Jimmy Anklesaria is one of the most prominent thought leaders in procurement today.  Jimmy is considered by many as the go-to expert when it comes to the strategic management of cost. He literally wrote the book (well, two books), and regularly travels the globe helping organizations reduce their third party costs.  Importantly, he does this not through the leveraging of power but by using data as the foundation of fact based sourcing and continuous improvement.  Jimmy had so much information to share that we recorded two separate shows!  These cover the strategic management of cost from initial sourcing to end of contract.  Today, we focus on the initial sourcing and negotiation process. Jimmy shares a number of insights, including: Why as a young company Director he did not understand the importance of procurement, and what his light bulb moment was. The most important part of the negotiation process Why business deals have to be win-win to be sustainable over the long term What a procurement professional can do to better understand the cost of a product or service before they begin a negotiation How you can use publicly available information to develop should-cost models based on understanding key cost drivers Whether you need to pay for data or not. Why, while you can acquire data from third parties or a central COE, a procurement professional must not abdicate responsibility for understanding the costs and cost drivers of a product or service. This conversation was an eye-opener for me, particularly as we consider how to apply cost management techniques that are prevalent in the procurement of Direct materials to Indirect services. For more information, visit http://artofprocurement.com/costmanagement