Procurement & Supply Chain | Kantar
The value of trusted partners in a major Procurement transformation Author Manju Kygonahally
Cognizant helps companies modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences so they stay ahead in a fastchanging world.
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There are people who relish a challenge, and luckily for him, Stephen Day is one of them. When Stephen took the reins as Chief Procurement Officer at Kantar Group in April 2020, the UK was just weeks into a global pandemic that would upend life and business as we knew it. And that was just for starters. Stephen also had to get to grips with a huge transformation remit: from consolidating procurement activity and spend in a company where everything had been done locally in 70 countries, to delivering cost savings to Kantar’s new owner, Bain Capital, to establishing himself as Kantar’s first Group CPO and building a team of procurement professionals from scratch. As if all of that weren’t enough, Stephen was also on PLANTING a mission of his own: to improve diversity and THE SEEDS OF AN ENDURING PARTNERSHIP inclusivity in the Group’s supplier base and to transform procurement practices for a As the Cognizant’s CMT Business Unit sustainable, net-zero future. This was Leader in Global Growth Markets division, a all done without meeting anyone, technology and innovation partner to Kantar colleagues, candidates or Media since 2016, I found Stephen’s zest for suppliers face to face. these challenges enormously inspiring. My first thought on learning of his appointment was that he would need allies – trusted partners to support him on his journey to transform procurement at Kantar. With this in mind, I reached out to Stephen to offer Cognizant’s help, and the seeds of an enduring partnership were planted. Now, two years down the line, I’d like to share some takeaways from that relationship that other procurement leaders and technology partners may find valuable. Manju Kygonahally
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Procurement & Supply Chain | Kantar 1 A STRONG RELATIONSHIP LEADS TO BETTER NEGOTIATIONS FOR BOTH SIDES The first takeaway is that Procurement and external partners don’t have to work against each other. Procurement sometimes has a reputation for putting a spanner in the works of technology projects, with post-BAFO requests for discounts that can undermine the relationship between the business and its technology partners. By working closely and supportively with Stephen and his team, we’ve gained deep insight into his current objectives and longterm aims. With that insight, we’ve been able to offer commercial propositions that balance short-term demand for cost savings with the need to work with partners who will deliver significant business value over the long term. 2 EXTERNAL PARTNERS CAN PROVIDE A VALUABLE PERSPECTIVE TO A NEW CPO A new CPO will always value different perspectives on the business they’re joining and a technology partner like Cognizant is well placed to provide some useful and unique insights. As an external partner with an established presence in the Kantar organisation, we could give Stephen an outside-in perspective on the way Kantar operates as a business, what different divisions are asking partners for, and how Kantar can gain maximum value from partners. Our
work with many other companies inside and outside the media industry meant we could advise on best practice we’ve seen and implemented elsewhere. At the same time, our robust approach to project governance meant we were also able to demonstrate the tangible business value we were delivering across our 40+ contracts with Kantar and make recommendations for further efficiency gains and savings from those programs. 3 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY ARE KEY TO A PRODUCTIVE PARTNERSHIP A must-have for any trusted partnership is transparency. As CPO, Stephen needs to be aware of any potential future changes in the strategy or go-to-market approach of Kantar’s key partners. For us, that means having open conversations with Stephen about Cognizant’s growth strategy, particularly around how we propose to integrate new acquisitions into our business. That openness has meant Kantar Group is well apprised of future changes to the Cognizant value proposition, and early insight into how it can benefit from those new capabilities.
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4 TRUST IS GAINED THROUGH CONCRETE ACTION AND POSITIVE RESULTS Lastly, we knew the relationship could only blossom if we gained Stephen’s trust in Cognizant as a rock-solid, reliable partner. That’s something we were able to demonstrate through a number of major technology transformation programs that we have led at Kantar. A major upgrade and migration of Kantar’s Maconomy ERP platform for 59 countries was a case in point, because without that platform Kantar doesn’t have a business. Failure simply wasn’t an option: the business needed the new system to go live on time, as planned, and on budget. Even with the challenges of COVID, we achieved all of those aims, with an entirely drama-free cutover to the new system on the target date set at project start. You know it’s been a successful project when your post-go-live helpdesk gets no A calls after you press the PROCUREMENT button!
ORGANISATION READY FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
Despite the unique set of challenges he faced when joining Kantar, Stephen has built a strategic Procurement organisation with a real eye to maximising the value Kantar Group gains from its partners. However, that’s far from the end of the transformation journey. We’re already discussing the next step: a cross-organisation program value office to help Kantar innovate for a profitable, sustainable and net-zero future. In this, as in everything else, trusted and transparent partnership will be key.
THE FUTURE OF US Here’s a field guide worth following to navigate the ‘net zero era,’ in which successful businesses will lead with digital, empower consumers and act with purpose. Click this link to view The future of us downloadable pdf
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