The Purchaser Issue 7

Transformation, complexity and procurement-led sustainability, according to Ben Van Zyl

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There’s one constant in the world of procurement and supply chains: change. Whether driven by transformation, technology adoption, sustainability, strategic objectives or more, the profession is in a constant state of evolution and progression. And that’s before you factor in the ongoing recovery from COVID disruption.

But evolution is good. It’s also necessary, as many of our contributors explain in this issue. Take Telkom SA’s Ben Van Zyl, for example. A skilled procurement and supply chain professional with more than 20 years’ experience leading strategic transformations, he has since 2014 been doing the same at the South African telecommunications leader. And it’s extensive change too, including new

procurement structures and operating models, technology adoption, governance work and, more recently, developing a sustainability strategy geared towards making a real difference for the business and its communities.

No evolution is more important than that needed to tackle climate change, as Desré Hancocks knows only too well. As a Sustainable Procurement Pledge Ambassador she is an advocate for the power of procurement to drive sustainability initiatives across businesses. But, you’ll find few more passionate about the power of people, relationships and the shared sense of humanity needed to get things done. It’s a fascinating and uniquely personal approach.

That personal thread runs deep through The Purchaser. While the goals or objectives of our contributors may differ, it is their ambition and passion for transforming the profession that ties them all together. We hope it inspires you too.

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Creative Directors

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Marketing Director Jack Pascall

Project Director Manuel Navarro

Managing Director Charlotte Clarke

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Pepper

74 80

EMISSIONS IMPOSSIBLE?

58 | INTERVIEW

MID & WEST WALES

FIRE & RESCUE

On a life in procurement, driving change, and why social values are essential

74 | PERSPECTIVE EMISSIONS IMPOSSIBLE?

Where do you start when tackling supply chain emissions? Alex Saric explains

80 | DISRUPTOR SOURCEFUL

Data, supply chain transparency and challenging corporate climate change perceptions

76 | CITY GUIDE

BARCELONA

Business and pleasure in the Catalan capital

84 | CALENDAR EVENTS

The best events for 2022

Supply chain power

Skyrocketing growth in the EV market over the next decade will rely on how companies navigate supply chain complexity in areas like manufacturing, batteries and charging, says Accenture. In It’s time to Power-Up the Electric Vehicle Supply Chain , it breaks these companies into two categories: giants, or traditional automotive OEMs and disruptors, or growing or new EV innovators. They face pressure in three key supply chain areas of process and structure, organisation and technology with success relying on determining high-value skill sets in the EV supply chain, considering technologies like blockchain, and reimagining the traditional supply chain.

www.acenture.com

It’s

SPACE SUPPLY

The COVID pandemic highlighted weaknesses in supply chains everywhere. Even, according to panelists at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ ASCEND conference, in space. They suggested that newer players building satellites in large volumes for constellations, like SpaceX’s Starlink, face challenges similar to the automotive and consumer electronics industries, a different scenario to ‘traditional’ space supply chains. Paul Graven of Cateni, which develops aviation software, said “The supply chain in space often behaves as though it’s surprised by orders. In no other industry does that really happen. COVID exacerbated some of the existing problems.” www.ascend.events

39%

Despite the prevalence and impact of supply chain disruption over the last two years, only 39% of companies are investing in risk and disruption monitoring tools. McKinsey: How COVID-19 is reshaping supply chains

Time to Power-Up the Electric Vehicle (EV) Supply Chain

WHERE IS YOUR ‘CUSTOMER LENS’?

It’s the future of the supply chain: the customer lens. KPMG says that smart organisations that are able to view the world as their customers do will succeed through the creation of true customer-centric supply chains. Five crucials aspects of achieving this are: mapping the customer experience journey; understanding cost-to-serve and profitability; digitising everything; looking at partners with a fresh mind; and encouraging your people to make a difference.

www.kpmg.com

49%

of supply chain leaders have accelerated spending on digital technologies to make their operations more responsive and forward-looking during the COVID pandemic; 54% are increasing their investment in cloud computing and storage specifically.

2021 MHI Annual Industry Report

WALMART GOES DRIVERLESS

Walmart and Silicon Valley self-driving van startup Galik have, since August, operated two entirely autonomous delivery trucks with no safety driver on a seven-mile loop, daily for 12 hours. The fully driverless service is part of Walmart’s online grocery business, which the company is using to increase capacity and reduce inefficiencies.

www.corporate.walmart.com

SEAT GOES VERTICAL

“Drone transport is going to revolutionise logistics, as for example in the case of SEAT, where it will reduce parts delivery time by 80%,” says the Spanish car manufacturer’s VP of Production and Logistics Christian Vollmer. He should know. SEAT it’s been testing drone deliveries for car components straight to its assembly lines at its Barcelona manufacturing plant. The business intends to ultimately use automated drones to both deliver parts from external suppliers and to carry them around the production floor to where they’re needed.

www.dronedj.com

NIKE’S ‘UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION’

In September Nike revealed concerns about its supply chain in a company earnings call. At the time, CFO Matt Friend said that the company had “already lost 10 weeks of production” as a result of COVID disruption. In November, it was reported that the sports brand had emailed a shoe store to notify of cancellation of Nike Futures orders for spring and summer 2022, as well as the remaining 2021 holiday items. The email said the decision was taken because “COVID-19 continues to impact the global supply chain and create transportation disturbances”, describing the disruption as a “dynamic and unprecedented situation”.

www.twitter.com

Amazon introduces recyclable packaging for cold items shipped from its Amazon Fresh online grocery service.

DHL announces the order of nine additional Boeing 767-300 freighter aircraft to meet increasing demand.

Companies from the medtech industry, including AdvaMed , set out to the Department of Commerce how the semiconductor shortage is affecting healthcare

Matternet launches its automated drone docking station in Switzerland, a solution for cargo drones to land, recharge and reload.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE

The US Senate has passed the $1trn Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, which will rebuild US infrastructure, take action against climate change, invest in community initiatives and provide broadband access for all. A key aspect of the Bill is to improve and strengthen the US supply chain, including upgrading airports and ports, providing investment to upgrade rail infrastructure and improving US competitiveness by removing bottlenecks and expediting commerce.

www.whitehouse.gov

Portfolio

i nnovative and ins P ired items for work, leisure and the environmentally conscious

HASSELBLAD 907X ANNIVERSARY EDITION

There’ll always be a place for tradition, craftsmanship and individual creativity. But, when your brand is founded on aspirations of innovation and breaking established ideas, you can’t rely on that tradition alone. Hasselblad demonstrates this in the 907X Anniversary Edition, an 800-run limited edition that draws inspiration from the company’s iconic SWC camera and celebrates eight decades of innovation and pioneering technology. The 907X blends analogue and digital with an interchangeable lens for live view and autofocus, a CFV II50C digital back, optical viewfinder and more – all wrapped in a custom crafted kit.

www.hasselblad.com

Portfolio

i nnovative and ins P ired items for work, leisure and the environmentally conscious

CROSSHELMET X1

Heads up display (HUD), bluetooth, bifocal display, live information feed and more – the CrossHelmet X1 is less motorcycle helmet, more fighter pilot headgear. CrossHelmet calls the X1 smart helmet ‘the ultimate experience’ for the next generation of motorcycle riders. Its dual-monitor HUD system – the only one on the market – projects essential riding info like weather and route directions, as well as a rear view mirror, onto the screen. X1 is user-friendly too: CrossSound Control technology can actively dampen road, engine and wind noise to reduce rider fatigue and hearing damage.

