Service Corporation International brochure - November 2018

Service Corporation International’s roadmap for supply chain transformation PROJECT PARTNERS

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Empowering a mammoth supply chain transformation WRIT TEN BY

L AUR A MULL AN PRODUCED BY

DENITR A PRICE

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Powered by center-led procurement, data analytics, strategic sourcing and more, Service Corporation International is well on its way to becoming a world-class supply chain group

P

lanning a funeral is an emotionally testing task, but it is one, which many people will have to face in their lifetime. Navigating

a variety of choices from caskets and flowers to music selection whilst also dealing with grief is a 04

delicate balancing act, but luckily, there is an array of deathcare professionals ready to guide you through the process – not least affiliates of Texas-headquartered firm Service Corporation International (SCI)*, which has quickly established itself as the leading deathcare provider in North America. With a network of more than 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries, SCI provides world-class funeral, cremation, and cemetery services to thousands of families each year. In doing so, Christopher Jones, Director of Indirect Procurement, says that SCI helps families through difficult times, helping to celebrate their loved ones’ lives with compassion and dignity.

“In my opinion, SCI helps families in their greatest time of need, and our focus and mission centers around this need,” observes Jones. “Our 24,000 associates work every day to ensure that our

05 families are taken care of, that they don’t have to worry about the little details when they’re grieving over a loved one that they’ve lost.”

With funeral homes and cemeteries in 45 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, SCI has an unparalleled network and a diversified range of end-of-life offerings. The supply chain is, therefore, a pivotal part of the operations and so the company has embarked on a transformation to ensure it can continue to deliver and help hundreds of thousands of families each year.

“I believe that supply chain is a key w w w.sc i - c or p . com

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“ SCI has worked with U.S. Bank for the last 10 years with its One Card and Purchasing Card payments to streamline its process and perfect its procureto-pay initiatives”

group in our operations,” Jones adds.

keen to highlight too. With different

“We make sure that our locations don’t

groups within the procurement organi-

have to worry about the little things,

zation – direct procurement and indirect

ensuring that we have the necessary

procurement as well as a business

operational supplies and merchandise

support services group – Jones outlines

on behalf of our families so that they can

how each department takes a unique

have the best possible service for their

approach to sustain and foster strong

loved ones. The activities that we do

relationships with suppliers.

every day are critical for our operations.

“My group is indirect procurement,

“Since we are the largest company in

which procures operational supplies

the deathcare industry, our ability to go

and services,” he explains. “Then we

to our suppliers with large volume

have a direct group which focuses on

purchases means we can achieve

the merchandise side. The best way to

optimal pricing for our locations.”

describe the difference between these

Supplier relationship management is a

groups is that my group impacts the

critical function for a supply chain

bottom line of our organizations, while

professional, and it is a task Jones is

the direct group affects the top line – w w w.sc i - c or p . com

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08 that is, sales and revenue. Then we have one more procurement group, which controls our fleet of vehicles, which is one of the largest in North America, and they also handle travel, P-Card (purchasing card) services, and other offerings.

“We have some companies that we’ve worked with for decades and others that we’re just now developing new relationships. We are working to make sure that we continue to create a win-win partnership that benefits both sides – that’s always our goal.”

Striking a balance between driving

cost efficiency and deriving value is one of the most pressing challenges facing the supply chain sector today.

At SCI, the company works shoulder to shoulder with other departments to truly understand what their pain points are, what type of services and goods they are looking for and what values are most important to them. “In most instances, the supply chain department won’t be the primary user of products or services we buy; it will generally be another group within SCI. Therefore, we partner with these business process owners to identify what their short- and long-term needs are and what’s going to satisfy those needs. We put together business requirements to ensure that the people to whom we choose to send a request for proposal (RFP) meet the overall needs of the business.

“Being in the procurement profession long enough, you realize that the best price doesn’t always equate to the best service. Good procurement organizations tend to ensure that all the services can be met, that all the needs of the organization are considered and that we drive the best total value to the organization overall.” w w w.sc i - c or p . com

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CONGRATULATIONS

ON DRIVING THE INDUSTRY FORWARD At General Motors Fleet, we understand the importance of working as a team to push innovation and develop new solutions. We congratulate SCI on being featured for their Strategic Partnerships and Alliances and their continued dedication to their communities.

