CPOstrategy Magazine - Issue 19

Precision railroading and procurement maturity

I s s ue 1 9 • w w w.c p o strate g y.co m

How can digital procurement manage organisational goals?

A match made in AI heaven

Partnering to procure value —Alan Rankin, CPO of STADA

Exe cut ive In si g hts

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Tania Seary

VP of transformation at Virgin Media, put people first in digital transformation

Founder of Procurious, on ‘falling in love’ with procurement

For one last time in 2020…

Hello and welcome to the final CPOstrategy Magazine of 2020 (issue 19 if you’re keeping count!)

EDITOR IN CHIEF Andrew Woods

EDITOR Cover star Alan Rankin, CPO of STADA, discusses how a procurement journey aims to truly cement STADA as a world-leading procurement organisation.

We explore what a ‘world-class’ procurement organisation entails and how that enables a future of growth for STADA. “It’s a massive transformation in the sense that you’re building the plane, but you’re also flying the plane.

So it’s a question of transform and perform,” he says.

Elsewhere, we have an exclusive feature on CSA Group.

Four years into a massive procurement transformation journey, we catch up with Manny Satija, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Supply Chain, and the man in charge of bringing this journey to life through experience and a transformational mindset.

We also speak with Paul Harridine VP of Procurement and Supply Management at CN, as he praises the resilience of his procurement team in delivering procurement efficiencies during what has been a most challenging year.

Rounding out the magazine, Dave Brittain of Amazon Business looks at how digital procurement can help manage organisational goals, we look at the five worst practices in procurement as compiled by the GEP and Greg Watts tells us why AI and procurement is a match made in heaven.

Enjoy the issue!

Dale Benton, Editor content@b2e-media.com

Dale Benton

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER Callum Rivett

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Nell Walker Kevin Davies

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dhruti Vithani

CREATIVE LEAD Mitchell Park

VP GLOBAL FINTECH & INSURTECH Alex Page

VP TECHNOLOGY Andy Lloyd Craig Daniels

VP PROCUREMENT Heykel Ouni Greg Churchill Richard Deane

PRESIDENT & CEO Kiron Chavda

Contents

26

Amazon Business: How digital procurement can help manage organisational goals

6

STADA: Partnering to procure value

36

CN: Precision railroading and procurement maturity

78

Five worst practices in procurement

52

Findr: A match made in AI heaven

64

CSA: Procurement necessity www.cpostrategy.com

5

Partnering to procure value

Alan Rankin, CPO of STADA, discusses how a procurement journey will cement STADA as a world-leading procurement organisation...

Written by

Dale Benton

Produced by

Heykel Ouni

STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

www.cpostrategy.com

7

W

hen Alan Rankin joined STADA Arzneimittel almost two years ago as chief

procurement officer, he had a clear goal in mind: to draw on his extensive experience at life science giants such as Novartis and BASF to create a best-in-class procurement function at the German generics and consumer healthcare specialist.”

What does it mean to have a best in class procurement function? There is no single definition that can be applied to every procurement function in every business in every industry in every part of the world. Procurement maturity and what it means to be best in class is constantly shifting and evolving over time so much that by the time a journey towards maturity starts, the very parameters that a business is working towards will have already begun to change. This is in reality, a reflection of the fluidity of procurement. It cannot stand still as the

itself. “Category management is the

world around it moves which brings us full

engine of procurement, however, the

circle again. The quest for procurement

business doesn’t think in categories,”

maturity is one defined by the need to be

explains Rankin. “But this is how procure-

able to react to business needs and in

ment puts things together, and it’s how

most cases, be one step ahead of them.

they drive things. The best explanation

In order to do that, procurement needs

I’ve heard of category management is

to be better aligned with all areas of the

that you have business that creates

business, it requires a strong team and it

demand, a market that creates supply

requires a greater understanding of the

and your category strategy puts those

responsibility and the role of procurement

two things into balance to create value,

STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

which I think is a remarkably simple

and ultimately maintaining that purpose

explanation of what it is you really need

has been the company’s relationships

to do in procurement.”

with key suppliers and customers.

As a leading manufacturer of high-qual-

STADA’s procurement transformation

ity pharmaceuticals and a long-standing

program aims to strengthen and build

heritage rooted in pharmacies, STADA

on those relationships, driving value

has established itself as a ‘reliable and

and innovation.

trustworthy partner for 125 years.’ In fact

“What makes the difference is actually

this goes to the heart of the company

understanding your own business, and

purpose, ‘Caring for people’s health as a

understanding how the demand is gener-

trusted partner’. A key part of establishing

ated,” he says. “It amazes me how very www.cpostrategy.com

9

We succeed together.

CPOstrategy catches up with Frederic Brunner, CEO and Founder of disruptive consultancy Genioo, to see how its unique approach to project-success enablement helps clients to dream big and succeed…

765+ PROJECTS

SWITZERLAND Genioo AG Bundesplatz 1 CH-6300 Zug Tel: +41 41 410 72 72

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AMERICAS/USA Genioo LLC 51 Melcher Street, Boston, MA 02210 Tel: +1 (212) 989 3113

34

PROJECTS EXECUTED IN COUNTRIES

AMERICAS/USA Genioo LLC 348 West 14th Street, Third Floor, New York, NY 10014 Tel: (212) 989-3113

GERMANY Genioo Germany GmbH Lyoner Str. 14, D-60528 Frankfurt am Main Tel: +41 41 410 72 72

It’s easy, when your eyes are fixed firmly on the prize, to underestimate the importance of innovative and disciplined program management.

A staggering 70% of projects fail, a statistic that underlines the importance of effective and smart project management in delivering the innovations that could transform your business.

The bigger the ambition, the more vital project management becomes in delivering those aims.

Genioo is a disruptive and intelligent project management consultancy that helps deliver genuine value for its clients’ critical projects through an innovative, reengineered process that has success built in from the very start. “I am passionate about seeing critical projects come to fruition,” says Genioo CEO and Founder Frederic Brunner. “Projects, and the benefits that arise from them, are universal drivers of change that can transform, innovate and improve operations, in any field or geography. They transport you to the future you imagined.”

A unique approach Brunner has worked for some of the biggest names in the field.

An experienced entrepreneur, with a strong track record in life sciences and management consultancy, he started Genioo in 2012, with the aim of helping clients create exciting futures for their companies through transformative programs.

Genioo’s approach to helping clients deliver change is unique, combining the rigor of

consulting, the agility of staffing, and the power of enablement by coaching on the job. “This unique combination allows us to deploy a talented and agile multi-disciplinary team carefully selected from over a thousand consultants, independent professionals and SMEs in an orchestrated manner,” Brunner explains.. “We help clients shape every aspect of project delivery from achieving buy-in, managing expectations, evaluating client feasibility, and ensuring orchestration and logistics, through a reverse- engineered process that works backward from the original ambition.”

Genioo customises the entire program and we fully support our clients’ transition to the new. “Success comes when the project, and its ambitions, are fully hard-wired into how the company works,” says Brunner.

‘Go for Wow’ is a concept embedded in Genioo’s values.

“Either you feel its wow, and you want more of it, or you don’t feel its wow. It’s a very simple test,” Brunner explains. “For me, the best moment is when people are wowed, and this is only reachable through a perfect combination of the client’s force and our own.

The trick is in creating a desirable version of the future, because the moment the client can see a future in front of them, that they like, they then see what we do as an enablement to get to that future.”

STADA: a companywide transformation Genioo enjoys an ongoing relationship with STADA, a

leading manufacturer of highquality pharmaceuticals; the two working together on STADA’s recent transformation journey.

The relationship had a strong partnership focus from the very beginning, enabling STADA executives and managers to think and plan together, with their teams, on how to implement their vision. In a second phase, the partnership was more focused on enabling STADA to design and implement the modules needed to successfully transform.

Genioo helped STADA across many of its internal operations and functions, including the restructuring of the procurement function. “ We have a deep and trusted relationship with STADA, a relationship we aspire to have with all our clients,” Brunner enthuses of the ongoing work with the pharmaceutical. “It’s a real partnership in the purest sense of the word, where you give before you get. To achieve something worthwhile you need to align on achieving these goals.

We work and solve problems together. We have a one-team approach. There’s no STADA or Genioo team, instead there’s a project team consisting of STADA and Genioo people. If it’s not working, we fail together, and if it is working, we succeed together.

It really is the best feeling!”

Find out more www.genioo.com info@genioo.com company/Genioo

w w w. c po s trateg y. co m

11

“ What makes the difference is actually understanding your own business, and understanding how the demand is generated.”

— A l an R a nki n CP O, STA DA

STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

few procurement people understand that. If you master your own business and understand how your demand is generated, and you have that level of curiosity to lean in, then you will be much more successful than the person who focuses on suppliers and markets.”

In 2017, STADA was bought out by two private equity groups Bain and Cinven.

It’s rare that we hear of the difference in how procurement is viewed and how it views the wider business in the private equity space and Rankin admits that his own understanding as to what the ‘private equity lens’ was prior to working with STADA has been turned on its head.

For him, procurement in private equity means one thing; speed to value. Like any journey, Rankin had clear goals and money-driven results that he needed to deliver along this roadmap, but developing a best-in-class procurement function that has the capacity to deliver on speed to value was and still remains a vital goal.