www.crosshelmet.com

Portfolio

i nnovative and ins P ired items for work, leisure and the environmentally conscious

PAPERO SALAMANDER

A backpack made of paper? For the outdoors? Well, yes. That’s exactly what the SALAMANDER – one of several all-paper backpacks and bags from PAPERO – is. PAPERO uses vegan, robust and renewable raw materials to create ‘kraft paper’, from which it makes its bags designed to encourage people to question their own consumer behaviour and values. SALAMANDER has an eight litre capacity, can function as a handbag, curtain bag or backpack and hold a 14-inch laptop. For every bag sold, the company donates a portion of the money to a reforestation project.

www. papero-bags.de

Portfolio

i nnovative and ins P ired items for work, leisure and the environmentally conscious

POCKET ROCKET

Getting back to basics is good. That’s certainly the case when it comes to the Pocket Rocket, a bike meets motorcycle, all-electric innovation built on one premise: omit what isn’t necessary. The outcome is a light, efficient and environmentally friendly Light Electric Vehicle that lives up to its moniker. Pocket Rocket fuses design, tech and functionality in its lightweight aluminium frame – 55 kg to be precise. And, in true rocket fashion, the bike can accelerate from a standstill to speed without any warm up or kick start, in a timeframe that SOL – it’s maker – describes as breathtaking.

www.sol-motors.com

Portfolio

i nnovative and ins P ired items for work, leisure and the environmentally conscious

TRIWA HUMANIUM 39

There’s a watch for every occasion. Some, like saving the planet, are more important than others. Which is where TRIWA, or Transforming the Industry of Watches, and its range of sustainable and environmentally friendly watches comes in. Some are made from recycled ocean plastic. Others, like the Humanium 39, are made from confiscated and melted down illegal firearms – TRIWA donates 15% of every Humanium watch sold to conflict-torn societies and victims of armed violence. It's environmentally friendly too: TRIWA has calculated its total carbon footprint as KG CO2e 2.31.

www.triwa.com

DRIVING PROCUREMENT VALUE

TRANSFORMATION, COMPLEXITY AND PROCUREMENT AS A DRIVER OF SUSTAINABLE VALUE, ACCORDING TO TELKOM’S BEN VAN ZYL

Tell Ben Van Zyl that procurement is only about cost savings, governance, compliance or any of the other traditional aspects of the role and he’ll respectfully disagree. For a procurement and supply chain leader of Van Zyl’s experience those points are a given – they are the bread and butter of daily procurement. In today’s more complex and rapidly evolving world, the role of a high performing procurement function like the one he has led at South Africa’s Telkom since 2019 is about something far more crucial to overall strategic success: driving value.

That value, as Van Zyl goes on to explain, is multifaceted, encompassing several key areas that he insists must be embedded within the organisation and ultimately play a crucial role in delivering on the broader strategic objectives of the business.

Over the last years, he and his procurement colleagues have firmly practiced what he preaches, guiding the procurement business through a significant transformation programme that includes overhauling governance frameworks, focusing on cost control, technology adoption and delivering a new procurement structure and operating model. More recently new areas of focus, including developing a group-wide sustainability framework, cybersecurity risk, disruption and more have added to an increasingly complex procurement environment.

PROCUREMENT EVOLUTION

But that complexity is de rigueur for the modern procurement leader, says Van Zyl, outlining how the role – and the broader function – have changed over a 20-year career that has covered strategic sourcing, procurement and supply chain management for leading financial and telecommunications organisations. “The most obvious changes over that time are how the role of technology has vastly increased. For example, source to settle platforms that improved operational performance by driving automation, but also things like better market intelligence

and fantastic spend analytics and visualisation tools to give you greater reporting and insight to optimise spend and cash, and importantly, improve strategic decision making.

“But, more broadly, the typical view of procurement has evolved,” he continues.

“I think it’s less about facilitating a process and more about strategic relationships and thinking. That’s a reflection of how the procurement leader has had to change too. I love doing deals, it’s still my sweet spot, but really the leadership role today is about understanding business drivers, creating

value, using your experience to view the company more holistically and understanding that what you’re doing is assisting the business to achieve their strategy.

“At Telkom I’ve made sure that procurement has a seat around the table, it’s really important for that to happen in terms of being representative of how the business views procurement,” says Van Zyl. “A good leader still needs the commercial acumen to act as an advisor, but you have to be able to ‘sell’ procurement value to the business. You need to then back that up by delivering on that value promise or you will lose

trust. As an example, we’re currently developing a list that’s akin to procurement KPIs that are aligned to the business objectives – that’s my contract with the organisation, and me and the team have to deliver on it to succeed.”

TRANSFORMATION AT TELKOM

And deliver they have. Van Zyl joined Telkom in 2014, originally as Managing Executive: Transformational Sourcing, before moving to Openserve, part of Telkom, in the role of Chief Procurement and Contracts Officer. “At the start of 2019, I was asked to head up procurement

contract management for the group –the role I currently hold,” he continues.

“I was stepping into a group role essentially overseeing procurement while also overseeing the supply chain businesses for Openserve and Consumer. There were a number of areas we had to address and focus on at that point, including establishing a centre of excellence model, building a strong analytical capability with an equally strong cross-functional team of subject matter experts, developing a new governance framework and doing a lot of work around risk management, including work with our partner Inoxico on risk vetting and conflict of

interest checks. Our diversified supply chain placed us in a strong position when COVID disruption struck.”

The transformation since 2019 has been significant, says Van Zyl, further detailing the key areas of work to date. “When I took the role, I think business was a little frustrated at the pace at which some procurement processes moved. At the same time, there were some areas of improvement highlighted in an audit findings around things like contract management and ineffective procurement processes.

As a result, my attention was largely on those areas of risk, governance and putting a new procurement structure and operating model in place, all to allow for

“OUR JOB IS TO ADD VALUE ACROSS THE ORGANISATION SO WE, AS A PROCUREMENT FUNCTION, WILL PLAY A BIG ROLE IN IMPLEMENTING THE SUSTAINABILITY FRAMEWORK”

more flexibility and agility whilst also maintaining the control.

“As part of that work I realised pretty quickly that my reporting was bad; I was getting different answers from different reports and just didn’t have the visibility to drive meaningful insights,” he continues. “With experience, you can trust your instinct to a degree, but you need to have good data and analytics to make effective decisions. We built a spend cube and made significant improvements to have

one single version of the truth; to progress it was really important to improve the reporting and analytics capabilities.”

TECHNOLOGY AND DECISION MAKING

Van Zyl makes no bones about being a facts-based leader, supporting his decision making with reliable and holistic information. In this regard, technology adoption has played an important role in the transformation work to date. “It is the catalyst and enabler to improve performance and move far more quickly,”

“I’VE MADE SURE THAT PROCUREMENT HAS A SEAT AT THE TOP TABLE”

WHY STOP AT AVERAGE?

As the preferred partner of Telkom and 52 of the world’s leading service providers, Amdocs Operations brings a robust hybrid cloud management platform, extensive AI-driven automation and thousands of DevOps professionals, empowering IT organizations to lead successful digital transformation journeys and design innovative services that customers want.

“YOU HAVE TO HAVE GOOD DATA AND ANALYTICS TO MAKE EFFECTIVE DECISIONS”

he reveals. “We’ve implemented e-sourcing and e-procurement solutions, spend analysis, have automated the requisition to order process and we’re adopting contract management and supplier performance management solutions that will add tremendous value to the organisation. Further automation will remain a big focus area in procurement, similar to the drive for innovation and automation in our billing system with Amdocs.

