning procurement with marketing’s wider business goals. It is not about squeezing suppliers. It is about enabling outcomes that matter like brand reach, customer engagement and revenue growth.

Next, we discussed the tendency to treat agencies like vendors. Marketing success depends on creativity, agility and collaboration. One sided negotiations that prioritise control over partnership can damage outcomes. Nina encouraged procurement professionals to build agency relationships with shared KPIs, mutual transparency and a long term mindset.

Artificial intelligence was another strong theme. A common mistake is ignoring or rushing AI adoption. Tools are often introduced without clarity on why or without assessing whether teams are ready. The message was clear. Get on the bus with AI but do it with purpose. Audit where you are, align your tools with the right people and skills and make sure AI supports your strategy rather than just your processes.

We also explored the issue of negotiating to win alone. Adversarial price only negotiations rarely deliver lasting value. Instead, Nina spoke about the power of collaborative negotiation. This means co-creating solutions, understanding the psychology behind stakeholder needs and investing in negotiation skills. There are plenty of tools available but human touch and trust still matter. Procurement teams should not hesitate to ask for training in this space. It is not just a skill. It is an art.

Another recurring challenge is operating in isolation from marketing and digital. Many procurement teams are brought in too late, often after key decisions have already been made. Nina emphasised the importance of embedding procurement earlier in the planning process. That way we can shape strategy, support innovation and build integrated outcomes that work for the whole organisation.

Throughout the session Nina offered practical ways to reframe how we approach marketing procurement. She spoke about the need to shape strategy with stakeholders, build meaningful partnerships, run purposeful pilots, co create value and embed procurement early where it can make the greatest difference.

This was not just a list of tips. It was a mindset shift. Marketing procurement is not about controlling spend. It is about unlocking potential.

Thank you to Nina for a session full of energy, honesty and actionable advice. A big thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to a lively and thoughtful conversation. We are now getting ready for our next Lunch and Learn on 11th July at 12:30 pm BST with Verónica Celis, CEO and Founder of Valumia. She will lead a session on “Why Your Supply Chain Might Be a Time Bomb and How to Defuse It”. We will explore supply chain risk and how greater transparency can help organisations act before issues escalate.

Let us keep learning one lunch break at a time.

This year we have launched our new Lunch and Learn series.

Over the coming months, we are inviting experts in their field to share their experience and expertise in a relaxed informal sessions. Our listeners can tune in and listen whilst enjoying a bite to eat, or when in-between meetings or even catch-up offline. For those joining LIVE there will always be an opportunity to ask questions to learn more, with key takeaways being captured and shared after the call.

The series will cover various conversations on current topics ranging from procurement and supply-chain, technology, risk management, leadership to simply navigating change at work.

Our first guest was Harinder Bansal, Head of Procurement at Motability Operations Ltd, who joined us to share insights on “Practical Ways to Manage your IT Contracts in 2025”. While contracts might not sound like the most exciting lunchtime topic, Harinder proved otherwise. His advice was relatable, practical and rooted in real-life challenges procurement and IT teams face every day.

One of the first topics he highlighted was the importance of starting early. Leaving contract renewals to the last minute shifts all the power to the supplier. Starting several months ahead opens up room to explore alternatives, benchmark offers and enter conversations with a clear plan.

Visibility came up time and again. Knowing which contracts are exposed to inflation, when renewals are due and where risks lie allows procurement to stay ahead of issues rather than reacting to them. More importantly, it gives internal stakeholders confidence that someone is managing the details.

Another major theme was collaboration. Procurement should not be working in a silo. The most effective contract strategies are built in partnership with IT, Finance, IT Asset Management and FinOps. These relationships help create shared plans, uncover hidden risks and deliver better outcomes for the business.

Data also plays a key role. While many tools now use AI to manage contracts, Harinder reminded us that technology is only useful if the data it relies on is accurate and well structured. Poor quality data leads to poor quality decisions. Getting the basics right is still essential.

Throughout the session, Harinder encouraged curiosity. Just because a supplier proposes a certain pricing model or index does not mean it must be accepted. Ask why CPI is being used. Question whether a per-user licence model fits the organisation’s needs. These small challenges often lead to better terms.

Understanding supplier motivations was another strong message. Knowing how a supplier is targeted, whether they are under pressure to push a certain product or whether they are trying to grow in a specific region can provide useful leverage during negotiation.

Risk management was a consistent thread. From auto-renewals and vague contract terms to performance issues and misaligned roadmaps, there are many ways contracts can become a problem if not managed closely. Staying ahead of these risks is vital.

Perhaps the most important takeaway was this: procurement should aim to be a partner to the business. Being flexible, collaborative and solutions-focused builds trust. It also ensures procurement is seen as an enabler rather than an obstacle.