“We had to look very carefully at where we needed to invest across the business in order to generate the maximum return as quickly as possible, and it was pretty clear it was speed to value,” he says.

When you’re in that dynamic, it’s all about partnership, and working together finding the best way to work with partners to generate the maximum amount of value www.cpostrategy.com

13

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STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

www.aenova-group.com

in the shortest time frame.”

he says. “When we then executed a

With the goal of speed to value in mind,

project, it was much easier to see how

STADA required a key partner that could

the new processes put in place would

help not only take the first steps of this

fit with the overall procurement vision.”

journey, but work closely with STADA

Through this relationship, procurement

every step of the way towards procure-

has been able to generate value much

ment maturity. Here he speaks of a

quicker from consumables purchases,

partnership with Genioo that, from the

while simultaneously managing demand

outset and to this very day, allows STADA

more efficiently.

to leverage experience and knowledge

“It’s all about speed. To actually go out

while continuing to deliver key successes.

and recruit that ability into the organi-

“Working with Genioo was a different

sation. To be able to get new procure-

experience because they spent time

ment strategies in place very quickly and

working on the vision of the future, and

to search for opportunities effectively

acting as a sparring partner before we

across a very fragmented landscape in

went into working on projects together,”

the business all the while working with www.cpostrategy.com

15

multiple business models, it would take a huge amount of time. Speed to value is so important for STADA and, like I said before, finding the right partner for the job. The right partner for us was and continues to be, Genioo in every regard.” adds Rankin.

“I think that has been the key learning for me in STADA working with this private equity lens. It’s all about, understanding how you can partner with the right people and make the right decisions to bring the best companies in to take you from low maturity to best in class fast.”

Zooming out and looking at the broader journey that Rankin had embarked upon, STADA was looking to move away from an operational and transactional approach to procurement while also breaking the

parts of a fragmented business to bring

traditional and somewhat fragmented

them together as One STADA. At the

nature of procurement throughout the

heart of this is One STADA Procurement.

business. Not unlike many other procure-

Rankin was looking at evolving the low

ment transformation projects, Rankin is

maturity level of procurement to new

here to connect the dots across disparate

best in class heights, and to even begin

“ It’s all about partnership, and working together finding the best way to work with partners to generate the maximum amount of value in the shortest time frame.”

— A l an Ra n k i n C P O, STADA STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

phrases and technology jargon. Rankin is all too aware of this and nips that in the bud. “Sure, we are bringing STADA more into the 21st century by being able to digitalise cataloging and channeling or being able to do good source-to-contractor activities and great RFPs,’ he says. “It’s a massive transformation in the sense that you’re building the plane, but you’re also flying the plane. So it’s a question of transform and perform. It’s not transformation for the sake of transformation, it’s transformation to deliver value, and speed to value, as quickly as possible, so we have to transform while delivering the numbers every year.”

In using the expression ‘speed to value’ it creates a number of images in our to consider doing this he had to create

minds as to what that actually means.

a new operating model, creating busi-

For Rankin, it’s simple; harmonising

ness-facing strategic roles in procure-

processes across the business by

ment. What this meant was that all

implementing an operating model that’s

middle office activities, such as contract

right for the business with a digital plat-

management, e-sourcing processes, data

form that has the capability to truly

analytics were consolidated and brought

enable that operating model to deliver.

together with a partner, Genpact. For

In his own words; “We needed to start

the more operational and transactional

firing the engine that is category manage-

activities such as PR and POs, STADA

ment in the business to make it mean

adopted Ariba to digitise them and utilised

something in reality.”

Genpact to manage them. Whenever the

This is key for Rankin, taking promises

word ‘digitise’ is thrown into the conversa-

and innovative solutions and turning them

tion, eyes may start to roll as the procure-

into reality for a business. He speaks of

ment journey is swallowed up by buzz

how he is privileged to be in a business www.cpostrategy.com

17

Make procurement a strategic partner in your business Genpact’s digital technologies, end-to-end processes, and sharper insights mean you can make smarter procurement decisions.

Find out more at

genpact.com/procurement

STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

that has given him the support and

felt was best for the business. His first

confidence he needs in order to deliver.

step was to draw a line under and put

Operational buy is, as we know, often a

an end to this.

common struggle amongst other busi-

“The very first thing that we really had

nesses as there can be a lack of under-

to do was just take ownership of the

standing, trust and even credibility in

whole thing and get the organisation

what the CPO plans to change. This is

firing with people that were employed

certainly not the case for Rankin.

by STADA, make them realize that they

“The value agenda we have created is

owned it, were accountable for it, and

fully supported by the STADA executive

that they needed to go out and deliver

team and it is a real pleasure to work

it,” says Rankin.

in this environment. As long as we bring the right business cases to the table,” he says The air cover that we have here is incredible, and it’s very exciting actually to be able to build a full procurement system in STADA.” He continues; “Why I think this job is so good, and so interesting is that we can do in two or three years what would take a normal organisation five or six because the stars are aligned to operate that way.”

With the evolution of procurement taking

“ It’s not transformation for the sake of transformation, it’s transformation to deliver value, and speed to value, as quickly as possible.”

— A lan Ran kin C P O, STA DA

centre stage it had created a somewhat crowded marketplace of so-called

“It needed to be something that’s much

experts and consultants. While they do

more owned by our own people and our

have their place, Rankin acknowledges

own business. Only then could we really

that there can be one too many and

figure out what the real things that we

that some days for him consisted of a

need to drive with various partners to,

steady stream of consultants coming in

in the end, work with the business and

through the door and telling him that he

generate the value.”

and STADA should follow their particular method and head in a direction that they

As with any journey, there is a roadmap and a timeline. For Rankin and STADA, www.cpostrategy.com

19

the initial timeline is a three-year plan but

play in inorganic growth through acqui-

as he is keen to stress, once the third year

sitions. Through inorganic growth with

is complete it’s not the time to down tools

new business development and licensing

and pat themselves on the back to say

opportunities, STADA is able to continu-

a job well done. Procurement is an ever

ously outgrow the market” he says. “We

evolving ecosystem, so while Rankin is

have made a number of large acquisitions

18 months into this journey he is already

in recent years that represent what the

thinking of the next three years.

STADA ethos is about.”

Over the last 18 months, Rankin can

“We are the partner of choice for people

already point to some key achievements

to approach with their opportunities and

and milestones as part of this journey.

with their innovation. That’s the mindset

Examples that prove that the direction

that’s running through the organisation.

that procurement and STADA are going

If we’ve got partners that are helping us

in is the right one.

drive the top line, and drive our business

“For me, and this is not just a procurement success, we’ve had a big part to

with great new products and innovation, or opportunities to acquire product

PIONEERING HEALTHCARE

STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

www.tiefenbachergroup.com

create a mixture of external hires from people who’ve seen it, done it, got the T-shirt, and have come in and been able to act as teachers in the organisation,” explains Rankin. “And they’ve been brought together with people who’ve come from other areas of the business that we’ve recruited into procurement as internal moves, bringing great knowledge of STADA and the way that STADA works into procurement, mixed with internal promotions. This diverse mix of experience makes for a much stronger and portfolios, we want those companies to be coming back to us time and time again with the next opportunity.”

That repeat business and being seen as

more agile team.”

STADA has been able to leverage all three of those levers to upscale the procurement leadership team while

a partner of choice comes from the busi-

also enabling an internally driven educa-

ness strategy and the relationships that

tion program across procurement that

the company has built. By investing in its

was inspired by one of STADA’s key

procurement function, STADA looks to

subsidiaries.

continue to build those relationships and

“There was a team of people who’d

others just like them and see suppliers as

come up with a syllabus based on profes-

partners. In order to build these relation-

sional standards, and they wanted to roll

ships, STADA needs people who are able

it out in Serbia and do some training. It

to listen and to understand how these

was a very good curriculum that they

relationships work and more importantly,

came up with and I said, why don’t we roll

how they can mutually grow.

this out to the entire global procurement

This was a big focus for Rankin, equip-

organisation?” he says.

ping STADA with the right team made up

“It was all driven internally, it was taught

of people with the right skills to deliver

and lectured by internal people. We were

on STADA’s promise. “We needed a new

able to implement really good profes-

procurement team. We’ve been able to

sional standards across the organisation www.cpostrategy.com

21

“ If we’ve got partners that are helping us drive the top line, and drive our business with great new products and innovation, or opportunities to acquire product portfolios, we want those companies to be coming back to us time and time again with the next opportunity.”

— Al an Ra n k i n CP O, STADA

and the feedback on it was sensational

practice immediately, there were no barri-

from the procurement community. They’d

ers between direct and indirect, it was all

never had this before, they’d never inter-

the same principles; so I was really happy

acted to that level with the other parts of

with the initiative. It showed what we can

procurement in the organisation. They

achieve as a procurement group when we

were putting the ideas and learnings into

have the right focus.”

Start-Ups CROs

Consumer Healthcare

Generics Originators CDOs

Warehouse

Distribution/ Transport

Midas Pharma

Forwarder

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Since 30 Years strong in the Sourcing of Intermediates, API’s and Finished Pharmaceutical Products.

