Procurement - March 2023

March 2023 | procurementmag.com

PROCUREMENT CONSULTANTS STRATEGIC SOURCING

PACTUM AI

From Automating Agreements to Automating Ethics

HI + AI =

An Expert Captain for Tempestuous Seas

True Procurement Intelligence

CIRCULAR ECONOMIES

TRAILBLAZER

Through Visibility and Collaboration

Nikolaus Kirner CPO of SAP

G4S:

PROCURING PEOPLE FOR SECURITY’S FRONT LINE

Jon Willescroft, CPO at manned-security giant G4S, on how its procurement protects client interests – and the lives of frontline staff

Join the Virtual Event Disrupting Procurement & Supply Chain 28TH JUNE 2023 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

A BizClik Event

▶ Watch our showreel from PROCUREMENT & SUPPLY CHAIN LIVE London 2022

Innovators are paving the way for a more resilient, sustainable, and efficient future. The rules have changed. It’s time for disruption.

Join the must-see virtual event disrupting procurement and supply chain on the 28th of June 2023.

This year, we are bringing you a solely virtual event, Procurement & SupplyChain LIVE Virtual will highlight the innovators changing the industry. Brought to you by BizClik, Procurement & SupplyChain LIVE Virtual will be held on 28th June 2023, streaming remotely to virtual audiences around the world.

The unmissable event will feature expert keynote speakers, interactive fireside and panel discussions, and more. Do not miss this 1-day deep dive into the disruption and the future of procurement, supply chain and logistics.

It’s time for DISRUPTION.

Sponsorship Opportunities Do you want to position your brand in front of thousands of innovators, decision-makers and influencers?

Sponsor Procurement & SupplyChain LIVE to unlock the future of your business, access thousands of potential partners and influence businesses at the highest level.

Both global giants and innovative start-ups alike can discover the ideal platform with easy access to an engaged and active audience.

Contact a member of our team today to discuss sponsorship opportunities.

See you on 28th June 2023.

GET YOUR PASS

SPONSORSHIP

bizclikmedia.com

Ways to Work With us We produce Digital Content for Digital People across 20+ Global Brands, reaching over 15M Executives Digital Magazines Websites Newsletters Industry Data & Demand Generation Webinars: Creation & Promotion White Papers & Research Reports Lists: Top 10s & Top 100s Events: Virtual & In-Person

Work with us

Never miss an issue!

+ Discover the latest news and insights about Global Procurement...

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

The Procurement Team EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ILKHAN OZSEVIM CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER

SCOTT BIRCH

MANAGING EDITOR

NEIL PERRY

PROOFREADER

JESS GIBSON CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER

MATT JOHNSON HEAD OF DESIGN

ANDY WOOLLACOTT LEAD DESIGNER

JUSTIN SMITH

FEATURE DESIGNERS

MIMI GUNN SOPHIE-ANN PINNELL HECTOR PENROSE SAM HUBBARD REBEKAH BIRLESON ADVERT DESIGNERS

JORDAN WOOD DANILO CARDOSO CALLUM HOOD VIDEO PRODUCTION MANAGER

KIERAN WAITE

SENIOR VIDEOGRAPHER

HUDSON MELDRUM

DIGITAL VIDEO PRODUCERS

MARTA EUGENIO ERNEST DE NEVE THOMAS EASTERFORD DREW HARDMAN JOSEPH HANA SALLY MOUSTA JINGXI ANG PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

GEORGIA ALLEN DANIELA KIANICKOVÁ PRODUCTION MANAGERS

JANE ARNETA MARIA GONZALEZ CHARLIE KING YEVHENIIA SUBBOTINA

MARKETING MANAGER

ANDREW STUBBINGS PROJECT DIRECTOR

CRAIG KILLINGBACK MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

JAMES WHITE

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

MIKE SADR

MANAGING DIRECTOR

LEWIS VAUGHAN CEO

GLEN WHITE

FOREWORD

Procurement holds the key to building a more sustainable, even ethical, world Supercharged by technology to see into new frontiers, procurement emerges as a force to forge a new world of sustainability and ethics

“Autonomous negotiations have the serious potential to turn the economy around and effectively raise the world’s GDP” MARTIN RAND,

CEO AND CO -FOUNDER, PACTUM AI

Autonomous negotiations are an example of ‘emergent properties’ in AI. That which was originally created simply as a time- (and therefore cost-) saving tool has evolved to develop attributes that are now capable of feats extending far beyond its initial conception.

