The Purchaser Interview Process Guide

P ROCUREMENT S UPPLY CHAIN T ECHNOLOGY

Interview Process guide

T H E P U R C H A S E R //

IT WAS A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK WITH THE PURCHASER TEAM AND I WAS AMAZED BY THE REACTION! I HAVE NEVER HAD SUCH A HIGH NUMBER OF VIEWS BEFORE, CLOSE TO 6K SO FAR” –

EVERY BRAND, EVERY ORGANISATION, EVERY LEADER HAS A STORY. WE TELL THEM

2

The Purchaser examines the trends and technologies impacting procurement and supply chain executives across all major industry sectors. It provides insight and analysis on those technologies driving change and explores how and why the role of procurement and supply chain leaders is evolving.

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

KARINE WAKSMAN, VODAFONE IRELAND

3

T H E P U R C H A S E R //

INTERVIEW PROCESS & NEXT STEPS

The Magazine: The Purchaseris published in digital format via a powerful HTML5 web player to deliver stunning graphics and rich media that can include video and animation to ensure an interactive audience experience. Coupled with our world-class design and unrivalled content, your story will look as good as it reads!

The Website: Once published, the interview will be hosted for 12 months on its own unique webpage via The Purchaser/Interviews.

The Social: Our creative team will create bespoke LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram social posts to enable all parties to share the content across their platforms. We will also share these with our own audience and our subscribers/followers. We encourage you to take the branded posts we provide and share them across your own personal and company network to promote the content, encourage engagement, and drive the conversation.

Partner Sponsorship: As discussed, all of the above is delivered entirely free based on invitations sent to your strategic partners and most valued vendors, offering them exclusive sponsorship positions in and around your content.

Benefits: With zero impact on your own marketing budget, the Partner Sponsorship model provides a no-obligation opportunity for key strategic partners, vendors and/or suppliers to showcase their brand, products, services and expertise to your story with a sponsored advertising campaign.

Impact: Involving your partners ensures your project reaches a wider audience.

We encourage each sponsor to take the branded posts we provide post-publication and share them across their own company pages to promote the content, encourage engagement, and drive the conversation.

Fact: 8 out of 10 companies use digital and social media as a part of their overall marketing and PR strategy. 83% of companies promote their business online, and 97% of these companies use LinkedIn. The opportunity to align their message and promote their services in line with your success story will be well received, regardless of their decision to participate or not in this opportunity.

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

The Interview: Scheduled at your convenience and with questions shared in advance, the interview is a laid-back, informal yet informative discussion with our editor to map out your story. Completed via a Zoom video call and captured in hi-res audio to allow us to easily convert it into draft content for the final written interview: Our first draft will be sent back to you and your team for approval before publishing as a 10-12 page Executive Interview feature in the next issue of The Purchaser magazine.

SUPPLIER INVITATION PROCESS

SUPPLIER GUIDE Primary Suppliers

Consultants & Knowledge Sharing

Top 10 by spend per annum

Technology, Strategy, Operations, Management, People, Tech-Hubs, Schools & Universities

Supply Chain Raw Materials, Manufacturing, Sub-Contractors, Warehouse, Distribution

Professional Services HR, Payroll, Insurance, Banking, Finance, Investment, Forecasting & Analysis, Legal

Technology Platforms & Software, Data & Analytics, Hardware & Infrastructure, Sales & Marketing

Other Partners Marketing & Sales Tech (CRM, for example) Telecoms and Networks Sustainability

4

5

T H E P U R C H A S E R //

WHY WORK WITH US?

We can’t wait to share your story with our audience and work together to promote the content via our magazines, website and social media platforms, but many clients go one step further and find additional benefits for the reasons outlined below…

Business: With a specific focus on the here and now, let us showcase your story’s impact on the overall business strategy and performance. Share with Senior Management, the Board and Internal Stakeholders to highlight the journey so far, spotlight key achievements and set out future plans and goals.

Team: We know there’s no ‘I’ in team, and every leader we interview has a great team behind them and a great team story to share. Highlight the part they’ve played and share the interview internally with every level of your organisation to promote this part of the success story around the people that really matter. A great internal PR tool!

Talent: Recruitment, skills, training and talent acquisition is a continuous leadership challenge. Use your interview to shout about why new talent should join your team.

– PAUL WILLOCKS, GROUP MARKETING MANAGER, CULINA GROUP THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

Personal: Share your journey with your peers, your network, and future employers!