Unlock the: Par Potential Strategic STADA t ner ing to of p rocure valu e Procurement: www.midas-pharma.com

This approach to the people that power

he says. “We have to have a level of inte-

the procurement function reflects directly

gration that means top-to-top CEO to

in the relationships STADA has with

CEO. It means that priorities are aligned,

its partners. Being a partner of choice

strategic objectives are aligned, and

comes from having strong relationships

goals and ambitions are aligned, as well

with key players. Rankin highlights rela-

as providing us with capabilities, that it

tionships in particular that demonstrate

would take STADA more time to create

this; Aenova (partners for contract manu-

by itself.”

facturing services), Midas Pharma and

“It’s very important that those capabil-

AET, where one-time ingredients suppli-

ities are a good strategic fit with what

ers now help to manage entire supply

we’re trying to do. For me, it’s that level of

chains on behalf of STADA. He cites a

integration and our businesses growing

top-to-top relationship, coupled with

together that really makes the difference.”

a seamless integration, that means a

2020, beset by the COVID19 pandemic,

partner employee and a STADA employee

has proven to be a crucial test for

is practically indistinguishable from

procurement organisations the world

one another.

over, and STADA has not been immune

“The key to these relationships is the level of integration within the business,”

to this disruption. With lockdown measures in place, staff working from home www.cpostrategy.com

23

Alan Rankin Chief Procurement Officer, STADA Alan leads the procurement function for STADA across all third party spend including products, raw materials, indirect spend and capital expenditure.

He joined STADA in February 2019 as the Chief Procurement Officer with the mandate to build a complete enterprise wide procurement system. Alan has been focused on category excellence, process and systems and enhanced capabilities to build a compelling value proposition within a demanding private equity environment. Before STADA, Alan had a strong mix of experience between large multinational corporations like Novartis and BASF blended with two rotations in private equity backed companies. A chemist by training and a procurement expert in the pharmaceutical industry, Alan has built up a rich history in working with active pharmaceutical ingredient suppliers and the pharma contract manufacturing and licensing industry. Outside of work, Alan loves to travel, reads extensively and enjoys skiing, football and golf.

STADA : Par t ner ing to p rocure valu e

and closures to key supplier facilities, Rankin speaks of how the partnerships the company has with its suppliers and the strength of his team as being the key to getting through these trying times as smoothly as possible.

“We are talking with them every day to make sure that they can keep operating, and they can keep the business continuity machine moving,” he says.

“Throughout the pandemic, this has been all about relationships and the fact that we and our partners had the right plans in place to be able to work through it. There were many issues; employees were working at home, transport and logistics issues with borders closing.

We had to work very hard to unblock these issues, and that was all about working with partners.”

While the last 12 months have been

sure that the team is as strong as it can be. I always look for two things in people,

difficult, Rankin has already delivered

know your numbers inside and out, and

key successes for STADA and the next

endless curiosity,” he says.

12 months will start to see further fruits

“It’s what you learn from working with

of his and his team’s efforts. He points to

the business that makes you stronger as

the future as one of value delivery, with

a procurement professional, so the busi-

all the pieces coming together and work-

ness partnering and engaging with stake-

ing effectively for STADA to embrace

holders and what you learn from that,

the 21st century of procurement. What

that’s really the game.”

has been, and what will remain, key to succeeding for Rankin is a simple truth; the team around him and curiosity.

“Always get the best team and make www.cpostrategy.com

25

How digital

procurement

can help manage organisational goals

Whether you’re purchasing for a small business or you’re part of a procurement team in a large organisation, harmonising the various needs of your company can be a challenge...

Written by

ave Brittain, Director of D Amazon Business UK & Ireland

How di g i tal p rocurement c an h elp ma n age o rga n i s at i o n a l goa l s

www.cpostrategy.com

24

H

ow do you create efficiencies by centralising procurement, while maintaining staff independ-

ence? How can you ensure everyone in the organisation has the items they need without overloading the procurement team with purchase requests?

Online procurement presents an opportunity to balance these requirements.

Below are some tips on how to use a digital purchasing system to improve your business function and achieve goals which may initially seem difficult to reconcile.

Consolidate tail spend Tail spend – everyday purchases which

I s sue 15 • www.cpostrateg y.com

Why procurement should be the hero in your business

aren’t needed for production, such as office supplies and IT equipment – can

Five things we learned from Procurious’ How Now? Whitepaper

Responsible Chemistry made easy with procurement

rapidly become a headache for the procurement team. As 20% of tail spend

Why procurement is even more important to Uber than you think with Brish Bhan Vaidya, Head of Strategic Sourcing & Supply Chain at Uber APAC

Nathan Fisher, Executive Vice President, Chief Procurement Officer, at Hexion, reflects on a global procurement vision that empowers people to make sustainable change

Check out D av e’s p r e v i o u s article in issue 15 of C P O st r at e g y

EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS

purchases are spread across 80% of suppliers, this broad base means

sions for their own departments.

it can become extremely difficult for

They want to buy supplies as they need

Procurement to keep up with who in

them, rather than asking Procurement

the organisation is spending what, and

for permission for every small item.

where these purchases are being made.

An art teacher is best equipped to know

The procurement team can end up

which paintbrushes are right for their

wasting significant time trying to locate

class, but equally the procurement team

these purchases, which are often not

needs to know employees are achiev-

bought at the most competitive prices.

ing best value for the organisation.

However, staff want to feel respected and trusted to make purchasing deci-

This can be solved by buying all tail spend items online, using a central

How di g i tal p rocurement c an h elp ma n age o rga n i s at i o n a l goa l s

transparent and efficient program.

and administration for her team. As the

Olivia Rowling, founder of the Butterfly

approval purchasing process has been

Patch Nursery group, did exactly this.

made easier, managers can simply add

Her business’s previous procurement

what they need to an online basket,

model, using multiple suppliers, meant

before their orders are approved and

they used to spend around ÂŁ20,000

processed by a central decision-maker.

kitting out each new facility. Moving to

Her team saved time, and could focus

online purchasing meant the cost of

on other goals. Olivia sees digital procur-

each nursery was driven down by 60%.

ement as a useful aid to help reach her

This online shift was also instrumen-

goal to launch 300 nurseries within the

tal in helping save hours in planning

next three years. www.cpostrategy.com

26

” An art teacher is best equipped to know which paintbrushes are right for their class, but equally the procurement team needs to know employees are achieving best value for the organisation” — Dave Bri tt ai n D i rector of Am azon Business UK & Irelan d

How di g i tal p rocurement c an h elp ma n age o rga n i s at i o n a l goa l s

2. Compare prices quickly

By moving to online purchasing, Rob’s

and efficiently

team could easily and quickly compare

It’s important to get the best possible

suppliers’ prices and quality, satisfying

value when making purchases, and this

the Trust’s procurement rules and saving

is especially relevant in an organisation

a huge amount of time and resource. Not

managed by strict overarching policies.

only were they able to secure cheaper

For Rob Owens, Chief Operating Officer

prices than they were getting previously,

of Stephenson Multi-Academy Trust,

but the time invested in procurement

procurement was guided by governmen-

was massively reduced. It also gave the

tal requirements. Under MAT rules, the

procurement team freedom to explore

price and quality of each item which the

interesting new projects, which they had

procurement team wants to buy has to

been unable to do due to time constraints.

be compared against three different

Staff felt satisfied and excited by the pros-

suppliers. Owens recalls that on some

pect of reducing laborious paperwork and

days, the finance team had to place

using that time to focus on new ways to

hundreds of orders – from stationery to

develop the MAT’s provision to students.

software for departments, to furniture -

This also generated substantial time-

making the process of seeking and qual-

saving benefits for the teaching staff.

ity-checking three different suppliers

According to Rob, the less time teach-

very protracted and inefficient.

ers spent procuring, the more they could focus on their core job. There was an additional cost benefit too: Rob explains that any savings teaching staff make is more in their budget, so they can buy more for their departments and consequently, more for the students the schools serve.

This ability to compare a vast selection of suppliers creates a competitive market that is a huge advantage to any organisation.

In fact, business customers have reported a 94% competitive selection parity, which can reduce prices by up to 70%. www.cpostrategy.com

28

“ It’s important to get the best possible value when making purchases, and this is especially relevant in an organisation managed by strict overarching policies” — Dave B r i tt ai n D i recto r of Am azon Business UK & Irel an d

How di g i tal p rocurement c an h elp ma n age o rga n i s at i o n a l goa l s

3. Decentralise the procurement process It is often practical for wider parts of an organisation to have purchasing powers, so they can order individual items, rather than making requests to the procurement team every time they need to buy a printer ink cartridge or a box of pens.

This has obvious time-saving advantages for the procurement team, but it can rapidly become complicated and difficult to track.

The University of Leicester employs 4,000 people, over 100 of whom have purchase cards. The lack of a digitised procurement system, coupled with the relatively large number of staff with purchasing responsibilities, made it difficult for the procurement team to track expenditure across the institution as a whole.

For Anthony Midgley, Category Manager and Procurement Systems Lead at the university, modernising the procurement process so spend was immediately visible was extremely useful.