Case in point: global leader in autonomous negotiations Pactum AI uses a technology called ‘explainable Artificial Intelligence’. According to Martin Rand, CEO and Co-Founder of Pactum, ‘explainable’ here means that the AI is able to trace the root cause of any decisions made.

This has exciting implications for ethical conundrums, as well as clever ways to stimulate financial momentum towards sustainability efforts.

Pactum AI may be the global leader in autonomous negotiations, employing cutting-edge tech to service its clients, but it is by no means alone.

With the increasing convergence of AI and procurement processes – of which autonomous negotiations are a part – the world that’s coming into the foreground is one in which humanitarian aspects such as sustainability, and D&I and ethics will be an inescapable aspect. Procurement leads the way. Discover how in the following pages…

PROCUREMENT MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY

ILKHAN OZSEVIM

ilkhan.ozsevim@bizclikmedia.com

© 2023 | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

procurementmag.com

7

Join the Virtual Event Disrupting Sustainability 19TH APRIL 2023 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Watch our 2022 Showreel

GET YOUR PASS

SPONSORSHIP

A BizClik Event

CONTENTS UP FRONT

MARCH 2023 14 12

14 BIG PICTURE

The 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake: a race against time and a lesson in procurement

16 THE BRIEF

20

The latest insights from the world of procurement

18 TIMELINE

The history and development of supplier relationship management (SRM)

20 TRAILBLAZER Nikolaus Kirner

22 F IVE MINS WITH DR Elouise Epstein

18

74 procurementmag.com

9

CONTENTS 44

FEATURES 44 STRATEGIC SOURCING

52

An expert captain for tempestuous seas

52 HI+AI≠

True Procurement Intelligence

60 PACTUM AI

From automating agreements to automating ethics

60

68 C IRCULAR ECONOMY Circular economies through visibility and collaboration

76 TOP 10 Procurement Consultants 10

March 2023

68

MARCH 2023

28

COMPANY REPORT 28 G4S

Embedding sustainable procurement at G4S procurementmag.com

11

BIG PICTURE

The 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake: A Race Against Time and a Lesson in Procurement, On 6 February 2023, a catastrophic and deadly series of earthquakes struck southern and central Turkey, as well as parts of northern Syria, at 4:17 in the morning.

Reaching 7.8 on the Richter scale and followed by aftershocks, one of which measured 7.5 on the Richter scale, their magnitude led to devastating losses.

Spanning across several regions, the tremors were felt as far away as Cyprus, Lebanon and Egypt. Millions of people dashed out of their homes, many in their nightwear and pyjamas, fleeing onto streets of ice and snow.

14

February March 2023 2023

What became immediately clear is that procurement is not just about business. It pertains to the sustenance of life. The Turkish government’s delayed and sporadic efforts attracted widespread criticism, as digging equipment, blankets, food, medicine, pads, shoes, gloves, soup – the absolute essentials – only crawled their way to the needy; mostly too little, too late.

Disaster relief supply chains emerged across the globe, as citizens the worldover rushed to fill in the government's unpardonable lapses.

Procurement is about life.

procurementmag.com

15

THE BRIEF “The CPO role is often about telling the company what it needs to hear, rather than what it wants to hear” Jon Willescroft

Chief Procurement Officer, G4S READ MORE

“Using the amount of carbon offset or reduction as a tradeable term in negotiations will mean that it becomes an asset that is traded throughout the supply chain” Gregor Stühler,

Martin Rand, CEO and Co-Founder, Pactum AI READ MORE

“A big component of the work done at The Smart Cube concerns uniting Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence”

16

BY THE NUMBERS Procurement Stats from Our Articles:

50k100k

It is not uncommon for large enterprises to have 50k-100k third parties

70%

Supply chain emissions account for 70% of the total

3% to 7%

With autonomous negotiations, companies can turn data into significant savings, reducing an average of 3% to 7% costs on supplier agreements, resulting in millions of dollars of new value created each year

EDITOR'S CHOICE FAIRTRADE LAUNCHES CRITICAL TOOL IN FIGHT FOR ESG & HUMAN RIGHTS Fairtrade's newly-launched tool tracks Human Rights, Environmental and ESG data though their 'Risk Map', which is set to be a game changer in ethical trade READ MORE

Chief Solutions Officer, The Smart Cube

Prerna Dhawan

GERMANY TRAILBLAZER FOR COMING EU CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY LAWS Under Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, businesses can be fined up to 2% of their revenues – while Inverto research reveals corporate sustainability stats

READ MORE

READ MORE

February March 2023 2023

HI + AI = True Procurement Intelligence

 SCHNITZER STEEL INDUSTRIES INC Schnitzer Steel Industries takes first place in Corporate Knights' 2023 Top

Over the last few years, we’ve seen artificial intelligence being used for a host of procurement applications, from spend analysis to supplier risk management. Recently, the stature of procurement within the business has grown in importance, particularly after helping companies navigate pandemicdriven disruptions.