“Specifically on supplier performance, we’re sweating the assets we have by using one of the Ariba modules to create a heat map of supplier performance,” says Van Zyl. “Being able to give that kind of detailed information to the business will help to ensure we’re putting in the right processes and improvement plans, but it will also drive the right behaviour from our suppliers. My goal is that, by the end of the year, we’ll have our first dashboards available for the senior team, and we’ll drive this forward from there.”

Innovations like this can go some way towards cutting through a procurement environment that, says Van Zyl, has become increasingly complex in recent years. “Just look at the last two years alone,” he notes, “there’s very different dynamics to the role as a result of several significant events like geopolitical risk between the US and China, cybersecurity issues like the big hacking

incident that we faced here at Telkom and, more recently, the supply chain disruption caused by COVID and the global chip shortage. All of these highlight the importance of having the right procurement and supply chain risk management processes in place. Working with key suppliers like ZTE to keep buffer stock on customer facing equipment shows how strategic partnerships can reduce the risk impact and serve our customers better.

“There’s other dynamics, too,” he continues. “Sustainability – driven by everyone from investors and shareholders to clients, partners and internal stakeholders – is becoming essential at a strategic level, as is improving diversity and inclusion initiatives both in our business and at our suppliers. All these issues are crucial and need to be embedded into your organisation – and not to the extent where you’re saying they’re a focus for the future, but so that you’re making real, measurable changes now that make a difference to people’s lives.”

SUSTAINABILITY, RISK AND CHANGE

Van Zyl is currently engaged in several of these key areas at a strategic level at Telkom. Developing and implementing a sustainable procurement strategy that aligns with the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives is at the top of the list, he says. “Our job is to add value across the organisation so we, as a procurement function, will play a big role in implementing the sustainability

framework. To do that, we have to ensure that purchasing reflects the broader goals linked to resource efficiency, climate change, social responsibility and economic resilience. We already have a supplier code of conduct in place and have had great buy-in from our partners; it’s extensive and covers data, privacy, protection of human rights, economic empowerment, anti-corruption, business continuity management and so on.

“If you then look at the wider ESG pillars for the business, you really have suppliers and supply chains across them all,” he adds. “In that respect, our approach is now to take this to the next level by working with the Telkom Group Exco to understand their ambition and get their guidance. Telkom doesn’t want to be just compliant and tick boxes, but wants to have a real differentiating strategy that identifies key areas of improvement, allocates the necessary resources and investment, and identifies collective actions and targets for the next five to ten years.”

Alongside sustainability, further enhancing supply chain resilience is a core focus for Van Zyl and his team. COVID, he explains, demonstrated the risks associated with global supply chains and the importance of having greater visibility across the supplier network. As a result, he and his colleagues have been collaborating closely with suppliers, understanding trade routes and working on ways to build further agility and resilience into the supply chain.

PARTNERING WITH TELKOM FOR A BETTER FUTURE

At Barloworld Logistics we believe in building sustainable partnerships that focus on unlocking value at each step in the supply chain process.

Today’s global interconnectedness demands competitive supply chains with advanced capabilities to deliver rewarding customer experiences.

Our secret to success lies in being able to connect the dots better and faster to deliver supply chain efficiencies.

By identifying and implementing efficiencies, our seven-year journey with Telkom has realised significant value and unlocked substantial savings.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT AND TOGETHER WE PUSH BOUNDARIES TO DEFY LIMITS WITH OUR CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS.

“THIS IS ABOUT WHETHER WE WANT TO BE COMPLIANT AND TICK BOXES, OR WHETHER WE WANT TO DO MORE THAN EVERYONE ELSE”

“Risk management is linked closely with the work around supplier relationship management and contract management,” says Van Zyl. “We’re going to analyse every area, whether it’s legal risks, financial sustainability or operational risks, to ensure we have a proactive approach and that we’re not just on a tick-box exercise. We’ve already making great progress in this regard; we were able to react well to the challenges that COVID brought as a result of some of the strategic work we’d already implemented like redesigning products and processes with Huawei to remove complexity in our network build programme, or optimising the safety stock through our supply chain partner Barloworld and diversifying our supply base. So it’s about building on that.”

Hard work, strategic acumen and technology are undoubtedly crucial to delivering on this future ambition, but so too is effective leadership and the development of a workplace culture that enables change. Without the right team, says Van Zyl, you achieve nothing for the organisation. “The importance of culture shouldn’t be underestimated and is the key ingredient for successful change,” he says. “When there’s uncertainty around change or transformation, it can impact morale, behaviour and performance. My job as a leader is to create that culture and set the expectation of how we should behave and work together.

“I’ve always enjoyed building high performance teams. First you set a clear and

aligned purpose that everyone understands – people have to know why we’re doing what we’re doing, and they have to feel a sense of belonging to that purpose or mission. At the same time, you create a shared sense of achievement through trust and building close relationships within the team; communication is absolutely critical to do this. If you get this right, and we have to so we can drive these new operating models and changes, then you deliver for the organisation. There’s a lot happening and a lot to do, but it’s an exciting time.

www.telkom.co.za

NURO MAKING LIFE BETTER

The world of logistics and supply chain is rife with autonomous transport solutions, be it drones, aircraft, HGVs, ships or more. It is, without doubt, the future. But how do you get noticed in such a market? In Nuro’s case, you focus on serving communities, on improving everyday life for everyone and running every errand with zero emissions.

Nuro was built on the belief that lives can be changed through technology application. In this instance, that technology is put towards the goal of reimagining local delivery by providing grocers and retailers with ways to transport ecommerce orders without relying on human workers.

The deliverer – named R2 – is small on purpose to bring greater passive and dynamic safety, features 360-degree cameras, ultrasonic sensors and short- and long-range radar and uses the latest autonomy stack innovations. It is, says Nuro, one of the most commercially and technically mature autonomous vehicles in the world, a belief shared by FedEx, which in 2021 signed an agreement with Nuro to test R2 on routes in Houston, US.

Want to tackle sustainability through a high-performance procurement team? Then focus on people, relationships and a psychologically safe environment says Desré Hancocks

If you were to describe procurement in one word, which would you choose? Relationships? People? Interconnectedness, perhaps? Because, if you pause to reflect for a moment, there is no more important element to driving a successful procurement function than an innate understanding of how to build those relationships, or how to engage and empathise with people to the benefit of both parties and, more broadly, how the decisions you make in your office, your meeting or team have the potential to impact everyone everywhere.

Ask Desré Hancocks the same question and there’s a fair chance the answer will be a word commonly used in her native South Africa: Ubuntu. In its simplest form, Ubuntu is a concept of shared humanity, a collection of values and practices based around compassion, caring and an understanding that we are little by ourselves and at our best when we realise our connection to a greater whole – less ‘I think therefore I am’ and more ‘I am because we are’. To live and work according to Ubuntu is to realise that an authentic and individual person is part of a larger and more significant communal, societal, environmental, and relational world. Or, as we said: relationships, people, interconnectedness.

Hancocks is as passionate about procurement as she is people, shared humanity, and her belief in the power of a greater interconnectedness, both in our personal and professional lives – hardly surprising considering her pedigree: as well as holding the role of Senior Sustainability

Sourcing Advisor at Linklaters, she is an Ambassador and Steering Group member for the Sustainable Procurement Pledge (SPP) and a certified managerial coach. And, over the course of an inspiring conversation, she sets out clearly why those sentiments are inextricably linked to the way in which we should approach procurement, how a reframing of our perspective on people and relationships should translate into a working environment that embraces openness, flexibility and a fearless attitude towards innovation, and why doing so could be the key to tackling the sustainability challenges we all face.