Midgley was able to clearly see, in real time, what was ordered with the system, instead of spending time chasing records at the end of the month. This allowed him to use time more wisely, enabling him to ensure the university procurement function ran as smoothly as possible. www.cpostrategy.com

30

Another advantage of decentralised

micro-manage every purchase of printer

procurement is the ability for each office

paper or staples. Moreover, CPOs will

and branch in the online shop to have

have access to a wealth of new data

their own name and billing address,

that allows them to make sound recom-

set up by the CPO. If the same invoice

mendations and demonstrate value to

number and payment terms are defined

internal stakeholders. At the same time,

for all orders, expenses can be easily

employees with purchasing responsi-

consolidated. This improves purchas-

bilities have the freedom to purchase

ing efficiency, with business customers

items as they need them, demonstrating

determining a 13% average cost saving

trust and building strong working rela-

when procuring online, compared to

tionships between Procurement and the

their manual procurement processes.

organisation as a whole.

As well as improved accuracy and granularity, this feature helps provide

Online procurement helps solve

greater control and visibility, giving

organisational challenges

CPOs a reliable overview of tail spend

It can often be a delicate balancing act

and related expenses, without having to

to manage an organisation’s numerous

How di g i tal p rocurement c an h elp ma n age o rga n i s at i o n a l goa l s

challenges and goals. It’s important

system. Digitising procurement

for staff to feel valued and respected,

provides CPOs with a strategic advan-

to know they are trusted to buy items

tage, providing all the information

for their function without having to

they need to help them future-proof

seek permission for every last pencil

their procurement process while

and printer cartridge. But it’s critical

ensuring continued growth and a

to an efficient procurement process

competitive edge.

that the CPO can track and manage

So, with the right features that allow

these purchases effectively, ensuring

the CPO to balance the time and cost

the business stays on track to achieve

savings with the requirements of the

its key priorities.

wider team, online procurement offers

There are obvious advantages to

clear benefits. For the Butterfly Patch

digital procurement; as Accenture’s

Nursery, the University of Leicester and

Next Generation Digital Procurement

Stephenson MAT, a digital purchasing

report shows, businesses can dramat-

process has been instrumental in help-

ically improve speed, agility and effi-

ing Procurement to move these organi-

ciency with an online purchasing

sations forward.

www.cpostrategy.com

32

Precision railroading.

Procurement maturity Paul Harridine, VP of Procurement and Supply Management at CN, tells CPOstrategy how a transformation will bring procurement maturity and stability for the backbone of the economy...

Written by

Dale Benton

Produced by

Richard Deane

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

www.cpostrategy.com

37

T

he discussion around procure-

more internally, or if you’re operating

ment transformation is seemingly

with a very high margin, then there is less

on a neverending upward curve.

incentive to look at building your procure-

More and more businesses the world

ment competencies or to look at your

over are investing in procurement trans-

procurement costs” he adds. “In the end,

formation and while this is not an entirely

it comes to every business, even those

new concept, it has certainly become the

with an extreme competitive advantage

talking point for procurement profession-

in a market. At some point, competitors

als and most importantly CEOs and CFOs

catch up and you have to be effective and

right now.

procurement expertise is key to that.”

“The fact of the matter is, when it comes

With a team of around 24,000 railroad-

to a procurement transformation journey

ers which transport more than C$250

there’s a really good return on invest-

billion worth of goods annually for a wide

ment for it,” explains Paul Harridine, VP of

range of business sectors, across a rail

Procurement and Supply Management

network of approximately 20,000 route-

at CN. “For one reason or another, a lot of

miles spanning Canada and mid-Amer-

sectors have never thought about it thor-

ica, CN is undoubtedly a market leader.

oughly. However, for sectors like auto-

Throughout times of crisis, and 2020 in

motive it’s been a core competence for a

particular is a year beset by crisis, CN has

long time, as it goes without saying that

a responsibility to continue to operate

procurement is key if your whole busi-

and to deliver on its promises perhaps

ness model relies on a high proportion of

more so than most other businesses..

costs being with suppliers. If you weren’t

CN has always been an extremely

good at Procurement you wouldn’t

effective business from an operations

survive very long.”

point of view and has led the industry for

Harridine acknowledges that while the

a number of years. Like all businesses,

benefits are as plain as day for a sector

the level of improvement or the speed of

like automotive, for other sectors with

improvement over time starts to slacken

entirely different business models, it

off. From an operational point of view, the

takes longer for the procurement penny

business recognised the need to look

to drop. “If you are a nationalised industry,

at other areas where it could improve.

if your business has a fairly small propor-

Continuing to drive what CN calls “preci-

tion of its costs with suppliers and much

sion scheduled railroading” could only

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

www.cpostrategy.com

39

Building the railroads of tomorrow For more than a century, CN and Wabtec have helped build the rail industry of today. From state-of-the-art locomotives and missioncritical components, advanced braking systems, Positive Train Control (PTC), and digital solutions to drive autonomous operations, they are working together to keep freight moving across Canada – from the Atlantic to the Pacific and every city in between.

As a pioneer company,

Wabtec was built on technologies such as diesel-electric locomotives developed by Thomas Edison and the railway air brake built

by George Westinghouse.

Wabtec even services the commuter transit space supplying electromechanical parts, including the first pantograph developed by a company founded by Louis Faiveley.

CN and Wabtec have been at the forefront of technological advancements

and innovation in freight rail. From the beginning, the two companies have been working together to ensure the rail industry has a safe, sustainable and cost-effective freight network needed to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

North America requires solutions that keep businesses competitive in today’s rapidly changing world, prioritizes the safety of workers and communities and reduces their impact on

www.wabteccorp.com

the planet. Freight rail is an integral part of that solution.

Today, 50 percent of CN’s fleet is comprised of Wabtec locomotives hauling people and goods across the United States and Canada. Wabtec’s Evolution Series Tier 4 locomotives provides CN with the most environmentally conscious and efficient power in the industry, helping to reduce operating costs and emissions.

“The pandemic has highlighted the need for

efficient, reliable and sustainable transportation of critical goods,” said Gina Trombley, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Wabtec. “We’re proud to partner with CN to ensure customer demand is being met, while recognizing the need for low-carbon transformative solutions that reduce the impact on the environment.”

Wabtec has been a trusted CN supplier and partner since the beginning. The

two companies will continue to build the railroads of tomorrow through decarbonization, intelligent connectivity and unlocking the path to autonomous operations. Wabtec and CN will lead the rail industry in moving and improving the world for another 100 years and beyond.

w w w. c po s trateg y. co m

41

“ The fact of the matter is, when it comes to a procurement transformation journey there’s a really good return on investment for it” — Pau l Ha rri d ine V P P ro cu rem ent a nd Supply Ma na gem e nt at C N

take the business so far, for so long,

transformation journey. It can even be the

having been the leader in this for around

most challenging, but Harridine speaks

20 years. With more than $6 billion of

of a business that hadn’t really tried to

external spend each year, this is why, in

professionalise its procurement supply

2017, a decision was made to embark on a

management function prior to 2016. This

procurement transformation journey

apparent gap in performance between

CN engaged PwC to look at how it

what’s happening now and what the

might drive its procurement performance.

potential could be was by his own admis-

This process began in 2016, and as part

sion ‘pretty large.’ During this period the

of this journey CN sought to recruit a VP

business strategy hasn’t changed,” he

of Procurement and Supply Management

adds. “We’ve always been about growth,

that had experience of transforming

based on a foundation of precision

procurement in different environments.

scheduled railroading.

This is where Harridine entered the fray.

“Occasionally, you do get into business

A common question is often why now?

cycles where you suffer a temporary blip,

Understanding why, is the first step in any

but again, the long-term trend is growth.

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

So there wasn’t any Eureka moment. The

committee members to make sure they

business just recognised that procure-

were all fully aligned to what it was we

ment investment was the way forward.”

wanted to do,” he says. “I also had to

To begin with, PwC worked with CN

engage with the team, and that was prob-

on a maturity profile, which highlighted

ably one of the most important steps,

different process and system areas

because there was a certain amount of

where the company was, relative to so

insecurity, given that the existing ways

called ‘world-class’ procurement func-

of working had been around a long time

tions. This initial benchmarking and

and you’ve got consultants coming in and

foundational work saw the two compa-

talking about organisational changes, and

nies draw up a roadmap. With Harridine

a new boss arriving. The ownership of the

coming on board, he admits he needed

transformation by the team is probably

to hit the ground running pretty fast.

the biggest factor in terms of how effec-

“We were able to get the endorsement

tive it will be.”

from the board and I then subsequently took that around the various executive

Trust is something that doesn’t come overnight, and a common challenge for www.cpostrategy.com

43

pwc.com/ca

Emerge stronger Activate new avenues for sustainable growth

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

Š2020 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership. All rights reserved.

many procurement professionals is build-

function leading these changes, the team

ing credibility. As Harridine admits, you

sees the success and is part of the solu-

start with a certain amount of credibility

tion and as success builds, it becomes

because you’ve been brought in by the

self-sustaining. In this regard, it moves

CEO and the CFO, but this only takes you

away from it being a top down initiative

so far. While this is crucial to success, it’s

towards a more bottom-up, collaborative

ultimately the responsibility of the people

approach with teams driving their own

in the function to make it happen. “That’s

targets and managing their own priorities

about building relationships. Trust doesn’t

toward the overall vision and objectives

exist in a vacuum and it tends to come

that are aligned to the corporate strategy,

following a period of delivering. It can

delivering value across the organisation.

take months, maybe even years in some

“From a stakeholder perspective, most

cases,” he says. The team and stakehold-

senior executives will always want to

ers need to buy into the process and so

engage in that discussion,” he says. “How

part of that building of trust is engaging

can I do better with what’s important to

them in the development of the solution.”

my function and my objectives? How can

Whether it’s a category management

I help the business do better overall?

strategy or a new process implementa-

When addressing areas for improvement

tion, Harridine had to make sure that all

it’s also important to not belittle what’s

key stakeholders were on the steering

happened in the past. Almost by defini-

committees and were a part of the work-

tion, people get a bit defensive of what’s

ing groups involved in implementing these

been done prior, so you’ve got to steer

new solutions. With the procurement

away from that as much as possible. The

“ Even through the most difficult of situations during 2020, as the backbone of the economy, we still have that inherent capability to still operate and deliver on behalf of suppliers and consumers and customers to keep the economy going” — Pa u l H arri d i ne V P P rocurem ent a nd Supply Ma na gem e nt at C N www.cpostrategy.com

45

key to this is engaging people in developing the solution and how it’s going to help them achieve their own objectives.”

