Biggest Challenges Faced by a Senior Sourcing Analyst at NASCAR
Giovanni's biggest challenges as a Senior Sourcing Analyst at NASCAR stemmed from the sport's fast-paced nature, requiring constant readiness for upcoming races, and the difficulties of implementing a new procurement process within a company where "we've always done it this way" attitude often prevailed, making change management and stakeholder buy-in crucial for success. Ultimately, ensuring people understood that the changes were for "the betterment of the company as a whole" proved to be a significant hurdle.
Change Management, Fast-Paced Environment, Stakeholder Communication, Procurement, Overcoming Resistance to Change
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Giovanni Pieve
Senior Sourcing Analyst (former)
NASCAR
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey
Arizona State University (ASU) - W. P. Carey: MBA
Engineering - Aerospace
Sports & Fitness, Technology
Operations and Project Management
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. The fast-paced nature of NASCAR, with races almost every weekend, requires constant preparedness and the ability to manage spending and logistics for multiple events simultaneously.
2. Implementing procurement within NASCAR presented change management challenges, requiring managing resistance to new processes and demonstrating the benefits of changes to stakeholders accustomed to established ways of doing things.
3. Overcoming the 'we've always done it this way' mentality is crucial when introducing new processes, emphasizing the importance of clear communication, stakeholder inclusion, and demonstrating the overall improvement for the company.
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your role?
The biggest challenge, and there are a couple of them, is that sports move fast. NASCAR has 38 race weekends a year for the top division. Other divisions have their own race weekends, bringing the total closer to 41 or 42 race weekends annually.
There are only 52 weeks in a year, so the sport moves fast. It's not just about the cars going fast on the track; you have to always be on top of things. We might be spending money for an upcoming race at one track, but we must be ready for the race the following week, as another track is hosting a race then.
Other motorsports might race once every three to four weeks. However, once the NASCAR season starts, there's a race every weekend until the championship in November.
Another challenge was that procurement was still new to NASCAR. When something new is implemented in any company, change management is important. It's crucial to set expectations and ensure people understand the changes that will be implemented.
You want to get feedback from people and make sure they feel included. However, sometimes the attitude of "we've always done it this way" tends to permeate. This isn't just a NASCAR thing; it's common in every company, and it can be tough to break through.
It's hard for stakeholders to see how the changes you're making are an improvement for the company as a whole when it might not seem like it for them initially. It's a big challenge to manage the change and ensure people understand that the changes you're making are for the betterment of the company.