DRIVING SUSTAINABLE VALUE AT SCALE
Global Sourcing Leadership at Novelis
With over two decades of procurement experience across oil and gas, automotive, and advanced manufacturing, Véronique Fraisse-Hergott, Global Sourcing Manager at Novelis, brings both technical expertise and strategic commercial insight to a complex global remit. Managing approximately $100 million in spend across 22 plants worldwide, she leads sourcing for Casthouse & Water Treatment within Novelis’ Global Sourcing & Cost Analytics function. Her role sits at the intersection of operational reliability, supplier innovation, and sustainability performance.
As one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminium and a global leader in flatrolled products, Novelis operates in an environment where supply chain resilience, decarbonisation, and resource efficiency are not optional, they are strategic imperatives. Under Vision 3x30, procurement is playing an increasingly central role in delivering circularity, reducing emissions, and driving measurable value creation. In this conversation, Véronique shares insights into managing complex global categories, building innovation-led supplier partnerships, leveraging digital transformation, and positioning procurement as a catalyst for long-term, sustainable growth.
Professional Journey
Professional Journey: You’ve spent over 20 years in procurement across multiple industries, from oil and gas to automotive and now aluminium. Can you share your career journey and what led you to your current role as Global Sourcing Manager for Casthouse & Water Treatment at Novelis?
I hold a degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, complemented by a Master’s in Industrial Purchasing from Bordeaux Business School (now Kedge Business School). From the outset of my career, I was interested in the procurement function because it allows me to blend my technical expertise with strong commercial skills. I began my career in the oil and gas sector with TECHNIP, serving as a project buyer on petrochemical projects. I then transitioned to the automotive industry, working for leading first-tier suppliers such as FAURECIA (car interiors) and JTEKT (steering systems). In 2009, I pursued an MBA at HEC Montreal, driven by my desire to study in North America and deepen my expertise in finance and marketing. This experience broadened my business acumen and exposed me to diverse, team-based learning environments. I have always valued international experiences as an important part of my professional growth.
Shortly after returning to France, I joined Novelis Group in Switzerland as Regional Sourcing Lead. Novelis is a global leader in aluminum flat rolled products for the can, automotive, aerospace, and specialty markets, as well as the world’s largest recycler of aluminum. In this role, I managed multiple categories, including alloys (non-ferrous metals), chemicals, and energy, for the European region. Following a company-wide procurement reorganization in 2021, I joined the global sourcing team to manage specialty coatings, including coil and powder coatings. After a year, I was given the opportunity to lead global sourcing for Casthouse & Water Treatment. Today, I oversee this global spend with two direct reports based in the USA. Our team is part of Global Sourcing & Cost Analyticswe have different roles and responsibilities spanning from sourcing, analytics, governance, and cost benchmarking. Alongside Casthouse, we manage other global categories such as can coatings, pretreatment, rolling oils, and chemicals.
From Local to Global Procurement
You previously managed procurement at a regional level before stepping into a global sourcing role. What have been the biggest changes or learning curves in transitioning from local category management to leading a truly global procurement function?
Transitioning from regional to global procurement brought several key challenges and learning opportunities. The complexity increased significantly, especially in achieving accurate spend visibility across regions and plants operating with different ERP systems. I had to quickly gain an understanding of additional plant operations and build a new network of global stakeholders. Maintaining strong relationships with local procurement teams became essential for effective collaboration and execution. Navigating cultural diversity and coordinating across multiple time zones became part of daily operations.
At Wahl Refractory Solutions, a Fosbel Company, we are proud to partner with Novelis, supporting their global operations with advanced refractory solutions that drive performance, efficiency, and sustainability across the casthouse.
Our relationship with Novelis reflects a shared commitment to innovation-led collaboration, where supplier expertise is integrated into long-term operational and strategic objectives. Through this partnership, we are actively contributing to key initiatives such as the “Furnace of the Future”, focused on improving thermal efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and lowering emissions across recycling and remelt operations.
As pioneers of PreCast Refractory Technology, our MegaBRIX system delivers consistent, engineered solutions that enhance reliability and reduce downtime in demanding production environments. By replacing traditional refractory installation methods with precision precast components, we enable improved quality control and more predictable performance, supporting high-output facilities such as those operated by Novelis.