I SEE, I CARE, I RESPECT

But first, Ubuntu. “I left South Africa at 16, when I was studying for my undergraduate degree and, as part of my studies, I came across the book No Future Without Forgiveness , by Archbishop Desmond Tutu,” she begins. “He talked about Ubuntu. It was very profound for me and everything very quickly made a lot of sense. I’ve always been aware of my role in a greater interconnectedness – in part because of my South African culture – but I began to understand it in the context of life more broadly. For me, it’s about saying ‘you may be in a different place,

country or culture, or have a completely different way of thinking than me but I see you, I care about you and I respect you’. That sense of shared humanity has been really important to the way I’ve subsequently lived my life and the choices I’ve made. It’s a foundational part of who I am.”

So much so, says Hancocks, that it was one of the driving forces behind her unexpected [at the time] journey into procurement, inspired by research into conflict materials and her unwitting place in that cycle as a consumer. “I felt complicit; I used a mobile, a laptop –things we all use – and I just felt like I was buying into a way of doing things that was causing harm to both people and the planet. And this was a time when I was a relatively naive consumer.

I didn’t understand the complexities of supply chain, or that procurement existed as a function, but I couldn’t help believing that there was a better way to source. It basically ended in me pursuing an entirely different career from the teacher I always thought I’d be to ending up in procurement, and more specifically sustainable procurement. I was driven to look at the processes, the way in which we procure, negotiate contracts, build relationships and engage with

suppliers to make essential products and deliver things that we absolutely need, but to do it in a better way for everyone.”

PROCUREMENT, RELATIONSHIPS AND SUSTAINABILITY

For Hancocks, procurement is people and relationships. It’s the place in a business where boundaries can be pushed, and where we can influence discussions, decisions and strategies that have far-reaching implications. “I love the profession,” she

“WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS OF APPROACHING SOLUTIONS THAT TRULY UNDERSTAND OUR INTERCONNECTEDNESS AND THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT’S HAPPENING IN DIFFERENT AREAS”

says. “It’s inspiring and at its heart it’s relationships, whether that’s with internal or external stakeholders, departments across the organisation or the many people that make up the supply chain network. Working in procurement is a great opportunity for collaboration, ideas, innovation and finding a collective way of looking at things completely differently. But you should do it with that feeling of connectedness, of wanting the organisation and everyone you work with to deliver excellence for the good of you all. That’s Ubuntu.”

The philosophy, or at least the sentiments behind it, are essential to a well-functioning procurement team, Hancocks believes. Not least, due to the influence

the department has on an organisation and those it works or interacts with.

“It makes so much sense to have that peoplefirst approach,” she says. “The supply chain is the greatest example of interconnectedness there is. You can get detached in procurement; we sit in our offices and talk about targets, spend and deals, but the reality is that the decisions we make can have profound implications on the other side of the world. It’s why sustainability is such an important consideration for procurement in that respect.

“I’ll give you an example,” she continues. “It’s from my studying of conflict minerals: a mine was found to be using child labour so was shut down – it goes without saying that it’s a terrible set of circumstances.

But simply shutting down the mine alone meant that these children, who were often the sole breadwinner for their families or who were without parents because of civil war, had no income and no means of supporting themselves. More needed to be done in terms of the bigger picture. This is where it’s so crucial to broaden the thinking and realise the interconnectedness of our decision making, piecing together the whole puzzle and asking informed questions so that we understand the full impact of every decision we make in procurement and that we don’t cause unintended consequences. Having that kind of mindset is about approaching our work in a very holistic way and driving meaningful and considered change every time.”

“This is where I get really excited,” she says. “Look at the world and the problems facing us, look at the news throughout the pandemic – everything comes back to the supply chain, and so I think procurement is really one of the best placed and most exciting departments to be in when it comes to sustainability. And here is where all the thinking around Ubuntu and interconnectedness really comes into play. We support the entire organisation and have the potential to influence, to come up with proposals, to build relationships and steer discussions and – through those relationships – present new approaches to supplier engagement and achieve the outcomes we need. But it has to be collaborative, about working with

Sustainability is the greatest challenge we face. It is also one that the procurement function is well positioned to lead on in businesses, particularly considering its global nature. The SPP, at which Hancocks acts as an Ambassador, advocates for this, acting as a community committed to embedding sustainability in procurement practices and sharing knowledge across the industry.

and understanding people and creating an environment where anything is possible for every person in the organisation.”

Such an environment isn’t always present. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ubuntu is yet to be driving the heart of every good procurement function despite Hancocks being the perfect evangelist. Particularly when faced with the myriad challenges

“IT’S THE MOST AMAZING PROFESSION EVER BECAUSE, AT ITS HEART, IT’S JUST ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS”

that fall under the bracket of sustainability, there still exists several gaps, according to the SPP.

These, says Hancocks, exist around knowledge, where SPP Ambassadors don’t know where or how to start in a structured way; support, where Ambassadors are seeking personal guidance and support through mentorship and personal development; and in leadership and confidence. The latter, says Hancocks, includes “concerns

around failing, causing damage by making the ‘wrong’ decisions or just feeling too scared to even go there. But that’s our mission, and it’s an incredible opportunity to drive change that every person plays a key role in – it’s not just about being a CPO, a CEO or a head of department. To do this properly, we all need to be leaders. There’s a great quote in No Future Without Forgiveness that says ‘when my brother or sister is diminished, I am diminished’. This is about being bold and being reliant on each other.”

“THE PERSON THAT MAY NOT WANT TO SAY THEIR IDEA FOR FEAR OF FAILURE MAY BE THE ONE WHO IS SITTING ON THE NEXT AHA MOMENT WHEN IT COMES TO THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET”

PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY

It’s here, in the spirit of interconnectedness, that Hancocks’ approach to people and relationships comes into its own. In the same vein, she is a strong advocate for organisations embracing psychological safety, a mindset that breeds an environment of openness, flexibility, creativity, and innovation without fear of criticism, failure or taking risks. The term, originally coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson in her book The Fearless Organisation: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth has become synonymous with high-performing teams, a leadership style that is open, shows humility and embraces learning, and with the ability to push the limits of innovation.

In a psychologically safe environment, leaders inspire people to move beyond self-interest and perform beyond expectations by creating a space in which it is safe to do so. If done correctly, everyone in the organisation feels able to make mistakes, to admit failure and a lack of knowledge and is willing to listen and learn. At the same time, there should be a strong focus on interpersonal relationships, the nature of group dynamics and the way in which people are supported and led – this also means a reframing of our traditional view of leadership. The pay-off for such a change, says Edmondson, is more and higher quality innovation, improved decision making, better performance and the types of behaviour that can result in real change or market breakthroughs.

Understandably, Hancocks sees the value of psychological safety for addressing challenges around sustainability, where the ability to push the boundaries to drive change is crucial. “If you really think about it, sustainability is fundamentally the biggest change management piece that we’re likely to face,” she notes.