CN set out a timeline of three years for this procurement journey and, somewhat naturally, that meant that there were clear objectives that needed to be achieved within this time period. But as Harridine, and CPOs the world over know full well, this journey never stops.

Harridine reflects on his previous experience in the automotive industry more than 20 years ago, where the function drove a 3% year-on-year improvement out of the cost base and muses that were he to speak to people there now; they’d still be driving that level of improvement each year. “You never move away from that mentality of how you’re going to drive

delivering on the promise of this trans-

another improvement in the following

formation but he is keen to acknowledge

year and you’re going to keep defining a

that the benefits and the achievements

strategy that allows you to do that,” he

go above and beyond these specific

says.

examples. “We stayed true to the course

“Yes, within the three-year timeframe,

and it’s paying dividends now. In our

we’d set some objectives in terms of

original goals, we were talking about a

redesigning processes, introducing new

100 million dollars of benefits and we

operating systems , expanding the team

have significantly exceeded that. We’ve

and implementing a new operating model.

created value in a multitude of different

As with every transformation, there is

areas that truthfully were not in that orig-

always a financial objective and an ROI

inal roadmap,” he says. “Going back to

associated with the programme .”

that alignment with stakeholders, there’s

Three years into this journey and Harridine can point to key successes,

a lot of different value creation opportunities in procurement that come from that

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

alignment. Procurement is so much more than simply setting objectives around

“ I’ve never once thought about trying to do better than our peers in rail.

We want to try and set the standard in rail by aspiring to be worldclass. By doing that, we become a true core competence for CN” — Pa ul H arri d i n e

traditional cost reduction .”

No journey, no matter how successful in the end, is a seamless movement from point A to point B. That’s true of life and it is true of procurement. Harridine recognises this and is blessed to find himself within a company, and an industry space, that has a strong sense of stability that is intertwined with its very purpose as a business.

“Even through the most difficult of situations during 2020, as the backbone of the economy, we still have that inherent capability to still operate and deliver on

V P P ro cu rem ent and Supply

behalf of suppliers and consumers and

Ma n a gem ent at CN

customers to keep the economy going,” www.cpostrategy.com

47

he says. And in that sense, there’s a kind

based on lean thinking. It is based on the

of certainty about the business that you

principle in a shop floor context, each

don’t always find in a lot of other business

morning the team gets together to talk

sectors.”

about what the production level needs to

Every crisis and every challenge is an

be that day, what quality issues there may

opportunity to reflect on and look at the

be and communications that need to be

resilience and the effectiveness of the

cascaded? So by having that daily pulse

work you are doing. For Harridine and CN,

on the business, everybody stays very

the current COVID19 pandemic crisis has

close and agile, and if things are happen-

certainly put the procurement function to

ing, everybody knows pretty quickly

the test.

what’s going on and you can reallocate

“Things come along from time to time that obviously test you and the key to

and reprioritise very fast.”

Harridine is a firm believer that it’s not

addressing these challenges is having an

simply a case of having a process like this

operating model which is agile enough

in place. Once people are used to it and

to respond. In procurement we have a

use it in the right way, teams work remark-

process called ‘Perform’ which is broadly

ably effectively and become self-starting.

WE KEEP YOU

ROLLING As a leading supplier to the global rail industry, we are dedicated to fostering the sustainable movement of goods and people for generations to come.

We are proud to support customers such as Canadian National in achieving this vision.

+1 800-476-8769 • progressrail.com @progressrail •

@Progress_Rail

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

“ ... when I look at my function and the people in my team, I’d be amazed if anybody could show a team of people that have responded more effectively to a crisis than at our Procurement and Supply Management function at CN” — Pa u l Ha rri d i n e V P P rocurem ent and Supply Ma na geme nt at C N

“When challenges come, the determin-

function as a whole. Harridine agrees,

ing factor for success is how tight is your

noting that the biggest endorsement of

team?” If your model is effective then

CN’s processes and systems is that it ‘did

the team becomes tighter, he says. “You

not miss a beat operationally’. When one

see people go above and beyond and

considers the number of products and

when I look at my function and the people

services CN purchases, the number of

in my team, I’d be amazed if anybody

suppliers it has, the fact that operationally

could show a team of people that have

the business never stopped as a result of

responded more effectively to a crisis

the supply issue, highlights the robust-

than at our Procurement and Supply

ness of the procurement function.

Management function at CN.” The COVID19 pandemic for many

“People went above and beyond because they’re proud to work in CN and I

procurement professionals has been an

hope they’re proud to be part of the func-

opportunity to reflect on the work that

tion we’re in as well. We all believe in the

the function has been doing. More so, it

direction we’re going in,” he says. “That’s

enabled a sense of endorsement for the

probably the biggest endorsement for www.cpostrategy.com

49

us when we look back on 2020. In terms

“We go back to that maturity profile on

of pressure testing our operating model,

a periodic basis because it’s important

I think that the team has come through

to get a sense of progress and reset the

with flying colours.”

direction regularly” says Harridine. “ We’ll

When building or transforming a

do another maturity profile early in the

procurement function, one that aims to be

new year to see where we are and impor-

best in class, it’s important for businesses

tantly, figure out how we move that little

to benchmark against the best of the

bit further up the scale.”

best. The maturity profile looked closely

“I’ve never once thought about trying to

at the quality of CN’s strategic sourcing,

do better than our peers in rail. We want

procurement systems, governance and

to try and set the standard in rail by aspir-

supply performance management. It then

ing to be world-class. By doing that, we

examined it against procurement func-

become a true core competence for CN.”

tions all over the world, across industry and sector.

Outside of continuing to improve processes and efficiencies, sustainability

CN : Pre cision railroading. P rocurement mat u r i t y

is a key goal for CN and for procure-

Elsewhere, procurement at CN is

ment. We have key objectives relating to

exploring how to use technology more

Safety, Diversity and De-carbonisation.

effectively such as artificial intelligence,

As one of the only organisations accred-

robotic process automation and devel-

ited on the Dow Jones Sustainability

oping better data analytics. “If we get

global index, CN is already a strong player

all of those right, combining them with

in this regard but Harridine knows that

the supplier partnerships and supplier

more can be done on this front. “The key

innovation, then even more value will be

to improving our sustainability initiatives

generated,” says Harridine. “And if we

starts by setting targets in these areas

keep building those processes and capa-

and then investing in our people, both of

bilities behind the scenes the benefits will

which I am proud to say we have done.

look after themselves.”

We will only progress if we keep developing our people, our teams and their effectiveness.”

www.cpostrategy.com

51

A match made in AI heaven Greg Watts, CEO of Findr, an AI-powered platform designed to automate the multiple manual steps involved in creating effective commercial partnerships, a vital cog in the world of procurement, tries to identify why we are yet to see the true impact and true value that AI can bring...

Written by

Dale Benton

Fi n d r: A match made in AI h eaven

Greg Watts CEO of Findr

Who is Greg Watts and what is Findr?

I was formerly head of market acceleration at Visa Europe and I was responsible for creating partnerships with all of the major retailers and financial institutions across Europe. I then went on to found my own growth consultancy called Demand Creation Partners, which helps fintechs create partnerships with their target partners.

It's always been a dream of mine to automate the creation of commercial partnerships. Typically, creating a partnership with a tier-one retailer or tierone bank could take anything up to two years and that's if you know what you're doing. At Visa I created partnerships with a leading petroleum company, it took two years and that was with the brand and the budget of Visa behind me and obviously with all the resources that that brought. www.cpostrategy.com

52

I've always thought that, with startups, if it takes so long to create these partnerships many of them run out of money in the process. Unsurprisingly we see these insights of 70, 80, 90% of startups fell in the first year. I just always thought that's terrible. I’ve had this dream for quite a long time of fundamentally creating, again, what some journalists describe as a dating platform for businesses.

I call it a matching platform, but some people have described it as a dating platform. So we're building Findr, whereby Dale can come onto the platform and tell the platform who he is and, crucially, the types of partnerships that he's looking for. Then he can request to match with those partners that we put forward to him based on

But that really cuts down all of the time it

what he's looking for. If his match request

takes for Dale to have otherwise found the

is accepted, he can hold a discovery call

company, find the right decision makers

within the platform, and he'll just pay a small

within the business, connect with them,

fee once that discovery call has happened.

which can take months if not years.