Innovation remains central to how we support our partners. Our εMAXXX™ technology, including high-emissivity refractory solutions, is designed to improve heat transfer efficiency within furnace systems. This directly contributes to reduced gas consumption and improved thermal performance, aligning closely with Novelis’ focus on operational efficiency and decarbonisation.
Beyond innovation, we provide a comprehensive range of refractory products and solutions across the full casthouse. From critical maintenance components such as thermocouple protection tubes and skim blades, through to fully engineered precast refractory linings, we deliver end-to-end support tailored to the needs of each operation.
Our role within Novelis’ ecosystem goes beyond supply. We work as a trusted technical partner, collaborating with plant teams, engineering functions, and procurement to develop solutions that deliver measurable performance improvements while supporting broader sustainability goals. This approach ensures that our contributions extend beyond individual products, adding value across the full operational lifecycle.
As part of the Fosbel group, we combine global expertise with responsive local support, enabling us to deliver consistent results across regions. We remain committed to strengthening our partnership with Novelis and supporting the next generation of aluminium production through innovation, reliability, and continuous improvement.
To learn more about how Wahl Refractory Solutions supports Novelis and other leading producers, we invite you to connect with our team.
Sustainability - Water for Climate
Novelis’ Water for Climate programme has been described as a key sustainability investment for the business. Can you tell us more about this initiative and how procurement contributes to achieving the target of reducing water intensity by 10% by 2026?
Novelis aspires to be the world’s leading provider of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions, driving progress for our business, industry, and society toward the benefits of a circular economy. Delivering this ambitious sustainability agenda requires us to achieve more with fewer resources, so we rely on strong partnerships with like-minded organizations that share our vision and can help us implement strategies effectively. We are taking action to reduce water consumption in our operations by 10% by FY26 from an FY20 baseline. We have already achieved an 8% decrease since FY20, with our European operations leading the way with an 11% decrease between FY20 and FY25. This is particularly important as water scarcity is becoming a pressing challenge in many regions where we operate, aligning closely with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. For years, Novelis has partnered globally with Nalco Water on water solutions for our casting cooling processes. Leveraging Nalco’s industry expertise has been a natural step to ensure consistency and high quality while supporting our environmental commitments and advancing our sustainability objectives.
To formalize our commitment to water reduction and overall value creation, Novelis signed a Corporate Partnership Agreement with Nalco. Within the first year, we achieved significant progress and captured measurable savings. We strengthened the collaboration by expanding Nalco’s involvement in key growth projects in North America, ensuring their expertise was integrated from the outset. Additionally, my team focused on wastewater treatment strategies, particularly for our Oswego, NY facility. We conducted a comprehensive benchmarking exercise across Novelis sites and industry peers to define a gold standard for cost-efficient operations and emissions reduction. This work positions us to make informed, sustainable decisions that align with both environmental goals and operational excellence.
Strategic Sourcing and Value Creation
You manage a global spend of around $100 million across 22 plants and multiple categories. How do you approach developing sourcing strategies that balance cost, supply security, innovation, and sustainability across such a diverse portfolio?
The Casthouse category I manage globally is highly diverse and fragmented, so we first divided the $100M spend into four sub-categories to help us manage procurement more effectively: Furnace refractory repairs include refractory materials but also the labour & services for demolition, installation and dry-out. The suppliers are a mix of global and regional refractory producers and local contractors. The Aluminium industry consumes less than 10% of global refractory production as opposed to Iron & Steel, and Aluminium poses specific challenges to refractory resistance and lifetime. Salt & Alumina are commodity driven type of products, depending on global commodity like Potash and Alumina feedstock. Casthouse Consumables covers a wide range of products used at every step of the molten metal process. Finally, Water Treatment covers all the solutions for cooling water and wastewater management
Each has a distinct risk profile and supplier base, requiring tailored strategies rather than a one-sizefits-all approach.
For commoditized products like Salt & Alumina, we leverage global tenders and parametric shouldcost models to create competitive pressure and outperform market benchmarks.