“That is, understandably, overwhelming and I think that there are these gaps around psychological safety, confidence, support and so on because often it’s just an innate human tendency to have a fear of admitting we don’t know, or we may fail. There’s still an element of that in organisations I believe, particularly if this isn’t something that’s been a core area of focus or hasn’t been on the agenda

before - there are real gaps there, even in everyone realising the full extent of their capabilities and the role they can play in what their business is doing to change.

professionals, this mindset must be applied to both internal and external stakeholders. “A big part of that for me is about building an approach

“Sustainability is about long-term thinking too, it’s forcing us to start thinking in that way, breaking down what we’re doing and finding a different approach to our work,” continues Hancocks. “Teams, individuals and leaders have serious demands and a lot of pressure about how to deliver, so connectedness and a safe environment is really important. I think the concept of psychological safety is really important in how we address sustainability. We’re all going into unknown territory. We have the duty to come up with very innovative solutions to incredibly complex problems; on top of that is the pressure of some really serious consequences for all of us – people, animals and the planet. For me, the first step is about reframing how we work together, how we come together and create a business environment where success is the only outcome.”

THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET

Trust, respect and a shared motivation are crucial to that environment, says Hancocks. And, for procurement

where you walk in other peoples’ shoes, you understand them and their motivations – and their problems – and you work on those together,” she comments.

“My first instinct is to find a way in which I can collaborate with everyone in a really constructive way. It’s not about just being polite, it’s about how you deliver high performance and get the best out of everyone. It really challenges how we see traditional hierarchical businesses and these old-school ideas about the boss who knows everything – that’s especially true with sustainability, a lot of people really don’t have the answers.

“We have to acknowledge that things are broken,” states Hancocks. “We have problems and things really aren’t working in terms of sustainability. That’s why we have to be able to ask difficult questions, to ask how we fix this – and not know. Psychological safety will give the space for innovation and creativity so that we can engage with something that’s complicated. Imagine the potential if you can really come up with any ideas,

“THE SUPPLY CHAIN IS THE GREATEST EXAMPLE OF INTERCONNECTEDNESS THERE IS”

wrestle with peoples’ suggestions and propose different solutions. Everyone should be able to do this, too. I really believe that focusing on creating that right environment is one of the fundamental building blocks in addressing sustainability challenges. The person that may not want to say their idea for fear of failure may be the one who is sitting on the next aha moment when it comes to the future of our planet.”

Desré Hancocks

Desré is a passionate procurement leader, dedicated to driving ethical and sustainable procurement. Alongside her current role as Senior Sustainability Sourcing Advisor at Linklaters she is an Ambassador and steering group member for the Sustainable Procurement Pledge.

Tom Powell & Sam Damoussi BONDAVAL

Supply chain-focused insurtech startup: a sector of business that you may consider niche. But that perception will soon change if BondAval and co-founders Tom Powell and Sam Damoussi have their way.

Powell and Damoussi established BondAval in 2020, with the belief that all businesses, regardless of their size should have access to affordable and high-tech payment security that strengthens their entire supply chain and allows smaller companies to compete on an even footing with larger corporations. For independent retailers, BondAval provides access to better credit terms and assurance to suppliers that they’ll be paid on time.

Says Powell: “We envision a world where the size of a business is no longer an inhibitor to it achieving its ultimate goals. We’re building the infrastructure to give businesses of any shape and size access to the most efficient forms of capital in real time.”

www.bondaval.com

BondAval co-founders Tom Powell (left) and Sam Damoussi

“WE’RE BUILDING THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO GIVE BUSINESSES OF ANY SHAPE AND SIZE ACCESS TO THE MOST EFFICIENT FORMS OF CAPITAL IN REAL TIME”

The procurement guru

HELEN REES’ PROCUREMENT

JOURNEY HAS BEEN ONE OF DEDICATION, PASSION FOR COLLABORATION AND SOCIAL VALUES AND A LOVE OF DRIVING CHANGE, AS SHE EXPLAINS

Ithink it’s how they think of me, and it’s certainly something I’ve been called a few times… probably because I’ve been here for so long,” laughs Helen Rees, discussing the – in our opinion – perfectly apt moniker she’s affectionately known by at Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service. Superlatives are often thrown around in the world of work but, in Rees’s case, for those at the largest fire and rescue service by area in England and Wales, she is the procurement guru. It is her who helped establish the procurement department in 2003, who implemented a P2P system across the organisation in 2007 and, a decade later, became Head of Procurement and Contracting, subsequently driving growth and maturity in technology adoption, cultural change, training across the organisation, improving social value, supplier management, and more.

All this, and Rees still currently operates with only a team of two. Much of her and her team’s success to date is a result of her true passion for procurement and the value that an effective procurement function can bring to an organisation, a dedication to sharing her knowledge and experience with others – including local businesses and the community – and hard work. The latter has been the constant in her own procurement journey, which she describes as ‘falling into by accident’. It started more than 20 years’ ago, when Rees had taken a break from the banking industry to care for her daughter, at the same time studying full-time at college for an IT qualification. Once she had achieved that qualification she applied for a role at Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service.

A JOURNEY INTO PROCUREMENT

“I made it my mission to secure a better job by the time my daughter reached secondary school,” she notes. “I wanted a position in which I could develop and progress, and that

would give me long-term security. I started in the fire service as an admin assistant administering fire hydrant inspection records. Soon after I progressed into working as a stores assistant; while the service didn’t have a professional procurement department as we know it today, it was still my very first insight into the world of procurement and a chance to get a really good experience of the importance of working with suppliers and internal stakeholders.

“In 2003, my then line manager was instructed to establish the

procurement department from scratch,” she continues. “Up to that point, procurement had been the Stores Manager looking at catalogues, comparing prices and ordering. From my perspective, I’d always enjoyed working with and engaging suppliers, particularly local SMEs, so I knew a big part of building the department was about making the processes as straightforward as we could for them. We had no terms and conditions, no strategies, no policies – nothing at all. Building it took a lot of research and a lot of work but we did it, making sure the

department was on the right path from the outset. That’s where it started as a rudimentary procurement function for the Service and, as soon as we’d done it, I knew it was what I wanted to build a professional career in.”

MANAGING COMPLEXITY

Procurement for a fire and rescue service is a complex beast. At Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Rees is responsible for the corporate

procurement unit; the Service has a number of departments that purchase through delegated budgets, but the procurement department takes care of the process for them, she explains.

”I manage all the policies, procedures, procedural guidance and documents, as well as taking care of training for people across departments,” says Rees. “Basically, anything to do with procurement,

“ I’d always enjoyed working with and engaging suppliers, particularly local SMEs, so a big part of building the department was about making the processes as straightforward as we could for them”

I manage. In my team I have a procurement officer and a newly appointed interim procurement officer who was previously our contracts officer and is currently in development as part of her CIPS studies – I’m in the process of hiring an interim replacement contracts officer to backfill the post as a result of the ongoing development, and to free up my time to focus on embedding social value further. We have a lot of work on our hands. And, because we’re a fire service, operational activity comes first and foremost. In name, we’re a support department but the reality is that without our team the fire fighters wouldn’t get out of the door.”

With a service as crucial as fire and rescue, the sourcing of fire-specific equipment and supplies is vital, says Rees. Often this can add complexity around the ambition to use local suppliers and SMEs as much as possible versus sourcing from further afield. “The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) is the professional voice of the UK fire and rescue service that drives improvement and development throughout the service, while supporting strong leadership, including for the devolved administrations,” she says. “It leads on several frameworks nationally in terms of fire-specific procurements, so things like fire appliances, clothing and uniform, operational equipment and so on. I’ve found there’s often a dilemma between using the local SMEs and suppliers from overseas; a lot of the fire-specific supplies we source are more often than not from suppliers based in England or abroad. Typically, that’s because of the complexity of the products and the fact it’s often specialist equipment like thermal imaging cameras, hoses and similar.

