Procurement & Supply Chain | Al Masaood

More generally, procurement needs to transition from being a cost-cutting and regulatory function to being a customercentric and business-enabling role that is agile enough to adapt to a world that is perpetually changing.

As a final question, I wondered if you could reflect on your own journey with such a prestigious organisation? What are you most excited about in the future?

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I am thrilled to be a part of the Al Masaood Group’s transformation journey, and in particular the transformation of the procurement team. Although the past few years have been disruptive and uncertain, we have persisted and, in spite of the challenges, have evolved into a larger, stronger team that will work with the company to support its growth and new revenue streams. My emphasis will continue to be on people and their growth since I think that people are our greatest and most valuable asset.

In this respect, greater strategic responsibility for procurement needs to be assumed – it needs to be at the centre of organisational strategy and future goal-setting. Our best practice approach has already kickstarted this process of integration, but transformation doesn’t always mean ‘digital transformation’. I am similarly aware that the team must also develop its non-technical skills, including stakeholder management, SRM, consultative work, initiative taking and project management.

Therefore, looking forward, we are striving to maximise connections with third parties, to innovate, to integrate, to cooperate, and to make the best of our large pool of data to optimise business decisions.

As a personal focus and priority, I will keep advancing my team’s and my own knowledge of sustainability. Contributing to the company’s ESG performance is so necessary from a business perspective of course, but it also strongly aligns with my own beliefs.

All of these priorities are interconnected. The new and exciting path of the organisation’s digital transformation will encourage the team to pick up new skills across all different strands of a futureproofed business. Whether it’s sustainability, data management, process alignment, communications or any number of continuous improvement areas, procurement has the potential to help set an example for positive business change.