“ ...procurement can often be seen within organizations as holding other teams back. It can struggle to demonstrate the value that it brings to organizations” — G re g Watt s C EO, Fi n d r Fi n d r: A match made in AI h eaven

What does it feel like to be

holding other teams back. It can struggle

compared to a dating platform?

to demonstrate the value that it brings to

We're quite happy with that because

organizations.

that's fundamentally what we are. So

We will be offering them Findr as a tool

we've been looking at Tinder, Grindr,

to help them further demonstrate that

Match.com and Eharmony to take best

value that they're offering to their stake-

practice from them. Having worked

holders, in this case by giving them a plat-

in many large corporates myself, I'm

form that they can provide their require-

acutely aware of how procurement

ments and post projects. Then they can

teams work and function. There's always

get connected with relevant decision

been a gap as to how they can support

makers across target partners within a

their stakeholders in a more digital and

matter of minutes or hours. Procurement

effective way. Readers may roll their

will be able to use Findr to really help cut

eyes at this, but I'll say it in the spirit of

down the time it takes for their stakehold-

being controversial, procurement can

ers to create the partnerships that they're

often be seen within organizations as

looking for. www.cpostrategy.com

54

Looking over the last few years and

my colleagues not necessarily seeing

your work with Findr, just how have

the value of building those relationships

you seen some of those procure-

with our procurement colleagues. I think

ment conversations and perceptions

unfortunately, procurements are still seen

change because of technology?

as perhaps holding their stakeholders

When I had a corporate career, I always

back, rightly or wrongly. As we're building

made it my mission to create my own

out Findr, we've spoken to lots of procure-

deep relationships with my procure-

ment teams as well. I don't think that tech-

ment colleagues, because I saw that

nology has been embraced enough or

by doing so, I was able to create a strong

indeed we've seen enough digital trans-

partnership which resulted in procure-

formation of the procurement space yet.

ment being able to help me in turn to fulfill

I think people talk about how procure-

my requirements. I also saw so many of

ment has become more innovative and

How to set up Accelerate your partnership efforts with Findr, the new marketplace for business partnerships. Post your partnership requirements for free, and access qualified opportunities in a matter of minutes. Get your first one-hour Findr Discovery call free (normally ÂŁ99) when you sign up at www.findr.global Findr is a powerful new tool which helps procurement teams capture all their stakeholder partnership requirements in one easily accessible place!

What are you waiting for? Sign up to Findr NOW in our simple steps:

1

Sign up in seconds using your LinkedIn account!

3

2

Post your partnership requirements and search for opportunities!

Fi n d r: A match made in AI h eaven

Tell Findr a little bit about your business!

4

Request and hold Findr Discovery calls in real time with prospective partners!

how there are more tools to help it transform digitally. But I haven't really seen that many tools that are helping to do that.

Obviously we're biased at Findr, but we see Findr as a tool to finally help them to offer something to their stakeholders which isn't going to be seen as some kind of noose or rope to hold the stakeholders back but rather a tool which can help their stakeholders to capture their requirements and connect with key decision makers at their target partners, as we mentioned, in a matter of minutes or hours, in just a few clicks So we officially launched our beta group in October and a lot of procurement teams will be able to use us and test us to offer to their stakeholders.

We’re getting a lot of data from that to demonstrate to future new users that

So I guess this is where the

by using Findr, it does radically cut

AI comes into it?

down the time it takes to create partner-

We’re using AI, or more accurately

ships from months or years to minutes

machine learning, and underneath that

or hours in just a few clicks.

we call that our predictive data classifi-

The procurement teams in turn can

cations to capture specific stakeholder

then use some of those data points,

requirements. So let's say the head of

which will help to change and help rein-

partnerships company wants to under-

force the perception that procurement

take a POC with a crypto fintech. They'll

is hugely valuable to function within

be able to use the platform to come on

organizations that will never hold stake-

and tell Findr exactly that, that they want

holders back. But actually they'll do their

to create a crypto POC and they can

damnedest to accelerate them.

specifically the types of, in this case, www.cpostrategy.com

56

crypto businesses that they want to

are being used, but I don't really see the

work with. They’ll be able to connect

technologies being applied. By virtue of

with relevant crypto businesses that

my co-founder, he's a machine learning

match that criteria. That's where our

expert, we made it our mission very early

machine learning jumps in and over

on to apply machine learning to this prob-

time, using what we call our matching

lem, because we know that it can be fixed

algorithm, we will then just keep

using machine learning. When COVID

matching and matching and matching

struck we'd only had the business incor-

users based on a common criteria.

porated a few days earlier. We’ve all been at home, I guess applying our own prin-

So many people talk about AI, so

ciples of building our business virtually,

what makes you any different?

because we haven't all been together.

Everyone talks about digital transfor-

As a result, we've actually been incredibly

mation and AI. They all talk a good game

productive, because we haven't been

about how it's all being embraced. But

darting around London, going from meet-

I've seen so few examples of it. The terms

ing to meeting to meeting. We've all been

Fi n d r: A match made in AI h eaven

“ Everyone talks about digital transformation and AI. They all talk a good game about how it’s all being embraced.

But I’ve seen so few examples of it. The terms are being used, but I don’t really see the technologies being applied” — G re g Watt s C EO, Fi ndr

at home, whether it's in London or in other

partners. I mean the whole RFP process

parts of the UK, in fact in other parts of

is just so long.

the world, just building out the platform.

I would say that there's a deeper prob-

We are kind of living and breathing our

lem within large organizations where it's

own values that you can build, in our case,

ridiculous that it takes up to a year to get

businesses and more widely partnerships

onto procurement processes and partner

without being physically together.

lists. With Findr,, procurement teams now have an opportunity to use it to connect

The business case for AI in

with decision makers they want to work

procurement is clearly there,

with within a matter of minutes, hours and

but is the appetite there to match it?

just a few clicks.

The appetite is absolutely there. There's

I think there's a real lethargy of procure-

a huge hunger to embrace technolo-

ment teams. It's not just procurement

gies, of which AI is one part, to help them

teams. We shouldn't have a go at procure-

to grow. But in my experience. I haven't

ment teams. It's all businesses. They say

seen many businesses truly offer AI or

that they embrace technology, and they

machine learning. I still see lots of manual

want to embrace technology to make

processes exist. I still see lots of things

businesses go faster in whatever way that

which are Excel driven, and lots of hours,

is. But then they have internal systems or

time and resources go into procurement

behaviors which hold them back.

processes, to RFP processes, identifying potential partners, shortlisting potential

There's a behavioral challenge that organizations need to face up to, which www.cpostrategy.com

58

“ Procurement teams would probably be screaming into their tea at me saying this, but just get rid of all the processes that we had before, and just find us technologies that can help us to accelerate” — G re g Watt s C EO, Fi n d r

Fi n d r: A match made in AI h eaven

is, do we really want to move at a pace that we believe that we can do? I think that's the bigger question. Do they really want to, or are they scared? Because the technology is starting to emerge that can help them to accelerate. Is there the real desire, the real behavior, the real passion to embrace these technologies?

How have these conversations been changed entirely for the better because of COVID? You used the words a moment ago, thrive, that's the word that we often use when we're talking to potential users or partnerships or investors, is not just how businesses survive. But actually, how can they thrive? Pandemic or no pandemic, 70, 80 or 90% of startups fail within the first year. We think that's scandalous. If it takes months and years to create partnerships, then surely there must be technologies that can be created to help more businesses to survive and then thrive.

Our perspective is; if now is not the time, then god knows when it will be for businesses to look long and hard at how they were doing businesses before, and how can they do business in a better, more effective way going forward?

Because as we all know, as we all talk about around the kitchen table, around the dining room table that a lot of us www.cpostrategy.com

60

aren't going to go back to the normal

whether a technology has AI, machine

ways of working. We're not going to go

learning or whatever it may be. All I'm

back to offices. So this way of working

interested in as a business is that I can

is probably going to be maintained in

use something to help me accelerate

some way, shape or form.

and grow, in our case connecting key decision makers within businesses that

How far away do you think we really

have specific projects or requirements.

are in terms of AI being a norm and

So if the technology allows me to do that,

there being a sense of maturity in

then that's fantastic.

terms of how AI is utilized across

My view is that organizations need to

procurement functions worldwide,

look at how they can maintain the behav-

not just one or two businesses?

ioral changes that we're seeing filtering

As a business that wants to accelerate

down to how procurement teams can

my growth, I wouldn't be interested in

adopt technologies almost immediately

Fi n d r: A match made in AI h eaven

to help their businesses to grow. Maybe

that their wider stakeholders have to use

executives and CEOs should just be

in order to demonstrate that value. Those

saying to procurement teams, "Right,

processes are often seen as holding the

just drop all of your processes that you

wider teams back.

had before."

So there is a risk that if procu-

Procurement teams would probably be

rement teams perhaps don't modify

screaming into their tea at me saying this,

their behaviors and then at the same

but just get rid of all the processes that

time embrace technologies that can

we had before, and just find us technolo-

help their wider stakeholders and

gies that can help us to accelerate.

unshackle themselves from this from

There's a desire for procurement teams

view of having to always demonstrate

to demonstrate the value that they add

the value that they're adding, then if they

and they can make a rod for their own

don't do those things and embrace tools

backs by creating all of these processes

like Findr, then maybe they'll find their wider stakeholders will just use technologies like Findr directly. I do think there is a risk that, if the procurement teams don't embrace technologies that are coming alongside changing their behaviors to not worry about the value that they're adding and just simply saying we've got tools like Findr. Just use it rather than creating processes which can slow down the impacts of those very technologies.