For Furnace Refractory Repairs, where failure can cause major production downtime, cost is secondary to reliability. We partner with trusted suppliers like TAB Refractory (Refractory branch of PYROTEK Group), originally based in UK, they provide unwavering support to our operations in the country, but with their expansion in Europe and USA, they are now a global vendor with close locations to our plants. Each region develops a 5-year repair roadmap of minor and major repairs; we manage pro-actively our tendering schedule to allocate enough time for the contracting process and project preparation. Cross-collaboration with plant refractory and reliability leaders is essential for sharing best practices, failures and lessons learned, results of material and suppliers testing. For this reason, we have regional teams of Furnace Improvement Refractory Experts, including procurement, with an established cadence of communication and annual workshops.
For Water Treatment, we focus on sustainability and innovation, partnering with Nalco to reduce water intensity and improve environmental performance. For Consumables, we standardize specifications where possible and consolidate volumes to optimize cost and quality. Diversification and reducing our dependency of single source are key for cost reduction and supply security
Collaboration is key: We develop specific supplier engagement with our most strategic partners to have stronger and better structured relationships. They are global by nature and deliver multiple regions. This approach ensures we balance cost efficiency, supply security, innovation, and sustainability across a complex global portfolio.
Vesuvius is a global leader in molten metal flow engineering and technology. They are ideally located to deliver all our regions. Aluminium is a strategic focus area for Vesuvius, where they can offer refractory solutions as well as a wide range of consumables. With Vesuvius we have an aligned strategy for growth though the development and the qualification of cost-effective and innovative solutions.
Maurizio Sala President & Founder
FOUNDRY ECOCER was founded in 2000 and, thanks to its reliability, production continuity and strong customer-oriented approach, has established itself as one of the leading European producers of auxiliaries for non-ferrous foundries, with a primary focus on Aluminium and Copper alloys. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio including Master Alloys, Fluxes, Releasing Agents, Coatings and Preformed Ceramics.
Some of the most critical aspects of foundry practice involve the protection of the molten bath, the improvement of the metallurgical quality of the metal, and the maintenance of process stability while minimising the presence of inclusions as much as possible. FOUNDRY ECOCER’s flux range covers both general drossing applications and more specific uses dedicated to particular alloys or processes, such as refining, modifying and degassing. Thanks to the wide variety of available formulations, it is always possible to achieve the desired level of bath protection or cleaning. While powder products represent the most traditional solution, granulated and rock forms — the latter specifically developed to improve scrap recovery in melting furnaces — allow for a more controlled and progressive reaction, as well as reduced dust accumulation in extraction systems, contributing to a cleaner and more efficient working environment.
Master Alloy tablets and minitablets therefore represent a crucial segment of FOUNDRY ECOCER’s offer. The company supplies tablets and minitablets based on Iron, Copper, Manganese, Chromium, Titanium and Nickel, with a metal content ranging from 75% up to 95%. The composition is highly customizable according to customer requirements in terms of reactivity, purity and metallurgical performance.
Foundry Ecocer complies, where required, with the EU registration procedures under REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), confirming the Company’s commitment to regulatory compliance and to the protection of health and the environment. The Company has always demonstrated strong attention to sustainability. It has installed five photovoltaic systems across its production sites, significantly reducing energy consumption from fossil sources and the related greenhouse gas emissions. In this context, Foundry Ecocer conducted an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) study.
Within an EPD study, the Carbon Footprint is a key environmental indicator measuring total greenhouse gas emissions generated directly and indirectly across a product’s life cycle. Expressed in CO2 equivalent (CO2e), it includes carbon dioxide and other gases with global warming potential. This indicator supports sustainability targets, helps identify improvement areas, and reduces regulatory and reputational risks, strengthening competitiveness.
Ceramic components are essential for controlling molten metal flow during casting. Material selection depends on required thermal insulation, mechanical strength, or corrosion resistance. Silica-based preformed ceramics are widely used due to their versatility, customization options, and availability in various sizes. They feature low wettability with liquid aluminium, which can be further improved through boron nitride-based coatings to extend service life.
FOUNDRY ECOCER provides tailored solutions for non-ferrous foundries, manufacturing according to customer specifications and offering innovative products designed to enhance performance and meet specific production needs.
