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. Today’s episode of the Art of Procurement is the second in a two-part series with Jimmy focusing on the strategic management of cost.   Back in episode 102, Jimmy shared his tips for understanding cost and cost drivers to enable fact based sourcing negotiations.  Today, we shift focus, and discuss eight key steps that procurement professionals can take to manage and optimize costs once the contract has been signed. Areas we cover include: Should we have clauses in contracts that enable flexible pricing as major cost drivers change? If so, how should those be structured? Why a consumer price index (CPI) is the worst possible mechanism by which to adjust prices. The eight steps that procurement professionals can use to manage cost post contracting including Building a cost-management culture with your supplier Identifying the factors which have the biggest impact on the cost of a product or service How to reduce, change or eliminate activities that create costs. The importance of inherent capabilities in building a cost management culture across your procurement organization. For more information, visit: http://artofprocurement.com/postawardcost