100 list of Sustainable

For procurement's position to remain elevated and for the function to continue evolving – considering more innovation, sustainability initiatives, and enhanced risk management – along with constantly increasing volumes of data, the use of AI is absolutely critical for fast decision making.

by Keelvar

Companies

U P

 KEELVAR Report proposes that 2023 will be the year of autonomous sourcing bots, according to a report

MAR 2023

 MAIKE GROUP China's copper buyers face higher costs for the metal this year, caused by buyers and leading importer Maike Group's financial issues

 ALL-OUT BANS ON PLASTICS According to PlastIndia Foundation President Jigish Doshi, circular

D O W N

economies – and not a ban on plastics – is the solution to the conundrum

procurementmag.com

17

TIMELINE

D N A Y R O T S I THE H PMENT OF O L E V E D

SUPPLIER RELATIO MANAGEMENT (SR EARLY 2000s

1990s The Emergence of SRM as a distinct discipline Companies begin to see the value of managing supplier relationships effectively, leading to the creation of SRM as a standalone function.

18

March 2023

The Adoption of SRM software Large organisations adopt systems to centralise and standardise supplier data, monitor supplier performance, and track savings.

MID 2000s ISM introduces SRM certification program The Institute for Supply Management introduces a certification programme for SRM professionals.

This move standardises SRM criteria and establishes a framework that enhances SRM’s quality and reputation.

F

ONSHIP RM)

ATIONSHIP L E R R IE L P P U S AS BECOME H T N E M E G A N MA OWN RIGHT, S IT IN A E R A AN O MANY T E U D N IO T C GAINING TRA HISTORY. S IT IN S T N E V IMPORTANT E ICAL TO EVERY IT R C W O N IS SRM ROGRAM P T N E M E R U C VIABLE PRO AND BEYOND

2010s Use of supplier scorecards

2008 Supply chain risk management born in earnest The global financial crisis prompts companies to re-evaluate their risk management practices and strengthen supplier relationships.

Companies begin to use scorecards and performance metrics to monitor supplier performance on aspects such as quality, on-time delivery, and responsiveness to identify areas of risk and improvement

2020s COVID-19 and Ukraine war impact Global geopolitical events such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine highlight the critical importance of robust SRM as companies struggle with supply chain disruptions and supply chain risk.

procurementmag.com

19

TRAILBLAZER

Nikolaus Kirner CPO of SAP and VIP of Procurement Success

A

s Chief Procurement Officer at SAP, Nikolaus Kirner is responsible for the procurement of all goods and services globally, as well as for leading a transformational program to operate the Global Procurement Function as a strategic business partner.

Starting his career at Deutsche Lufthansa with a 20-year track record of outstanding executive leadership success in the airline, retail, travel and tech industries, Kirner has a background of leading various procurement and supply chain transformations.

As a global head of transformation he manages a huge strategy implementation and cost out programme, and as Managing Director, leads cross-functional management teams servicing substantial multinational clients.

He is recognised for his commitment to a high-energy, high-performance culture, and has the ability to restructure and transform companies to more effectively deliver best practice client engagement, and effective service delivery.

A noted thought leader, Kirner contributes articles to international journals and and regularly speaks at industry conferences and events.

20 March 2023

He holds an MBA (Hons) from FriedrichAlexander University, Germany and completed the European ERASMUS Program (International Relations) with Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Married with two young sons, Kirner enjoys relaxing by playing football and tennis. He is fluent in English and German, has fun on his motorbike and can often be seen having a run before work.

Nikolaus Kirner has a 20 year track record of outstanding executive leadership success in the airline, retail, travel and tech industries - and a formidable background in leading various procurement and supply chain transformations.

procurementmag.com

21

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

DR

ELOUISE

EPSTEIN

E

Dr Elouise Epstein is an long-standing partner at management consulting firm Kearney, a public speaker and an important author on procurement and supply chain Dr Elouise Eptein is a Partner at Kearney, a futurist and a supply chain and procurement author. Her latest book, about digital procurement, is called ‘Trade wars, Pandemics, and Chaos’.

