Vizient, Inc
Vice President, Contract Operations & Member Input
Bio
Peggy Kaufman is vice president, contract operations and member input. As a leader within Vizient’s Sourcing Center of Excellence, Kaufman provides end-to-end leadership and strategic guidance for all people, process and technology components that power the company’s competitive contract process. This includes instilling rigor, discipline and advanced data-driven insights into all facets of Vizient’s national bid process; administering process-related training and education activities; overseeing the structure, logistics and operations of Vizient’s member input channels through the company’s extensive, multi-discipline member council program; guiding the Contract Value Realization team’s efforts to accelerate contract value availability in all member systems, tools and applications; and championing the ongoing use of sophisticated data and advanced analytics to develop actionable intelligence that drives continuity of contract value, coverage and processes throughout the contract lifecycle.
Having joined the family of companies in 2003, Kaufman has since held a number of positions with increasing responsibility within Vizient’s contract process and technology team. During her tenure, she has delivered support and direction on all aspects of the contracting process, contract management and eSourcing technology to contracting teams. Kaufman has also played a key role centralizing aspects of the contracting process; incorporating industry-leading business intelligence strategies into processes designed to equip negotiators with actionable data; serving as key liaison between sourcing and IT/systems teams to ensure the success of all stakeholders to achieve results; and embedding continuous improvement into all sourcing related activities.
Prior to joining Vizient, Kaufman managed procurement activities for Duke University, where she partnered with end-users at the university and Duke University Medical Center to uphold judicious purchasing practices.
Kaufman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Duke University in Medieval and Renaissance studies and art history.
What is your professional background and how did you become involved in the world of commerce and contracting?
I began my career in the Procurement Department at Duke University right out of college; I got my start on the Accounts Payable team, which was my introduction to supply chain and contracting. I’ve been with Vizient, the nation’s leading health care performance improvement company, for over 17 years, and I’ve had the privilege of growing my career in the company. Throughout my time at Vizient, I’ve always been involved in sourcing and competitive procurement processes. Today, I lead our Contract Operations and Member Input team within the framework of our Sourcing Center of Excellence. My team and I have responsibility for all of the processes and analytics involved in supporting Vizient’s rigorous competitive contracting process, as well as the technology that supports our national contracting activities.
What are two personal achievements and contributions through your career.
My career path has been a good example of the difference that leading in technology and raising the reputation of contracting can make. I often joke that when I began my career in sourcing, the tools of conducting a bid were the “Four F’s”: floppy disks, FedEx packages, fax machines, and filing cabinets. All the way back in 2004, though, we began implementing our first eSourcing solution, and it’s been an exciting journey to be part of Vizient’s leadership role in embracing technology in sourcing and contracting. At the beginning of my career I was on the front lines of implementing our eSourcing and Contract Lifecycle Management tools; as I’ve grown in my career, I’ve been at the forefront of crafting the strategy for our overarching technology footprint in this critical space for Vizient. I think of myself as an evangelist for driving technology, data, and metrics-driven decision making throughout the organization. Another critical aspect of my role is to serve as a point of connection and translation between the operational side of our sourcing business and the other teams we work with. I have cultivated strong working relationships with peers and leaders in our technology, development, legal, and sales organizations to ensure our collective success.
Covid-19 has illustrated the critical importance of helping women to realise their professional aspirations - what role have you played or are you currently playing within your organization to support women in their roles?
I’m proud of Vizient’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and I’ve been honored to be able to play a role in that work. I lead a talented, diverse team with expertise in all aspects of the contracting process and supporting technology, from registered nurses who are experts on the health care products we contract for, to database administrators who keep all of our contract data healthy and accessible to all stakeholders. I have the privilege of formally leading and mentoring many promising women in my own organization and elsewhere in the enterprise, as well as more informal coaching opportunities that often crop up. I’m a member of Vizient’s Gender Equality DNA group, which promotes awareness around the importance of achieving greater gender equality via equal access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender. I’m also a member of Professional Women in Healthcare, and was excited to be asked to sit on a panel earlier this summer to discuss the importance of mentoring in women’s careers.