“We collaborate a lot with the NFCC; I sit on some of the user groups to represent the Welsh fire and rescue services, but everything that we can buy or use locally we do,” continues Rees. “One of the things I’ve always

MSA wins a major contract for the supply of fire helmets in Wales region

Helping to keep workers safe has been a core part of MSA Safety’s mission for more than 100 years. Accordingly, the company is proud to have been selected by the Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service to help protect their team.

The company has been awarded a four-year contract for the supply of structural fire helmets to the Wales region in the UK. The tender was a framework led by Mid & West Wales FRS, to which the following fire and rescue services were named so they will have an option to purchase:

• Mid & West Wales

• South Wales

• North Wales

• West Yorkshire

• North Yorkshire

• South Yorkshire

• Humberside

Application: Structural Firefighting

Customer Pain Points:

For many years, firefighters’ health and well-being have been of paramount importance for the UK Fire and Rescue Services and especially for the Wales region FRS. With that in mind, Wales region had decided for their new contract to select a solution that would meet and increase firefighters’ safety on their daily operations. In that quest, Wales Fire and Rescue Service was seeking for equipment to be as comfortable and modular as possible, which could fit to every firefighter profile, so to increase diversity and inclusion within the UK’s modern fire and rescue services and appeal for the next generations to come. It was also important to source for an operational equipment to be ready to use, easy to clean and quick to inspect. From a critical safety standpoint, FRS was also searching for a helmet that would be more visible in all circumstances.

User Experience:

Part of a modular platform, several configurations of the GALLET F1XF were selected by each FRS. Officers have chosen their traditional white/black comb and firefighters have maintained their plain yellow.

At the same time, West Wales, South Wales & West Yorkshire have decided to adopt the new GALLET F1XF Hi-Viz photoluminescent yellow to increase visibility in low luminosity conditions or confined space entry. The combination of a high visibility yellow paint together with glow-in-thedark performance, is a first for the GALLET F1XF in the UK market. In addition, adding value to the improvement of firefighters’ safety that may resonate throughout the entire UK Fire and Rescue Service.

Most of the configurations will also include the powered integrated lamp module, a feature greatly appreciated during the trials by the evaluating firefighters, highlighting its performance and well-balanced integration within the helmet.

MSA provides products and solutions to help protect firefighters from head to toe with the very best in safety technology including the “Connected Firefighter” platform, formed by products that offer accountability and keep everyone on scene connected to each other, as well as market leading MSA Bristol protective apparel. All these contribute to MSA’s expansion in the UK market and enhancement of customer experience.

been keen on, and which will be a key area to explore as we continue to grow, is embedding social value in procurement, especially with certain contracts or through using local suppliers – the thing that’s been present from day one is that, even though we’re a tiny team we really do care. Local spend is usually more to do with construction of new fire stations, renovation or upgrading work. We also collaborate quite heavily with the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust through shared sites and we work closely with the National Procurement Service and the Welsh Local Government Association procurement network group for non-fire-specific items.”

PROCUREMENT TRANSFORMATION

Understandably, considering the importance of the service provided, Rees has spent much of her procurement journey upgrading, evolving and modernising procurement at the Service to ensure the highest standards and quality are maintained and that operations happen in line with the relevant legislation. This started in 2007 when, as part of her procurement qualification at the University of Glamorgan, she led on a project to implement the Agresso Unit 4 P2P system across the organisation – no easy task considering the Service has close to 60 fire stations spread across

Wales. It was, she explains, a ‘huge step forward for procurement’ within the Service that drastically reduced processing time and enabled live budget monitoring.

“When I started, stores and requisitions were done manually on paper,” Rees expands. “Implementing Agresso was the final assignment in my qualification and I took the lead on it, researching best practices, what other fire services used and getting to understand the benefits of the systems out there. Agresso was already hosting our financial ledger, so it made a lot of sense to run our procurement through it too and it was a real turning point that took place with

a pretty quick turnaround – around four or five months to roll out in its entirety.

“As soon as people across the organisation saw the change it could bring, how quickly requisitions could be turned around and all the electronic workflows that were embedded into the system, they embraced it,” she continues.

“There was a catalogue with

approximately 30,000 items, both stock and non-stock products, pricing and stock information was at their fingertips, a lot of the workflow was automated and turnaround was fast. Really, it was the start of procurement becoming embedded in, and working much more closely with, the end-user departments in the service. That’s really important for any procurement function. If you don’t have that support and trust

“Anything to do with procurement, I manage”

HELEN REES

We started working with Fireblitz in 2017. We have recently awarded a new four-year call-off to Fireblitz on the replacement framework based on the reliability and cost of their products. We look forward to building on the excellent relationship we have established with them during the past four years in order to continue to protect the communities that we serve.

Helen Rees

(Head of Procurement and Contracting) Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service

from the top, especially with the new initiatives and legislation we face, then you’ll struggle. It’s really important that people see the added value procurement can bring as opposed to just looking at financial savings.”

EMBEDDING CULTURAL CHANGE

In 2017 Rees assumed her current role of Head of Procurement and Contracting and, in the years since, has continued to build on early

progress in the department, further embedding procurement in the organisation and driving forward her focus on social value, relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders and shifting the culture around procurement. “When I took over, I had several objectives. I wanted to continue building those relationships, to work on supplier management and, more than anything, to bring us to the top table – in

“The reality is that without our team the fire fighters wouldn’t get out of the door”

the past there was a tendency to view procurement as an admin function, a team that buys pens and pencils. Thankfully that’s changed over recent years and the executive leadership team now has a much greater understanding and appreciation of the added value procurement brings.”

Like many in procurement, Rees views collaboration and relationship building as essential. “There’s been a lot of changes in procurement over the last few years,” she says. “A big one has been in the shifting focus from cost to quality. I think we’ve done cost savings to death; there’s a limit to how much saving you can make before you start damaging the supply chain – your suppliers and partners have to survive too. We place a greater weighting on quality in the majority of our tenders and we believe in giving local suppliers an opportunity, so we’ve streamlined all our tender documentation and standardised things to make that possible. My attitude with suppliers has always been that it’s a two-way relationship that you have to build on. I encourage meetings with our suppliers regularly to update, to understand if they’re having issues or if things we’re doing are causing issues and it’s proven to be very beneficial.

“We work closely with Business Wales through its Welsh Government funded initiative to support local SMEs and I’ve developed our tender debrief process to make sure we’re giving constructive feedback that enables them to develop and improve,” continues Rees. “When I create a tender document, I put myself in the shoes of the supplier and will challenge my colleagues from a supplier’s perspective to make sure we’re doing the best we can.”

This approach has paid dividends with all the suppliers the service works with, including names like Fireblitz and MSA, as Rees explains: “We’ve worked with Fireblitz for a number of years now and have recently awarded a second call-off

agreement to them on behalf of the three Welsh fire and rescue services via the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service Smoke Alarm framework. We have an excellent working relationship with them and work together to improve community safety across our Service area. In addition, we’ve recently awarded a contract to MSA for firefighting helmets on behalf of the three Welsh fire and rescue services. Our great relationship with them allowed us to work together to identify a suitable alternative to ensure the safety of our operational staff.”

