Ep 230: Turning Human Relationships into Business Outcomes feat. Matthieu Garnier
From The Sourcing Hero by TheSourcingHero
December 17, 2025 · 29 min · Episode 230
About this episode
In this episode, Matthieu Garnier discusses the importance of human relationships in procurement and how they impact business outcomes.
Procurement may just be one of the most social functions in the company. Not only does the team have to interact successfully with the executive team, budget holders, other stakeholders, and suppliers, but they must do so without having authority over any of them. Their relational skills - including communication, negotiation, and influencing - are constantly being put to the test. In this episode of The Sourcing Hero podcast, Host Kelly Barner welcomes Matthieu Garnier. Mattheu has extensive procurement experience, including in the automotive industry, where the results of a negotiation or a relationship are felt long into the future. Matthieu shares his personal philosophy on the humanity of procurement, and why that will make all the difference as the world of business becomes increasingly AI-driven: The value of investing in a professional community Why procurement needs to develop their listening skills just as much as their communication and negotiation skills How to balance being relational with being tough, as circumstances require Procurement’s opportunity to ‘shine a light’ in the grey spaces that every company must travel through Links: Matthieu Garnier on LinkedIn
People in this episode
Host: Kelly Barner
Guest: Matthieu Garnier
Topics covered
- procurement
- human relationships
- business outcomes
- negotiation
- communication skills
- AI in business
Keywords
- procurement
- relationships
- negotiation
- communication
- AI
- listening skills
- business
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: automotive industry
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