Supplier Collaboration and Innovation
You’ve mentioned working closely with suppliers to implement innovative solutions such as High Emissivity refractory and Water Quality Intelligence. How do you foster supplier partnerships that go beyond cost savings to deliver real innovation and environmental value?
At Novelis, our commitment to innovation and sustainability is anchored in our “Vision 3x30”. The 3 objectives in Vision 3x30 are bold and ambitious and it will take every region, plant, function and employee working in a coordinated fashion to achieve:
Highly Circular: Achieve 75% recycled content by pushing the boundaries of material reuse.
Low Carbon: Become the lowest-emissions provider of flat-rolled aluminium products.
Industry Frontrunner: Drive profitability to fuel continued first-mover investment.
Procurement plays a critical role in delivering this vision. Beyond cost savings, we focus on building strategic partnerships that unlock innovation and environmental value. For example, during my tenure managing Energy procurement for Novelis Europe, greening our energy supply and reducing our energy intensity were already strategic considerations. I co-developed an Energy Management Program with our Energy Leader and Schneider Electric. This initiative revitalized energy efficiency efforts through site diagnostics and intensive workshops across five plants, identifying over 100 projects that significantly reduced energy intensity and supported our sustainability targets.
In my current role, we continue fostering supplier collaboration to develop breakthrough solutions. A key initiative is the “Furnace of the Future”, aimed at reducing gas consumption and emissions at our recycling and remelt centers is tremendous, which currently consume multiple TWh annually. Working with Wahl Refractory, we are evaluating high-emissivity refractory technology (EMaxx roof) in North American facilities to improve thermal efficiency. Additionally, we leverage digital innovation through Water Quality Intelligence (Nalco cloud-based solution), a real-time platform that enhances process control and environmental performance. These examples illustrate how we engage suppliers as innovation partners, aligning their expertise with our sustainability goals to deliver tangible environmental impact and long-term value.
Risk Management in Global Procurement
Given Novelis’ global footprint and exposure to multiple markets, how do you identify and mitigate supplier and commodity risks across regions to ensure business continuity and supply security?
At Novelis, we follow a proactive risk management approach in collaboration with our Supplier Quality Relationship Management (SQRM) team. Each year, we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of our suppliers and assess Novelis’ exposure to various risks. Based on the identified risk level, we implement tailored mitigation measures, which may include:
• Developing and qualifying new suppliers
• Establishing Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) programs
• Increasing safety stock levels at Novelis and/or supplier sites
• Conducting regular supplier audits, especially for high-risk suppliers or following quality and delivery issues
Despite these measures, not all risks can be fully mitigated. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this reality, as we faced unprecedented material shortages and supply disruptions. For example, in my previous role managing procurement for Magnesium and Manganese, commodities primarily sourced from China, Spring 2021 was particularly challenging. The Suez Canal closure, cargo shortages, and port congestion severely impacted supply chains. Many traders had minimal stock, and one magnesium supplier even defaulted on their contract due to sharp price increases in China, where producers opted to sell at spot prices domestically. Fortunately, our long-standing partnership with European suppliers like Foundry Ecocer proved invaluable, providing magnesium and manganese tablets at very short notice, ensuring continuity for Novelis. This experience underscores the importance of strong supplier relationships, local presence, and agility in crisis situations. While we monitor supply chain disruption indices to anticipate potential impacts, predicting the magnitude of such events remains difficult. Ultimately, having reliable, customer-focused partners who go the extra mile is critical to maintaining supply security.
Digitalisation and Data
What role does digital transformation play in your procurement operations - particularly in areas like supplier analytics, performance tracking, and sustainability reporting?
Digital transformation plays a critical role in enhancing procurement efficiency and decision-making at Novelis. One of our main challenges has been consolidating accurate and meaningful data across multiple ERP systems. To address this, we initially developed a digital analytics platform, a data lake integrating various ERPs, accessible through Power BI dashboards and KPIs. This platform has since evolved into Global Procurement Spend Intelligence (GPSI), offering improved functionality such as faster loading times and enhanced visuals for quicker insights.
Data quality, however, remains a key focus area. Issues like incorrect item categorization, excessive use of free-text purchase orders, and language inconsistencies still exist. Our cost analytics team is actively leveraging AI to improve data accuracy and standardization. In parallel, we are implementing a Spend Control Tower to enable proactive, data-driven decisions and advanced analytics across plants, vendors, and categories.
