Inside Zip: Colin Glazier brings Apple innovation to Zip

At Zip, we know that procurement transformation isn’t achieved through technology alone—it requires deep expertise, and a commitment to guiding each customer’s unique path to peak performance.

This is why we’re proud to introduce our team of seasoned leaders, each bringing decades of procurement experience from industry giants like Apple, NASA, Discover Financial, and more.

Our team of experts dedicated their careers to understanding and overcoming the toughest challenges in procurement, and now they’re here to do the same for you. From pioneering strategic end-user workflows to demonstrating process efficiencies gained through cutting-edge orchestration, Zip’s team of procurement titans embody the spirit of smarter spend.

Meet Colin Glazier

Role: VP Advisory at Zip

Former Top Role: Sr. Manager at Apple, Inc.

What inspired you to join Zip and contribute your expertise?

I saw early on that Zip was a product that could transform how procurement works at nearly every company. It was deeply addressing a pain-point I had fought against throughout my career.

Can you share a memorable success story of an impactful project from your time in procurement?

I’ve had multiple opportunities in my career to solve problems at the source by doing radically different things or by going way upstream. 

One specific example was a massive ongoing cost for a specific type of product testing. We brought together a team to go upstream and build a version in-house that would cut costs by close to 90%. This took a lot of cross-functional work to land the right specs, design and build the product, and then deploy it globally to enable production. Over the first 5 years after launch it saved more than $1.2B dollars.

What advice would you give to companies looking to elevate their procurement strategies today?

When thinking about procurement strategies, you should invest energy in both small tactical improvements as well as 1-2 big transformational changes. Any procurement process or organization will inevitably build up dust, manual steps, and unnecessary bureaucracy over time. The only way to prevent atrophy is through approaching your procurement strategies from both angles.

What sets Zip apart in the market from your perspective as a procurement expert?

Zip is the only purpose-built procurement platform that can drive value for companies of all sizes with a breadth of functionality that can include a single intake use case or span the entire source-to-pay suite.

Which skills or focus areas are going to be most important for the future leaders of procurement?

They need to be Swiss Army Knives. To be an effective procurement leader you need to be a problem solver with a working knowledge of the entire business. You have to be able to understand and balance the business needs of requesters, the cross functional teams involved in the procurement process, the overall business goals of your organization, as well as the health and goals of their suppliers.

Ready to work with us?

It's time to find out how Zip can transform your procurement processes. Connect with our expert team to learn more.