Every interview is carefully crafted to promote your experience, career path and business journey so far.

“THE FINISHED ARTICLE WAS RECEIVED VERY WELL, LOOKED FANTASTIC, AND PERFECTLY DELIVERED ON OUR STORY AROUND IT IMPLEMENTATION AT CULINA GROUP. I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM AGAIN IN THE FUTURE”

Partnerships: Promote current partnerships via our Sponsorship model, and use the interview to your advantage to attract new business relationships and even investments.

From seasoned vendors to cool start-ups, finance and funding, and leveraging the knowledge of the right consultants.

6

7

T H E P U R C H A S E R //

EXECUTIVE INTERVIEWS – FAQs

The answers below should cover everything you need, but drop us a line if you have any other questions or concerns.

INTERVIEW PROCESS: Our executive interviews are underpinned by an in-depth and wide-ranging telephone conversation between you and our editor.

This should be a two-way discussion built around the questions already provided (see below), but also any topics you’re keen to discuss as the conversation unfolds. We like to allow one hour to give you the time needed, and we’ll take care of recording and transcribing the conversation.

number of supporting partners whose adverts we need to accommodate in the layouts.

TIMINGS: As mentioned in the interview process information above, we like to allow one hour for the interview and, apart from the approval process (see below), we don’t ask for too much more of your time. The overall production time frame ranges from 4-6 weeks depending on where we are in the cycle when first agreeing your project and how quickly we receive responses from the partners in terms of their own inclusions.

In short, we try and make the whole process as quick, easy and enjoyable as possible.

IMAGERY: To compliment the editorial and to allow us to produce the report to our high standards, we do ask for a range of hi-res images to be provided, including logos and your brand guidelines.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: Following an initial chat or a separate discussion with our Editor, Matt, you’ll be provided with 10-15 questions that act as key talking points and prompt the interview conversation. Any input or feedback on these questions is always gratefully received prior to interview.

If, for any reason, you cannot supply images to the required standard or we feel that the report could benefit from a choice of fresh images, we can arrange an onsite photographer (region dependant) and/or advice on how to capture the best possible images using a smartphone or digital camera.

changes or additions required. We ask that an edited and approved version of the article is returned to our team within three working days of you receiving the initial draft – please send imagery as specified above in the same email(s).

Twitter and Instagram. However, we also encourage you to share the content as you see fit, just remember to credit it back to us if putting it on your website or across your social media channels. We accept testimonials for our work as well! : )

We work to a strict monthly production schedule for our magazines. Within this cycle, the latest we will provide you with your first draft for editing is two weeks before publication date. In this instance, we would ask that the edited version and images are returned within the agreed time frame.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?

AUDIENCE: Your story will reach an audience that comprises our magazine readers, podcast listeners, website visitors and social media engagement, and consists of like-minded, executives, business leaders and c-level individuals and influencers. Our peer-to-peer content strategy puts you and your story in front of a potential audience of thousands and is designed to inform and entertain, but also create engagement and discussion.

At Stroud & Clarke we believe in the power of storytelling to create exceptional content for our readers. We pride ourselves on delivering our projects to the highest editorial and design standards and look forward to becoming your media partner of choice. If you have any questions about the executive interview series, or any of our other products and services, please don’t hesitate to contact us at enquiries@stroudandclarke.com

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

THE PURCHASER INTERVIEW PROCESS GUIDE

While the interview process is straightforward and we handle all parts of the production from start to finish, we find that a few common questions pop up during the initial planning stage and/or whilst you are making a final decision to work with us.

Our Media Kit gives you the numbers broken down, as well as more info on us and our products.

POST PUBLICATION RIGHTS: WORD COUNT: A typical executive interview reaches around 1,000 words (roughly 10-12 pages).

Naturally, this may change depending on factors such as the length of your interview and topics discussed through to the

8

APPROVAL PROCESS: The executive interview is a collaborative project between you and us. With that in mind you will always be sent a first draft of the proposed article to make any edits,

It’s pretty straightforward, we own the intellectual rights to our work and you have the right to share your brand’s content. We provide you with everything you need, post publication, to share the content, including bespoke social media posts for LinkedIn,

9

BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH US At Stroud & Clarke we believe in the power of storytelling to build brands, engage with audiences and inform the conversation. We produce creative content that provides insight, influences opinion and positions you at the forefront of your industry.

www.stroudandclarke.com