On the sourcing side, we have transitioned most global tenders to Coupa CSO eSourcing, which delivers significant efficiency gains, faster analysis, scenario modeling, and improved savings outcomes. Beyond operational tools, we are exploring AI applications that can elevate procurement decision-making, moving beyond personal productivity enhancements to strategic insights.
Finally, in contract management, we recently deployed Icertis, an enterprise system with embedded AI capabilities. This technology helps summarize contracts, identify high-risk clauses, and even suggests improved wording, significantly strengthening compliance, and risk management.
Team Leadership and Development
You lead a global team with members based in different regions. What’s your approach to building a high-performing, collaborative procurement team that shares common goals while navigating cultural and operational differences?
I lead the global Casthouse procurement team with members based in the United States, both at our Atlanta headquarters and working remotely. With myself located in Switzerland, managing distance and time zone constraints is part of our daily reality. However, we turn this challenge into a strength by establishing clear communication routines and leveraging collaboration tools such as Teams, email, and chat to stay connected and aligned. Zone constraints are part of our daily reality. I engage with my team several times a week, and we hold biweekly team meetings to ensure full alignment on priorities, actions, and strategic direction. These sessions are also essential moments to exchange complex supplier issues, prepare negotiations, discuss claims, or align on stakeholder communications needed to move projects forward. The core strength of our team is trust. I rely on my team fully, and they know they can count on my support. This mutual confidence creates a safe, high performing environment where we can focus on delivering what is best for Novelis and meeting, and often surpassing, our targets. -team collaboration and supplier engagement, is essential to driving year-over-year innovation and savings.
Novelis’ culture plays a key role in how we work. Principles such as “Say Anything,” or “Be Open” are not just values; they are living behaviors. We actively share ideas, give and seek feedback, recognize each other’s efforts, and celebrate achievements. This openness, combined with cross team collaboration and supplier engagement, is essential to driving year over year innovation and savings. Our targets are ambitious and managing them across a global footprint requires a true growth mindset. While we are not yet where we want to be, we have the capabilities, the resources, and, most importantly, the team’s mindset to get there. I am confident in our collective ability to reach the next level.
Future Outlook for Procurement at Novelis
Looking ahead, what are your key priorities for advancing global sourcing at Novelis and what role do you see procurement playing in driving long-term growth and sustainable transformation across the business?
Looking ahead, procurement at Novelis will evolve from a transactional function into a strategic business partner driving growth and sustainability. Several priorities will shape this transformation:
Technology and Automation:
Increased automation and AI will streamline operational tasks and manage tail spend more effectively. This will free up procurement teams to focus on high-value activities such as supplier development, strategic negotiations, and innovation projects.
Shared Services and Efficiency:
Routine and administrative tasks will increasingly be outsourced to shared service centers, enabling cost efficiency and allowing procurement to concentrate on strategic initiatives.
Data and Predictive Analytics:
Continuously strengthening a robust data foundation is critical. Advanced analytics and predictive models help us navigate market volatility and anticipate risks, strengthening our ability to make informed decisions.
Talent and Skills Development:
Procurement professionals must develop broader business acumen, understanding finance, operations, and sustainability challenges. This shift will require continuous upskilling and attracting talent from diverse backgrounds to bring fresh perspectives.
AI as an Enabler, Not a Threat:
While AI will enhance efficiency and insight, it will not replace procurement. Success will depend on motivated teams leveraging technology to deliver strategic value and align closely with business priorities.
Ultimately, procurement’s role will be to drive sustainable transformation, ensuring Novelis remains resilient, competitive, and aligned with our Vision 3x30 goals. By combining technology, talent, and strong supplier partnerships, procurement will be a catalyst for long-term growth.
Novelis is a leading global producer of flat-rolled aluminium products and a major recycler of aluminium, operating facilities across multiple regions. The company partners with customers in industries including automotive, beverage packaging and aerospace, delivering innovative, sustainable solutions. Novelis is committed to advancing circularity and reducing environmental impact through increased recycling and low-carbon production technologies.
Veronique Fraisse-Hergott Global Sourcing Manager