All of the tender work that takes place at Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue happens on Sell2Wales, an eProcurement initiative from the Welsh Government helping SMEs work successfully with the public sector. Says Rees: “We were one of the first adopters of Sell2Wales, which acts as an advertising portal for suppliers and a place for us to advertise our tenders. We used to have a huge tender register – all paper based – so Sell2Wales has been a very useful and easy to use system which has reduced the paperwork involved in tendering. I’ve actually been involved in some consultation work with the Welsh Government recently where they are looking at developing public

“It’s really important that people see the added value procurement can bring”

sector procurement software and part of my proposal was around developing a system that’s standardised across the public sector, particularly for the sake of the suppliers. Ideally it would be flexible enough that different organisations could build and develop it in a modular way depending on their exact needs and available resources, and I believe this will be a consideration for the specification requirements moving forwards.”

Moving forwards more broadly sees plenty of work still to do for Rees and her procurement colleagues. In no particular order, she cites as key priorities delivering on the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, embedding social value across the procurement function, building on both supplier and risk management, continuing to deliver the relevant training across the organisation and ongoing work supporting local SMEs. “The main objective for me is around the social value elements,” she adds.

“I’m part of the social value taskforce for Wales working on delivering the themes, outcomes and measures (TOMS) – I’ll soon begin work on developing a library of suitable tender questions that incorporate social value; we’ll also in future be able to report progress

on the Wellbeing of Future Generations objectives using the Welsh TOMs, which will reduce the need to duplicate the management information required.

“We’ve made good progress with several initiatives already,” Rees adds. “For example, we were the first public sector organisation to adopt the Cymru Copier Scheme focused on sustainable Steinbeis paper and, as part of that relationship we also use Elite Recycling Solutions, which helps people get into employment and be given opportunities they normally wouldn’t have. We’re very proud of the work we’re doing on that front and it’s something I continue

to drive forwards at executive and leadership level meetings. Another great example is where we awarded a contract for the collection of waste and recycling recently to a local SME called LAS. Instead of a contract to deliver a service, we’ve entered into a partnership where the supplier assists us in achieving carbon zero by 2030. We get excellent management information from them in order to improve our recycling rates and the contract included social value, whereby the winning provider has an educational

establishment at their HQ where local school children can visit to learn about reduce, reuse, recycle.

“Once I chose to pursue my career in procurement I remember always wanting to take pride in sharing my knowledge, experience and passion, and it’s good to bring it to the bigger picture too. It’s why I still love procurement.”

www.mawwfire.gov.uk

“ We place a greater weighting on quality in most of our tenders and we believe in giving local suppliers an opportunity”

EMISSIONS IMPOSSIBLE?

What are the first steps to ensuring supply chain sustainability? Ivalua’s Alex Saric explains

In recent years, sustainability has become a top priority for many organisations. The UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021 (COP26) resulted in another wave of agreements and net zero commitments. Many businesses, governments and consumers are now acutely aware of the importance of taking action to prevent climate change.

One of the UK’s net zero pledges requires listed UK businesses to release public plans for reaching climate change targets by 2023. However, the required effort extends well beyond the four walls of an organisation – businesses must look at the supply chain to ensure this renewed focus on transparency and accountability. With this in mind, our research found far too few European suppliers are being regularly assessed on sustainability practices, with less than a quarter (24%) seeing themselves routinely measured on carbon emissions.

Our new Ivalua 2021 Supplier Sustainability Report surveys suppliers across the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland, examining how collaboration can boost environmental initiatives. Importantly, it demonstrates why more needs to be done across the supply chain to assess and measure green credentials regularly.

While making these changes is now imperative for helping prevent climate change, it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to sustainable procurement. To get the ball rolling, here are the three key areas that organisations need to think about to conquer the environmental impact of their supply chains.

MEASURE SUPPLIERS ON CARBON EMISSIONS

Carbon emissions from the supply chain remain one of the biggest hurdles businesses face on their path to sustainability. In fact, most organisations report emissions from their supply chain are several times greater than from their direct emissions. But, our research found less than a quarter of suppliers say they are regularly measured on their carbon emissions.

For the world to see the real change needed to meet the stricter emissions targets set at COP26, we have to see direct change in this area. It’s therefore essential that companies regularly assess suppliers to ensure they are meeting carbon emissions – as well as other ESG – targets. Enforcing sustainability can’t be seen as just another box ticking exercise. Real action must be taken to monitor and tackle emissions in the supply chain.

Through working with immediate and sub-tier suppliers to routinely monitor critical areas for improving sustainability, organisations can ensure they drive real improvements in environmental practices. Making green practices a formal part of the onboarding practice, will help companies track supplier performance against objectives and work together with suppliers to make any necessary improvements.

COLLABORATE FOR A GREENER FUTURE

For any business looking to reduce their environmental impact, establishing communication on initiatives with suppliers should be a core part of their future operations. Yet currently, this line of alignment on green initiatives doesn’t exist between many across the supply chain. For example, only one-in-ten (10%) suppliers report that organisations always include sustainable practices in contracts and agreements.

The Ivalua 2021 Supplier Sustainability Report

“A SMARTER, DATADRIVEN APPROACH IS NEEDED TO UNLOCK MANY UNSEEN BENEFITS”

Creating a dialogue with suppliers ensures that procurement teams can identify opportunities for innovation in a green supply chain that benefits all parties. Over a third of suppliers say that improving their ability to share information (35%) and collaborate with buyers on improvements (35%) would significantly increase their potential to deliver on climate-focused targets. Through collaboration like this, the entire production process can benefit from improved efficiency and waste reduction.

Making sustainability a collaborative effort between suppliers and buyers where goals are set, measured and regularly

assessed can be a fundamental part of how businesses make a real difference and lower their environmental impact.

PICK THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB

A smarter, data-driven approach to procurement is needed to gain transparency into the supply chain and unlock many unseen benefits. This can include accessing actionable insights for driving continuous improvement on sustainability targets, or simply facilitating collaboration on new ideas. Our research demonstrated that nearly seven-in-ten (69%) companies said collaborating with buyers on sustainability should be made easier.

Using smart procurement solutions ensures that organisations communicate clearly with suppliers and assess their sustainability, while also allowing them the flexibility to develop innovative solutions. Using a unified, cloud-based platform will also enable users to bring together data silos to build a 360-degree view of suppliers, gaining true visibility into the environmental impact of supply chains. By providing the right tools to suppliers to boost green initiatives, businesses can play an essential role in creating a greener future.

TAKING ACTION TODAY

Overall, organisations need to start taking action and build more sustainable supply chains. Smarter procurement is a fundamental part of the wave of change needed to stop climate change. And with governments from across Europe starting to set increasingly strict requirements for greener business, organisations must act now.

With so much at stake for businesses that don’t improve green practices, organisations must look at their environmental practices and avoid greenwashing. By collaborating with suppliers and using the right technology to measure carbon emissions, organisations can drive real and meaningful change. And, revitalising your climate focus can have a strong business imperative beyond simply reducing environmental impact. For example, companies with an eye on their green practices will increase sales,

strengthen brand reputation and gain an advantage over competitors who lag on emissions targets.

Also, while prioritising sustainability in supplier selection and management continues to give companies a competitive advantage, organisations will also see benefits in strong supplier relationships. Forging these partnerships now will ensure continuous collaboration on green practices and will drive lesssustainable providers to improve.

By using a s mart procurement platform , companies can unlock these benefits and see their supply chain thrive. This will ensure a head start over competitors, while bringing the world one step closer to a brighter, greener future.