Q. T ELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT KEARNEY

» I am a Kearney partner based out of

San Francisco. I’ve worked for the firm for almost 22 years. I am a trusted advisor for clients, helping them set their digital procurement and supply chain strategies.

I work across all industries and geographies, and am continually generating new content based on my work with clients. I will not show up with half-baked content from five years ago, platitudes, or buzzwords.

I am also a frequent public speaker.

Because I am a historian by training my

presentations often are equal-part history lesson and supply chain insights, all imbued with my dry wit!

Q. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A 'FUTURIST' IN PROCUREMENT?

» As a futurist, typically I work either with

extreme leaders or extreme laggards.

Extreme leaders like to embrace a challenge, while extreme laggards look at the extreme leaders and decide they want to scrap everything and leapfrog to the future. These tend to be my clients. The middle-of-the-road clients usually make incremental changes and that's fine, but that's not the role for a futurist.

In practical terms, I help clients prepare for tomorrow’s problems, today. I am continually looking at what threats are coming next and what we need to do to prepare for a disruptive future, because there will be a never-ending set of disruptions facing tomorrow’s supply chains. This literally keeps me up at night.

“ Chief procurement officers have the unique ability to bring about change because they control - or at least influence - where an enterprise spends its money” procurementmag.com

23

FIVE MINUTES WITH...

Q. WHAT'S THE TAKE-HOME MESSAGE OF YOUR BOOK: TRADE WARS, PANDEMICS, AND CHAOS?

» That we must shed legacy processes,

technology, and thinking. Business-asusual has been good for the past 25 years but today’s world is vastly more complicated, and full of macro disruptions that turn conventional wisdom on its head, such as the pandemic.

The way businesses operate, and specifically global supply chains, compels us to come up with imaginative new ways of operating that make use of the sophisticated digital technologies available to us.

Q. WHAT'S THE BIGGEST MISTAKE PROCUREMENT LEADERS MAKE?

» Not using the power of their platform.

Chief procurement officers have the unique ability to bring about change because they control - or at least influence - where an enterprise spends its money.

This is a significant role because they can bring ESG progress through the suppliers a company engages.

The other mistake CPOs make is to needlessly hold on to the legacy idea of cost control, instead of value creation.

Far too often the focus is on how to control and limit where money is spent, and using legacy technology and processes.

Q. WHY IS PROCUREMENT MORE IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE THINK?

» At its core, procurement is about

managing third parties. Today’s globalised supply chains predominantly consist of third parties. It is not uncommon for large enterprises to have 50k-100k third parties.

That means building a secure, efficient, green, socially conscious, and fault24

March 2023

tolerant supply chain will require being excellent at third-party management. And who better than procurement to deliver on this promise?.

Q. WHAT'S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU'VE EVER BEEN GIVEN?

» Take care of your people. Your job as a leader is to enable them to do their job.

This includes giving them the tools and support they need, and protecting them as necessary.

Q. WHERE DO YOU SEE PROCUREMENT BEING IN 5 YEARS' TIME?

» Without a doubt procurement

will continue its trajectory to the big leadership table. The profession will be responsible for facilitating value creation with third parties. It will go from serving the business to being the business.

Enterprise ESG goals will be owned by procurement, with CPOs adopting the mantle of chief sustainability officers.

And, procurement will provide the first line of defence against enterprise risk.

To make all of this happen, procurement will continue to be at the forefront of digital adoption and innovation.

“ Building a secure, efficient, green, socially conscious, and faulttolerant supply chain will require being excellent at thirdparty management.

And who better than procurement to deliver on this promise?”

procurementmag.com

25

001 001

A BizClik Brand

ADERS • LE 20

• 22

LEADERS 2 0

22

• 22

22

LEADERS 2 0

1001 00 ADERS • LE 20

OUT NOW Don’t miss this Issue!

The most influential people in Procurement Read now

Creating Digital Communities

EMBEDDING SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT AT G4S WRITTEN BY: SEAN ASHCROFT PRODUCED BY: CRAIG KILLINGBACK

28 March 2023

G4S

procurementmag.com

29

G4S

Jon Willescroft is Chief Procurement Officer for G4S – part of the world’s largest security company – and it’s his job to drive meaningful, sustainable change

S

earch the term ‘G4S personnel’ in Google images and the result is startling: screen upon screen of vigilant security staff clad in armoured clothing, many of whom are armed. They are protecting everything from gas and oil plants in troubled regions to cash-in-transit vans transporting banknotes and coins.