Listen to the the full conversation with Greg on The Digital Insight Podcast www.cpostrategy.com

62

Procurement: Essential to the business.

Essential to the customer.

Written by

Dale Benton

Produced by

Kiron Chavda

Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

www.cpostrategy.com

64

“I

had no idea, to be quite honest with you, what procurement was,” laughs Manny Satija, Vice President,

Strategic Initiatives and Supply Chain, CSA Group, as he recalls his career jour-

ney. “Obviously, by definition, I know that procurement means to buy, but that’s kind of where it started and stopped for me at the time.”

Procurement, for all the talk of transformation, strategic realignment and gaining “a seat at the table” remains a career and profession in which the complexity and the significance it has within an organization simply does not extend beyond those within the function. More often than not, we hear of people “falling into

Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

better to continue to become essential.”

This belief was something that drew him to CSA Group back in 2016, as the company was looking to embark on a significant procurement transformation to better leverage the strategic value within the whole procurement and supplier ecosystem. CSA Group needed a leader that had overseen the procurement operations of a major global company and possessed a transformational mindset through consulting services. With over a decade of experience working with IBM, Satija fit the bill and over the last three and a half years he has contributed to the implementation of a new ERP and CRM system to better support the technology transformation, procurement” but for Satija, having

as well as ensuring that this technology

moved into procurement with IBM in the

continues to enable greater automation,

early 00s, before taking on his current

not only in the procurement and broader

role with CSA Group, it does not matter

supply chain front, but across the organ-

what he thought then as what he thinks

isation in various other forms of process

and indeed knows now is that he (and

transformation. “My career, and in parti-

the function itself) needs to be essential to

cular these last few years, has been

a business. “You always need to be essen-

about transformation,” he says. “It's about

tial, no matter what you do in your job,” he

having a mindset that believes no chal-

says. “You need to be essential to your

lenge is unachievable, if you put your mind

customers, to your leadership and you

to it and you've got the right support from

need to be essential to your employees.

the C-suite, or if you continue to focus on

The day you stop being essential to your

learning and developing yourself.”

company is the day you need to start thinking about how you can do things

So Satija was tasked with delivering and enacting real transformational change www.cpostrategy.com

66

for procurement at CSA Group. Given the

and when numbers hit boardrooms,

transformation of the broader procure-

conversations accelerate fairly quickly,”

ment conversation the world over, Satija

he says. “There is a complexity within

was all too aware that one of the bigger

procurement and an ability to deliver not

challenges that he and many others face

just savings, but also to be recognised as

is one of trying to look beyond simple cost

the group that needs to be sitting at the

savings. The core element of procure-

table when conversations are being had

ment is and always will be the bottom line

about strategic investments. It’s critical

and how to deliver cost savings for a busi-

because you'll find a lot of C-suite strate-

ness, but Satija and many procurement

gists looking to make big investments in,

professionals just like him understand

for example, setting up a new corporate

that cost savings are not the only deliver-

division in a certain part of the world and

able to a business – they are just the start

that's going to involve investment in real

for procurement. “Make no mistake, one

estate and in technology.

of the most critical imperatives for any organisation will always be cost savings

“So, if you have thought leaders from procurement at the table who have

Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

“ There is a complexity within procurement and an ability to deliver not just savings, but also to be recognised as the group that needs to be sitting at the table when conversations are being had about strategic investment” — M a n ny S at i j a V i ce P res ident , Strategic Initiatives an d Sup p l y C h ai n , C SA G ro up

experience in construction and technol-

him to enact real strategic change.To do

ogy purchasing, all of a sudden this can

this successfully however, it had to go

actually drive the shift from “a great idea”

beyond the CEO and the CFO. “It was

to a discussion and decision informed

about ensuring that I got full buy-in from

by knowledge and data provided by the

the rest of the executives in the organi-

procurement function.”

zation, so that I could have that straight

Thought leadership, as defined by

conversation without having to wait to get

Satija, comes through knowledge of the

everyone at the top involved,” he says.

supply market and foundational knowl-

“The reality is, even though the CEO and

edge of numbers. Most importantly

a CFO may have a certain view, if you're

for him, it's about how these numbers

not able to collaborate and partner with

impact business models, set the stage

other C-suite members while delivering

for extremely productive conversations

value, it'll always raise the question: What

and grab the attention of the C-suite.

need is there for a procurement leader

Grabbing the attention of the C-suite

outside of someone that's going to nego-

is crucial for a transformation jour-

tiate deals for us? You can’t be essential

ney and when Satija joined he found

to the organization if the organization

himself needing to have buy-in from both

can’t see any reason for you to be.”

David Weinstein, President and CEO

A crucial part of Satija’s first year with

and Farhan Imam, CFO. He credits the

the business saw him spending time with

“extremely supportive” role they have

the business, building key relationships

played and continue to play in allowing

to better understand the pain points www.cpostrategy.com

68

and what their needs were and how procurement could help. This is where Satija points to a sizzling steak analogy.

“You walk into a steakhouse and the servers come to your table with a steak that's sizzling, and you're extremely hungry and you're excited to take a bite into that steak,” he says. “You’ve gone to a great restaurant and heard great reviews about the steak. You have a seat and there's the sizzle. As soon as you take a bite into that steak, it's chewy, and doesn't taste right and in a heartbeat that destroys the reputation of that restaurant.”

Elaborating on how the sizzling steak represents procurement for CSA Group; “the sizzle comes from building those foundational relationships by explaining the great things procurement can do. But when the other members of the executive team then take a bite into that steak and they don't see value coming out of those conversations, the relationship can go downhill pretty quickly. For me, it's not just about having the sizzle. It's about delivering on the promise of the sizzle and making sure that steak tastes just right.”

A fitting analogy, but how does that translate into tangible resources? How does one measure that sizzle and ultimately deliver on that promise? People and talent. Satija’s whole team needs to have that same mindset. For him, this Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

“ For me, it’s not just about having the sizzle. It’s about delivering on the promise of the sizzle and making sure that steak tastes just right” — Man ny Satija Vi c e P re s i de nt , Strate gi c I n i t i at i ves an d Sup p l y C h ai n , C SA G ro u p

www.cpostrategy.com

70

means that he and his team are not just

Satija has overseen a move from a fully

procurement people, they’re problem

decentralized function to a centralised

solvers who can work with the business

one, with multiple work streams in the

and solve business problems. “Let's see

area of people process and technol-

how we can work together to solve your

ogy. Through the implementation of a

business issue and see how my skills can

new CRM and ERP system, procure-

help deliver that,” he says. “That mindset

ment is now blessed with key data that

has gone a long way within our organiza-

can better inform decision making and

tion to establish the respect from our CEO

indeed enable greater business collabo-

and CFO from the onset and to continue

ration. Satija is keen to look at how CSA

to get that admiration and respect from

Group can further leverage technology

other leaders in the business.”

and data to streamline processes and

At a broad level, this procurement jour-

enable seamless control from a govern-

ney has been one of ensuring that “every

ance perspective. What's important for

dollar that's committed to a supplier runs

him though is to remember that a shared

through the procurement organization.”

understanding of what technology and

Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

data analytics could and should mean for

data in the systems, so it's about ensuring

the business is crucial. “Every company

that the value we deliver through analyt-

has to think about what digital transfor-

ics supports the objective or the mission

mation means to them based on conver-

of the organization. You've always got to

sations that they have, certainly for us

start by asking what the mission of the

as procurement leaders, with their chief

organization is? Then, after technology

technology officer,” he says. “Having a

serves those base level initiatives, how

base level alignment with the chief tech-

can the procurement investment further

nology officer is critical to understand

support that?”

what the roadmap for the company is,

Procurement is a results-driven game.

and then fitting procurement into that

Throw digital transformation into the

roadmap is the secondary discussion.

mix and the investments in technology

“Where procurement comes in is how

and analytics and results become more

the adoption of the procurement side will

important than ever before. Technology

enable the mission of the organization.

is a costly investment and so getting

With AI and analytics, we have plenty of

it right and being able to back that

www.cpostrategy.com

72

“ ...if you want to grow, you’ve got to be able to think about how you can drive change.

Change that matters to your company, change that matters to the ecosystem that you’re in and change that matters to the world” — M a n ny S at i j a V i ce P res ident , Strategic Initiatives a n d Sup p l y C h ai n , C SA G ro up

Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

investment with results is everything.