TO LEARN MORE VISIT

gmfleet.com

SCI has also turned its attention to the digital world to drive value. As part of the company’s supply chain transformation, SCI zeroed in on new trailblazing technologies such as Coupa’s procurement platform which has helped to make procurement more visible and accessible. “Coupa is a unique procurement platform. Overall, it’s a very user-friendly environment for our locations to order products we procure on their behalf. We put these products into Coupa into what are called catalogs, which allows our team T:297 mm

to almost shop like they’re on Amazon.

They can put items into a cart, check out and it automatically creates a

“ We work every day to ensure that our families are taken care of, that they don’t have to worry about the little details when they’re grieving over a loved one that they’ve lost” — Christopher Jones, Director of Indirect Procurement, SCI

purchase order (PO) which is systematically sent to our vendors.”

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Christopher Jones Chris Jones joined SCI in 2016 as Director Indirect Procurement.

Before joining SCI, he worked for several Fortune 500 companies such as Precision Castparts, Reliance Steel and Aluminum and General Motors. With an extensive background in supply chain and procurement best practices, Jones leads all areas of Indirect Procurement for SCI. Jones holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in Operations and Supply Chain from Northeastern University.

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“ Coupa is a unique procurement platform.

Overall, it’s a very userfriendly environment for our locations to order products we procure on their behalf” — Christopher Jones, Director of Indirect Procurement, SCI

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As part of its business, SCI also offers travel services to help clients travel home to pay their respects – another area of the business to have been upended by technology.

“Working very closely with Carlson Wagonlit, the company has created the CWT platform that all our 24,000 employees through North America and Puerto Rico use to book their airline travel hotels needs and car rentals, for example.” On top of this, the Texas-headquartered firm also has a fleet of 7,000 vehicles which it oversees using a digital fleet management platform.

Data is the lifeblood of any procurement team and, at SCI, Jones points out that data analytics has allowed the company to evaluate and benchmark its purchases. “I think data is key in everything that we do,” he explains. “It drives our decision making and allows us to analyze our purchases to ensure we’re driving the right total value for our organization. One key example of how we use data is that it allows us to analyze different trends and forecast whether the price of bronze, metals or other materials is going to rise or fall.”

With a compassionate, empathetic team, SCI’s employees have not been neglected by the transformation. Creating a culture that fosters innovation and collaboration, the company teamed up with KPMG to develop w w w.sc i - c or p . com

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PROVIDING QUALITY GROUNDS SERVICE SOLUTIONS FOR OUR CLIENTS IS WHAT WE DO...ENABLING OUR CLIENTS SUCCESS IS WHAT WE STRIVE TO ACHIEVE.

LAND

ENHANCEMENTS

LOT

Our unique business model combines the expertise to self-perform exterior grounds maintenance service through our branch network and manage the logistical challenge of a distributed grounds maintenance service work force.

All focused on providing Best-In-Class Solutions.

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a new Supply Chain Academy to train

ranked 2 out of 5 on KPMG’s Procure-

its team. “They’ve been a key part of

ment Maturity Index, whereas now this

our success,” notes Jones. “Working

figure has soared to 4. “The goal has

with KPMG, we implemented the

been the same from the beginning: to

Supply Chain Academy, a training

be a world-class supply chain organiza-

system for our new buyers and

tion,” reflects Jones. “With our roadmap,

managers in the supply chain organiza-

we will be among the top echelon of

tion to ensure that they continue their

supply chain organizations as far as

education and understanding. They

your maturity, systems and processes.”

are kept up-to-date with not just the

*As used herein, “Service Corpora-

deathcare industry but also supply

tion International” or “SCI” refers to

chain trends, what’s going on and how

Service Corporation International and

they can best manage their categories

all of its affiliated companies.

to ensure that they’re driving the best total value for our organization.”

SCI’s supply chain transformation may be still underway, but the firm has already made impressive progress. At the beginning of this roadmap, SCI w w w.sc i - c or p . com

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Corporate Office 1929 Allen Parkway Houston, Texas 77019 T +1 (713) 522-5141 www.sci-corp.com