These are the frontline employees of G4S, the multinational company that specialises in manned security services.

Asked who inspires him, Jon Willescroft – Chief Procurement Officer at G4S – doesn’t even pause.

“We've got half a million people, globally, on the front line, and every day those men and women pull on their uniform, they’re putting themselves at risk,” he says. “They define our business, putting themselves in harm’s way to deliver services. It's impossible not to be inspired by these people who have the toughest jobs.”

G4S is part of Allied Universal, a leading security and facility services company that provides proactive security services and cutting-edge smart technology to deliver tailored, integrated security solutions that allow clients to focus on their core business.

It provides trained and screened security officers, as well as security systems such as access control, CCTV, intruder alarms, fire detection, video analytics, and security and building systems integration technology.

30 March 2023

Example of an image caption procurementmag.com

31

“ Managing a global team is all about communicating and then adapting that communication to the local audience” JON WILLESCROFT

CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, G4S

32 March 2023

As a result, G4S spends over a billion dollars a year with suppliers and subcontractors, giving business to thousands of SMEs across the globe. “Suppliers and subcontractors are a critical part of how we deliver for our customers and those in our care,” says Willescroft. “This is why it’s essential we partner with the best companies and organisations across the globe.”

Managing global & fragmented team ‘a huge challenge’ Easier said than done, when you have 150 procurement people scattered across the globe. Willescroft concedes that managing a large global, fragmented team is a massive undertaking.

G4S

JON WILLESCROFT TITLE: CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER INDUSTRY: SECURITY LOCATION: LONDON UK

EXECUTIVE BIO

“It’s really challenging,” he says. “From a procurement perspective, I've got people spread across the world, and within that you've also got big cultural differences as well as a wide range of capabilities, skills and knowledge.”

This, he says, is why G4S has crystal clear minimum standards and requirements.

“Whether I’m talking to a procurement administrator in Columbia or a head of procurement in Belgium, I talk in a language that figuratively they understand,” he says.

“And I also have to take the time to embed the message.”

“You can't be passive about it. You can't just send out one set of standards and expect people to understand and comply with them.”

Jon Willescroft is an ambitious, energetic and commercial CPO, specialising in reshaping procurement in large and complex organisations. Jon currently leads procurement at G4S, part of the world’s largest security company, encompassing 150 people across 90 countries, and over $1Bn spend. His focus at G4S is driving sustainable, commercial transformation across this complex global business and its supply chains. Prior to G4S, Jon held a number of procurement leadership positions in financial services and pharmaceuticals, as well as procurement advisory roles.

procurementmag.com

33

G4S

Willescroft also uses what he dubs “positive tension” as a management strategy.

“By positive tension, I mean regions and categories challenging one another to drive value. It’s important that this exists between my global category leads – who deal with the international business – and the regional local procurement leads.

“This is the matrix model I've employed and I think it works pretty well.”

Data is another weapon in his arsenal.

“The insight you drive from data is absolutely key. It's the glue that holds the procurement function together. Data allows us to talk about risk, performance, cost savings and sustainability in the same language, which makes it much more powerful to the wider business.”

Keeping his global team engaged, informed and motivated is another major challenge, says Willescroft: “Given the complexity and the geographic spread of the team, my objective is to make everyone feel part of a single team – one global

“ If you don’t embed sustainability into your everyday processes and routines, then you’re just sticking stuff on that will eventually fall apart” JON WILLESCROFT

CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, G4S

34 March 2023

G4S professional procurement function – and to feel proud to work in that team.”

Consistency of message is key with global teams There are no “dark arts” involved in this.

“It’s all about communicating,” Willescroft says, “and adapting that communication to the local countries.

“Within this, you also need consistency of message. You need to clearly lay out the roadmap of where we're going across our core pillars of procurement – whether that’s sourcing, supplier management, or sustainability.”

Technology helps, too. G4S is in the process of launching a global procurement capability development tool, which Willescroft says will provide people with “a map of where they are today from a development perspective against the skills and competence we'd expect them to have”.

If managing people is one onerous challenge, then protecting the bottom line is another. So, how does Willescroft drive value in such a fragmented global market?