Alex is a smart procurement expert at Ivalua. He has spent over 15 years of his career evangelising spend management, shaping its evolution and working closely with hundreds of customers to support their digital transformation journeys. As CMO at Ivalua, he leads overall marketing strategy and thought leadership programmes.

Alex Saric

“BY USING A S MART PROCUREMENT PLATFORM , COMPANIES CAN UNLOCK THESE BENEFITS AND SEE THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN THRIVE”

Sourceful Disruptor

“ MOVE FROM INTENTION TO ACTION”

Transparency is the antidote to greenwashing. Use it when you talk about your products, your targets, your progress and your mishaps,” says sustainability-focused supply chain startup Sourceful. The reward for that transparency, it adds, is an authentic brand with loyal customers.

Sourceful was founded in 2020 by Wing Chan, Shiran Zheng and Mary Wang to provide transparency across global supply chains; it also wants to challenge the perception that consumers are to blame for the world’s environmental problems. Rather, it says,

offer, with truly sustainable products being scarce – affordable options are scant, accurate and usable data is thin and supply chains are still complex.

To address this, Sourceful uses data-driven tools to help companies source and manage eco-friendly products, find customise and design sustainable options, offset their carbon footprint and use real-time data to understand every business decision.

www.sourceful.io

B A R C E L O N A

WORDS ALBERTO ESPINÓS

Welcome to Barcelona, a vibrant and alive city of culture, art and history. Visit for a relaxed pace, sunshine and great food, nightlife and, more recently, business. Over the years the Catalan capital has become a major hub for business meetings and conferences, and one of Europe’s best spots for startups and entrepreneurs. Here, Tropicfeel’s Alberto Espinós shows you around.

BUSINESS

Head to Aticco , a well-known and cool co-working space in Barcelona. From conferences, individual workspace to gym services, it has different venues in the city but I would suggest you go to the one in Bogatell (Poblenou). The neighbourhood of Poblenou has become the epicentre of the entrepreneurial community. Traditionally industrial, it has been reborn as a place of reference for European startups that want to be in a city that leads innovation and offers a quality of (work) life. It’s just around the corner from us.

Betahaus is definitely one of the best co-working spaces in Barcelona. Its almost daily events will keep you ahead of the curve in all aspects of business and technology. Betahaus is located in Gràcia, one of the most iconic neighbourhoods of Barcelona, is open 24/7 and has a lot of outdoor spaces – you can enjoy sunny Barcelona and the beautiful views.

You should also try Espai Granada , an attic converted into an avant-garde loft at the top of a characteristic building in Poblenou. Its privileged location gives you an amazing 360-degree view of the city.

ESPAI GRANADA

HOTEL NERI

What can be said about Soho House Barcelona , known worldwide as the Hotel Hub of entrepreneurs and creatives, that hasn’t already been said? The one in Barcelona is set in an excellent location, next to the port and with unique views of the city – you’ll feel like you’re floating between an urban and Mediterranean climate.

Hotel Neri , in the heart of the Gothic Quarter, is perfect if you’re looking for a quiet place to stay. It’s an old Barcelones palace converted into a hotel, giving you a view into how the people of the time lived in the heart of the city. The restaurant is really worth it too.

A few meters from the Plaza de la Catedral and above the Mercado de Santa Caterina, in the heart of El Born is Edition Hotel .

All its rooms have something special, but the hotel’s common spaces are the most pleasant. With a rooftop pool and billiard room, it’s perfect for a cocktail after a long day in the city.

SOHO HOUSE

Alberto Espinós is founder and CEO of Tropicfeel. He began his career at Crowdcube, where he saw how important it is for companies to build ties with their communities to have a real impact. He is an avid traveller (with over 41 countries visited) who has demonstrated his entrepreneurial skills at the helm of the largest Kickstarter campaign by a shoe company, in which he raised €2.1m in just 51 days.

EAT / DRINK

El Japones Escondido has just opened, but make sure you reserve a table before going. A mixture of Japanese cuisine with typical Catalan dishes, its open kitchen allows you to see how every dish is prepared.

A top place to go to eat is Bar Lobo . If you’re visiting during the week, I advise you to ask for their lunch menu and accompany it with some tapas. In the heart of Raval, and with a magnificent terrace, it’s perfect for weeknight meals to get away from work.

Nakashita offers a mix of Japanese and Brazilian cuisine. The chef is the most

peculiar and entertaining, let yourself enjoy his company and ask him for his recommendations. You could also try Isabella’s in the upper part of the city, which is perfect for group meals. They have a great variety of dishes and a very well decorated space.

LEISURE

The climbing scene in Barcelona is going strong and it’s so much fun! I recommend you to try Sharma climbing , where you can find all climbing styles and levels. We have a couple of real pros in the Tropicfeel team.

BAR LOBO

NAKASHITA

EL JAPONES ESCONDIDO THE PURCHASER MAGAZINE | ISSUE SEVEN

Paddle, sail or surf – when in Barcelona you have to take advantage of the fine weather and beachside city location. Visit Sea you Barcelona, located by Hotel W. This place can be your starting point for enjoying the Mediterranean sea breeze while learning or practicing one of the typical water activities popular in the city.

Arte Bar is an experience that has been gaining more and more traction, and it’s easy to understand why. This is an original Paint and Wine studio, offering easy step-by-step painting classes while you taste some nice wine and beer, listen to music and disconnect. I highly

recommend trying to combine these two top activities.

Lastly, La Caseta del Migdia is our bestkept secret at Tropicfeel! La Caseta is an alternative place for the most adventurous, located in the Mirador del Migdia in Montjuic. Expect exceptional views over the sea and the mountains, easy food, snacks, beers and wine while dancing to the sound of rumba. It’s also one of the few places in town where you can see the sunset in Barcelona.

LA CASETA

SHARMA CLIMBING ARTE BAR

G lo B al events calender

DIGITECH21

9TH DECEMBER 2021 | Manchester, UK

This technology and procurement summit for the public sector will include presentations, seminars and more intimate pre-booked masterclass style sessions.

> VISIT WEBSITE

MANIFEST 2022

25-27 JANUARY 2022 | Las Vegas, USA

Manifest brings together the most comprehensive ecosystem of innovation and transformation in LogisticsTech and end-to-end supply chain.

> VISIT WEBSITE

AMERICAS PROCUREMENT CONGRESS

17-18 MARCH 2022 | Miami, USA

Be part of conversations focusing on how to build for the future beyond day-to-day firefighting. Debate, share and find solutions to drive your business forward.

> VISIT WEBSITE

GARTNER SUPPLY CHAIN

SYMPOSIUM/XPO

6-9 JUNE 2022 | Orlando, USA

Insights, strategies and frameworks for CSCOs and SC leaders to build the sustainable, societal and profitable supply chain required for a dynamic world.

> VISIT WEBSITE

WORLD PROCUREMENT AWARDS

15TH JUNE 2022 | London, UK

Recognised as the pinnacle of professional achievement, the World Procurement Awards celebrate the most impressive individuals, teams, and organisations in procurement.

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DIGITAL PROCUREMENT WORLD

21-22 SEPT 2022 | Amsterdam (+ online)

Where the world’s biggest brands in procurement showcase cutting-edge innovations that will pave the way for the future of procurement.

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BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH US

At Stroud & Clarke we believe in the power of storytelling to build brands, engage with audiences and inform the conversation. We produce creative content that provides insight, influences opinion and positions you at the forefront of your industry. stroudandclarke.com