Ep. 37 - The Biggest Trends in Procurement in 2021 So Far w/ Jason Soza, CPPO, CSSBB
Decisions That Matter: A Public Procurement PodcastShow Notes
Former Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) of the State of Alaska, Jason Soza, joined the podcast today to discuss the current trends and issues facing public procurement leaders across the country. As Vice President, West at Government Sourcing Solutions (GSS) Soza shares his knowledge from 20 years of experience in public procurement, starting as a frontline buyer for Alaska and ascending to CPO in 2013. Active in national procurement organizations, Soza was elected by his peers in 2018 as President of the National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO).
In his role with the State of Alaska, Soza was responsible for the oversight of all goods and services purchases, inventory, and property disposal by all executive branch agencies across a very geographically diverse and challenging state. He also undertook several initiatives to transform Alaska's procurement function, starting with the formation of a cross-agency procurement officer group to increase communication and idea sharing, breaking down silos, and fostering new inter-agency relationships. These initiatives significantly increased spend under management, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in additional savings over his tenure.
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Becca's goal is to elevate the role of public procurement by bringing buyers together on the Procurated platform and making it easy for them to share insights and find great suppliers. She leads the product, design, engineering, marketing, and community functions for the company. Together, her team discovers new ways to solve user problems, builds innovative solutions, and develops creative strategies to drive engagement with the government and supplier communities served by Procurated.