“It goes back to being essential in

Analytics is about using rich data to get

everything you do every day in terms of

insights out and drive changes in a cate-

what matters to the company and what

gory, strategy or a category plan. Satija

matters to your job. It should always

points to how he and his team are able

be part of your discipline, your way of

to use analytics overlaid over existing

thinking. If you recognize something's

data sets to come up with insights that

not working, it's better to be transpar-

have helped procurement drive deci-

ent about that with the stakeholders

sions that will deliver to the bottom line.

and having a very agile mindset and way

This, he feels, means that they can start

of thinking coupled with the ability to

rethinking why spend patterns exist in

course correct when you're finding things

a certain way. “We've been able to look

aren't working. This will help not only the

at disparate data sets, through multiple

procurement group but the organization

platforms of technology and really bring

as a whole.”

them together,” he says. “Now, what

Transparency, honesty and possess-

we have is a truly crystal-clear view of

ing an agile mindset to problem solve

what's happening in the business.”

have always been key traits in procure-

When discussing transformational

ment, but now more than ever before,

change, one rightfully focuses on cham-

these are crucial. In early 2020, the world

pioning the successes and the lasting

was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic,

meaningful change. For many, Satija

causing severe disruption to both busi-

included, it’s more impactful to actually

nesses and human life. Where there is

hold your hands up from time to time and

adversity there is opportunity, and Satija

admit where things may not have gone

firmly believes that the pandemic has

to plan. For him, there’s more to learn in

presented a huge opportunity for many

those mistakes and in actual fact, the real

organizations to look at the resilience

meaningful change is often born in these

and flexibility of their procurement func-

moments. “I think recognizing there's a

tions. After years of talking, procurement

problem and accepting that is step one,”

must now walk it. “COVID obviously took

he says. “Moving beyond that to under-

the world through unchartered territory,”

stand why that's a problem and how

he says. “I think many companies are

you can quickly course correct is the

still navigating, but therein lies the abil-

right approach.”

ity to showcase to an organization that www.cpostrategy.com

74

you can be flexible and agile and change your course to support what the organization needs and what matters most to move forward.”

Moving forward meant focusing on two key areas; realigning objectives to focus on cash management and focusing on operational continuity. To do this, Satija had to look closely at financial safety and conserving cash because nobody knows what the impact will be in one month, six months or two years from now. But what companies do know is that cash conservation and having a strong balance sheet is going to help in uncertain times. This of course, changed the conversations that Satija was having around procurement.

“One thing we did was shift gears and put all attention on things such as medi-

grade testing and certification program.

cal grade PPE sourcing,” he says. “CSA

“Going back to what I said about opera-

Group was considered to be an essential

tional continuity, it's important to note

business. So, we looked at how we could

that we had no idea that we'd be support-

support the world as a whole, when there

ing this, but if you take your group and

are struggles to source PP&E, what are

become flexible, nimble, agile, and you

the areas that we can do to actually help

support two main areas at a time like

and provide social good?”

this - for us that meant, financial safety

Through this, CSA Group launched

and operational continuity - you can then

a key initiative on medical grade, PPE

rethink what you are doing as a procure-

testing, inspection and certification,

ment group and readjust your priorities to

with procurement looking to help the

get through the storm.”

business get the right suppliers and

Despite the shifting of gears, the road

processes in place so that it can be

ahead for CSA Group remains one of

the recognized partner for a medical

opportunity and looking further at how

Pro cure ment : Essent ial to t h e b us i n es s . Es s ent i a l to t h e cu sto mer.

procurement can continue to support the

is, if you want to grow, you've got to be

organization to harness the data that's

able to think about how you can drive

embedded through the technology imple-

change. Change that matters to your

mentations to obtain further insights and

company, change that matters to the

make meaningful decisions to support

ecosystem that you're in and change

the growth of the company. For Satija,

that matters to the world. Keep on driv-

it’s about continuing to be essential to

ing change and innovation and not just

the business. One could argue that he

for the sake of driving it. Drive change

has demonstrated that as a function,

and innovation that will support growth

but he reflects on a key bit of advice he

for the company that you work for and

heard once upon a time.

the world that you live in.”

“Being comfortable will never drive growth,” he says. “The former IBM CEO always used to say that comfort and change do not coexist. What that means www.cpostrategy.com

76

Five wo pract procur Fi ve wo rst p ract ices in p rocurement

orst tices in rement Five worst practices in procurement According to the GEP, procurement professionals need to ‘step out of the box and see themselves as others see them’.

Fair enough, but they also go as far as saying that when they don’t, their behaviour can be ‘positively frustrating to their peers’. CPOstrategy looks at five common career-limiting practices for procurement professionals as outlined by GEP....

www.cpostrategy.com

81

Fi ve wo rst p ract ices in p rocurement

one How to totally botch a mandate for procurement A bold statement for sure, but GEP outlines

all cases, will be challenged to gain

that there is a belief that a CEO’s commit-

the necessary budget to implement

ment to a policy of 100 percent purchasing

a robust enough model to manage all

compliance will drive compelling benefits

spend on a timely, collaborative and

to the organisation and the CPOs will work

high-quality basis.’

hard to obtain this commitment. Reality

Staff become stretched and over-

never really lines up that way and so

worked, responsiveness goes down,

more often than not, it results in overreach.

goodwill is lost, and the noise rises to

Successful management of all spend

the C-Suite which is never a good thing.

requires a significant investment in staff,

Success will only come from approaching

technology and change management.

a mandate as a journey, mapping strat-

‘Procurement organisations are often

egy to build on a succession of increasing

called to lead by example in reducing

wins and supporting those robustly with

their own costs of operation and, in nearly

the resources at your disposal. www.cpostrategy.com

83

Fi ve wo rst p ract ices in p rocurement

two How to get ignored by the c-suite Procurement speaks its own language.

Procurement must become more

Even now, where procurement is being

sophisticated in translating negotiated

increasingly recognised as a key part of

savings to realized savings and EBIDTA,

business, it has its own lexicon of terms

and how it defines value in strategic deals.

that are important to procurement. This

It also needs better prioritization models

language sometimes just does not trans-

in place, investing its time and best

late into the language or the agenda of

resources on the initiatives that are most

the C-Suite and that’s a fact.

critical to the company.

We’ve written a few times in this maga-

‘Procurement professionals need to

zine that procurement has an image

learn to put procurement’s success crite-

problem and that stems from the fact

ria in the correct context of the overall

that procurement believes that its goals

agenda of the business leaders — with

are among the most important goals to

P&L responsibility. We are part of the

the rest of the business.

company’s ecosystem, not the center of it.’ www.cpostrategy.com

85

thr Fi ve wo rst p ract ices in p rocurement

ree How to overpromise and underdeliver while increasing bureaucracy How do you measure success? Easy.

How do you measure why something

‘something’ that it needed to deliver.

The fact of the matter is, procurement

hasn’t happened to an agreed time and

simply does not actually do the neces-

date within the organisation? That’s

sary analysis required, nor does it realis-

where it gets a little tricky. Procurement

tically assess the existing workload and

loves to commit to service-level objec-

lay out expectations of what is required

tives, but often does not accurately

before it commits to a time frame. You

measure them, if at all.

can see the problem that this presents.

GEPs tates that if procurement

‘A promise of Tuesday becomes

can’t meet a timeline, it simply makes

Thursday and drags on to Monday, and

excuses explaining how busy it is as a

we wonder why others don’t always find

function or how it didnt get the necessary

us to be credible’ www.cpostrategy.com

87

Fi ve wo rst p ract ices in p rocurement

four How to reduce agility of the company and hamper business ‘Often, we inject ourselves into a deal in

that most procurement organizations have

process, and commit to delivering savings

no consistent mechanism for address-

(by browbeating the supplier into lowering

ing the total business case in the context

prices) without adequate research on the

of analyzing the financial benefit that will

context of the deal or the actual market for

be eroded by not executing promptly,

a unique product or service.’

compared with the potential benefit of

Where procurement lacks capacity, it will often put deals into the queue and is then

additional intervention by procurement.

Frankly put, procurement very often

unable to give them the timely attention

does not have a clue about what the total

that they deserve. Ask around and you’ll

business case is (macro view) and only

find that most procurement profession-

has a view of the price or total cost of

als confess that the value of a deal to the

ownership (micro view). This is procure-

company is diminished by delays in execu-

ment myopia, and needs to be overcome

tion. What is interesting, and alarming, is

if it is to consistently add real value. www.cpostrategy.com

89

Fi ve wo rst p ract ices in p rocurement

five How to mess up procurement automation This one is a big one. So if you

secure the funds to purchase and imple-

take anything away from this list,

ment these technologies, it frequently

CPOstrategy says this is it!

fails to recognize, plan or budget for

There is, undeniably, a plethora of remarkable and game-changing

organizational change management and other non-IT support costs.

procurement tools and technologies

‘Roll-outs falter and stall because we

on the market right now. We purpose-

underestimate the amount of effort that

fully didn’t say disruptive because

it takes to properly think through and

automation right now is kind of the

address the different ways that individu-

one area that we as an industry

als buy and use different commodities in

space will continue to focus on for

different geographies.’

the foreseeable future.

Procurement tends to fail to provide for

These technologies, automation in

adequate training, communications, help

particula, can help enterprise procure-

desks and on-going support. As a result,

ment teams boost efficiency, transpar-

it will continue to fumble on the very

ency and productivity. The key words

verge of what should be a moment of

for any procurement professional.

triumph. The result is another investment

When procurement professionals finally

that failed to meet the business case. www.cpostrategy.com

91

BE LIKE SAM

Are you leading a Procurement or Technology transformation?

CPOstrategy & Interface Magazine offer a unique opportunity to showcase your story and give a voice to that journey Get in touch. Be like Sam and share your story!

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