This first session in our Lunch and Learn series delivered exactly what we hoped for, practical insights, engaging conversation and ideas that people can take away and apply straight away.

Future sessions will explore a wide range of themes, and we welcome anyone who has something valuable to share or a topic they would like to explore. If there is something worth learning, we want to hear about it. Let us keep using lunch breaks to learn, connect and grow, one conversation at a time.

Join us for our next Lunch and Learn scheduled for 30 May with Nina Chande, a Marketing Procurement Expert with over 20 years’ experience in Sales, Marketing, Media and Marketing Procurement.

Technology is rapidly becoming an integral part of procurement, transforming how businesses manage their buying processes, enhance transparency, organise suppliers, contracts and drive efficiency.  Procurement and Finance Leaders are realising the benefit of leveraging technology in the same way they streamlined accounting and financial governance through finance SaaS solutions.  At Novo-K, we have taken the same concept and used a different approach—one driven by our hands-on experience.

As procurement practitioners working across private and public sectors, we understand the unique challenges organisations face. This first-hand knowledge inspired us to build BuyingStation, a platform that speaks directly to the needs of organisations with and without procurement professionals.  From complex supply chains to resource limitations, hundreds (sometimes thousands) of contracts to manage to non-compliant suppliers, we know what really works in the field. BuyingStation was designed to simplify procurement processes and provide greater clarity, give back control and inspire confidence, helping organisations achieve more with less.

Test-Drive BuyingStation for Free

We know that experiencing a product first-hand makes all the difference which is why we’ve introduced the option to test-drive BuyingStation for free. You can have access to all the modules and features where users can explore our platform for three days at no cost. It’s the perfect way to see how BuyingStation can simplify your procurement processes, improve traceability and enhance overall performance.

AI Flexibility and Custom Branding Options

BuyingStation has incorporated AI to help design simple quotation and tender requests to speed up those important purchases and help those new to procurement or not familiar with running a tender.  You can turn this feature on or off depending on your needs.

All Included

At Novo-K, we are all about providing solutions that meet the real-world needs of procurement.  Whether it’s managing supplier relationships or ensuring transparency across the board, BuyingStation has been designed to tackle the complexities of modern procurement head-on. Once you have taken it for a test drive, the good news is that you can sign up for the full suite of services for £649 per month with only one month’s subscription commitment.  This means you will have full access to:

• Contract Management
• Supplier Management
• Quotations & Tenders
• Project Pipeline
• Risk Assessments
• Savings & Spend Tracking

 

If you would like a personal demonstration of BuyingStation.com or have any questions, please contact the team on 0330 139 7969 or email buyingstation@novo-k.com

In 2015, I started Novo-K with a view to take corporate sector methodology and distil it down for medium-sized enterprises and charitable organisations. In the years that followed, we recognised the need to consolidate contract and supplier information so that these organisations could gain real clarity over their third-party spending. We noticed that the available tools in the market were inaccessible to these organisations, primarily due to cost.

In the early days at Novo-K, we helped clients by building procurement portals on SharePoint and internal systems for accessing critical and BAU procurement information. It was a step in the right direction, however, over time, we realised it’s lack of scalability and recognised more work was needed. We required a solution that was not only easy to use, with the right functionality but also capable of delivering tangible ROI for our clients. So the journey to create a proprietary system began, resulting in BuyingStation.

BuyingStation allows organisations to gain Clarity across their third party spend, have the right Control in place and ultimately, have the Confidence that they are working with the right suppliers in the right way.

Designed and developed by procurement practitioners who have worked with a diverse range of clients. We understand the needs of both procurement and non-procurement professionals. By listening to our clients, studying market trends and identifying areas for improvement, we have developed technology that streamlines procurement processes, delivering savings and increased efficiencies through one centralised platform. BuyingStation brings together Contract Management, Supplier Onboarding, Project Pipeline, Spend Tracking and the ability to build Quotations and Tenders using AI.

Traditional procurement platforms often adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, with typically only 10% of their functionality utilised, while organisations are charged for all features. At BuyingStation we have prioritised affordability and ROI. With simplified terminology and a user-friendly interface, our platform empowers both procurement professionals and non-specialists to leverage its full potential, maximising value at a cost that also aligns with the budgets of small and medium sized businesses.

At its core, BuyingStation is all about simplicity, with our ethos being Keep it simple. We have stripped away the unnecessary bells and whistles that often bog down other procurement tools, focusing instead on delivering the essential functionality that businesses need to succeed.

But simplicity does not mean sacrificing power. BuyingStation is packed with advanced features and capabilities, all carefully designed to streamline the procurement processes and drive better outcomes.

www.buyingstation.com