David Kern is an experienced professional with 20 years of proven success within procurement, real estate, capital oversight, and implementation of accounting/payment platforms. David currently serves as the Head of Global Procurement for TripAdvisor Media Group; supporting 20+ independent brands. Prior to TripAdvisor, David worked at Staples (13 years) holding several leadership roles. Most notable was the Director of North America Procurement, Supply Chain, and Supplier Management where he was responsible for building one of the largest third- party final-mile delivery networks within U.S and Canada. David will deliver a keynote presentation on Day 1 of CPO Rising 2019 entitled, “GIG, Liquid, Agile Employee Procurement Opportunities.” He recently spoke with Andrew Bartolini for an in-depth discussion.
Andrew Bartolini: How did you get into procurement and how did you move up into your current position today?
David Kern: I fell into procurement when I worked at Staples. I was at a point in my career where I had to decide if I wanted to work in public service (police and or fire department), or if I wanted to stay in corporate America. While working in Staples internal audit, I had an opportunity to take on an audit of our transportation division; and at the same time I was on a path to explore becoming a police officer. I quickly found in my audit that a transportation division at Staples really needed someone to manage the transportation portfolio for its final-mile delivery, which at the time was roughly thirty million dollars in annual spend. Staples leadership offered me this unique advancement position but I turned it down and chose to stay on the path of exploring becoming a police officer.
After successfully completing the Police Academy, I was once again approached and re-offered by Staples to take over the final-mile delivery supplier oversight function. Feeling as though I had accomplished a personal goal and could remain semi-active in helping the local community; I accepted the Staples offer and continued to volunteer as a Police officer. Over the next nine years, I led efforts to help grow the transportation portfolio to a half a billion dollars. It was during that course of time that I was able to recognize my own personal talents in driving value – whether it be through collaboration with vendors, or through identifying synergies to yield better service, expense, and overall healthiness for the space that I was overseeing.
AB: That’s awesome. So, it sounds like even though you were within a fairly well-established business, you really got great experience in managing a high growth business?
DK: In the span of nine years, I was able to see something later commonly known as transformation; and not even really see it – I actually lived in the middle of it. Staples has a well-defined North American final-mile delivery footprint; as that business started to grow within North America as one of the few next-day service providers, it was critical they continuously build out network capabilities. This included adding fleets and couriers on top of increasing the reliance on UPS/FedEx/USPS; along with other non-traditional modes of transportation. During that course of time, it was important to focus not only on domestic transportation growth, but expand into Canada and other international locations.
When you take all that explosive growth and scale into consideration, and you then layer in the purchase of Corporate Express, a large next day office supply corporate retailer, my role within transportation and transformation became instrumental overnight. I found my passion as a change agent focused on transforming different business operations and value add services. My mission was clear, to focus on driving a common service offering that provided the highest level of service at the lowest sustainable price. So when I hear about transformation as the new buzz word in today’s boardrooms, I quickly smile as I had an opportunity to experience transformation very early in my career – and for that I am extremely grateful.
AB: You’ve hit upon two great things: dealing with a fast-growth environment and merging organizations. What are some of the takeaways you have in bringing two organizations together and managing that change?
DK: When two companies merge, sometimes the assumption is that the acquired company doesn’t have the best processes; and so the acquirer may assume that what they’re doing is best in class. Taking this mindset can be a real disadvantage. Rather, taking time to seek to understand and brainstorm as a collective group, open and honestly, will often find that you both have solid best practices and process. It’s a matter of augmentation and tweaking to get to the best process for the combined entity going forward.
In addition to just seeking common ground and best way forward, it is critical that you approach opportunities by “looking underneath the hood with a trust-but-verify” mindset. This applies daily to procurement as we are constantly being pitched from a variety of sales folks. Information provided needs to be validated for accuracy of what is being sold and to confirm what is being purchased solves the business requirements. So when you start to look at bringing operations of like-minded intent and structure, you’ve got to make sure that you don’t overlook what you think or what you’re accustomed to thinking is the best process – everything we touch has opportunity for improvement.
AB: So talk about your current role and what’s happening at TripAdvisor.
DK: Awesome stuff; I started at TripAdvisor just under four years ago. It was a new role – they didn’t have a procurement team. It’s been an amazing journey, both professionally and personally, being part of such a great organization. What I probably learned the most is that companies like Trip have highly talented people who are willing to just roll up their sleeves and help do whatever they can whenever they can. It’s just fascinating to see how quickly things evolve, and how every day there’s something new to learn. Any day you’re not learning doesn’t put you behind, but it sure makes you have to catch up the next couple of days because the world is moving fast. There’s so much to learn and plenty ways to grow professionally – I truly feel very lucky to be part of the TripAdvisor team!
AB: As you look at the industry and the profession going forward, what are some of the things you see that are emerging and interesting, or some of the things that get you excited about working in the profession?
DK: I’m excited about the profession because it seems like it’s more of a new / growth area than an established defined function. What I mean by that is when you hear the word “procurement,” not everyone knows what it means; and for those that think they know I often get asked “what does TripAdvisor procure?” In my opinion, Procurement is simply explained as a core group of skills and experiences for which someone leverages and represent opportunities as an agent working on your behalf. The core focus is to secure an outcome that provide sustainable value for shareholders and or customers.
Independent of the basic efforts outlined above, Procurement is becoming not only a trusted partner but gaining valuable insights into operational aspects that not everyone within an organization can see or synergizes. Procurement professionals have a huge opportunity to acquire operational exposure and insights. Providing such insights to other business units that may not know internal opportunities/solutions exist can be ten times more valuable than saving a few points on a contract. I’m super excited about what procurement is becoming and will be in the future – value creation through process improvement, operational enhancements, and supplier value creation; combined driving meaningful shareholder and customer value.
AB: As an industry leader, what is some advice you can give to other professionals.
DK: One thing I love most about Trip Advisor is that we have a great culture, and a core focus on “acting like an owner.” This allows my team to talk with people about how procurement can drive variety of benefits and solutions. We see the operational enhancements that people don’t necessarily know exist because they either don’t know who to talk to, internally, or they don’t necessarily know where to start. Procurement can be that gateway into some really impactful things that will be meaningful to all folks – customers, shareholders, and employees.
AB: Thank you so much David!
DK: My pleasure, Andrew. I’m passionate for this space and I appreciate the opportunity to help others find Procurement and grow within their personal journey.
Post Script: Catch David’s keynote presentation, “GIG, Liquid, Agile Employee Procurement Opportunities,” on Day 1 at CPO Rising 2019 — next week!