“Wherever we can leverage globally with suppliers, we do so,” he says. “But a lot of our supply chains are by their nature localised, which is why we always make sure our category leaders are very collaborative.

They need to be smart but also have a high emotional quotient. They have to be able to drive change, which is a big part of the job.”

In Willescroft’s view, this is vital. “If our people lack the right skill set or aren’t motivated in the right way, then we'll fail. You need the right people, and you need to know how they’re executing in their country.”

Because G4S is a low-margin business, Willescroft says the role makes specific demands of him.

“You're more likely to primarily think short term in a low-margin business,” he says. “If procurementmag.com

35

Bringing your team closer together.

Communication devices and software to keep your team connected, safe and efficient regardless of their location.

Learn more

Let’s work together.

Connect with us here T 033 3939 0022 E sales@radiocoms.co.uk www.radiocoms.co.uk

G4S

Helping Willescroft and his team give G4S what it needs is a raft of technology-driven changes. Yet, underpinning this multilayered transformation process is something that has nothing whatsoever to do with tech: rock-solid values. you're a higher-margin business, you have the flexibility to think a little longer term.”

He adds: “But whatever business you work for, as a CPO, you have to be a commercially-focused leader and deliver what the business needs to be successful.

And what ‘successful’ looks like changes from business to business.

“I think there's more of a pull for procurement in a low-margin business like G4S, and probably the biggest challenge here is you have to work really hard to educate and drive the agenda of the business. You have to give the business what it needs, not what it wants.”

Improvement only works if there are solid foundations “Before you try and improve things, you've got to strengthen the foundations,” he says. “By that, I mean strengthening the procurement community network by evolving the controls we have in place and making sure we're delivering sustainable, measurable savings across the business.

These are the building blocks.”

On top of this G4S is driving change through data insights and KPI dashboards to give it visibility, both of its internal controls and its supply chain. procurementmag.com

37

G4S

Embedding sustainable procurement at G4S WATCH NOW

“ Understanding the sustainability standards of suppliers worldwide involves knowing where the risk sits and how we can best manage that risk” JON WILLESCROFT

CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, G4S

38 March 2023

With any change project, taking people along with you is critically important – and Willescroft’s approach to this sees him again drawing from the communication well.

“You communicate clearly around purpose and direction, as well as why we're doing what we're doing. You make clear the benefits of working in a leaner organisation with leaner teams, such as there being more development opportunities for people within the team.”

He adds: “I'm also keen that everyone is stretched beyond their core role in procurement, because this puts people at

G4S

the heart of driving the change. In this way, you win their hearts and minds, rather than rendering change as something that is done to them.

G4S has, according to Willescroft, worked closely with Page Consulting on this.

“They've helped us ramp up and execute really quickly in the UK on procurement capability development.”

One key area of the change process at G4S is supply chain sustainability – something that’s growing exponentially in importance across all organisations.

Another is transformation around supplier

management and assurance, which is designed to give the company better visibility of suppliers, not just from a risk perspective but also in terms of performance.

The goal is to drive value and innovation, Willescroft says.

Embedding sustainability and ESG is the goal With sustainability and ESG initiatives – digitally-driven or otherwise – Willescroft believes the danger is that “you stick stuff on to existing processes and then it just falls apart”. Embedding, he stresses, is key. procurementmag.com

39

YOUR PARTNER FOR PEOPLE, PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES, EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. Page Consulting focusses on supporting customers with talent management, consulting & advisory services across transformation, technology, supply chain, operations and HR. We support our clients in solving tomorrow’s challenges, today – delivering efficient, affordable, highly specialised and customised solutions.

LEARN MORE

G4S “How do we do that? By making sure that, at a functional level, ESG and sustainability are a core part of how we are measured and how our objectives are measured. This way, everything flows all the way down to individual objectives.”

“Over the coming year, everyone has targeted individual measures that are not only around commercial delivery, but are also really clear on ESG and sustainability objectives. This means these topics are standing agenda items every time we engage with the business. Every time we sit down and review performance with the business units, or talk about sourcing, deals, or supply management performance, then sustainability is a core part of that.”

Only by constantly talking about sustainability and ESG does Willescroft believe you can fully embed them into a business. He also points to the importance of having clarity on priorities.

“Sustainability is a broad subject, and you're in danger of spinning your wheels if you don't prioritise. I have top-down support from the executive committee, who align the procurement sustainability objectives with the corporate ones.”

In this way, the areas he agrees upon with the executive committee “become our absolute focus”.

Willescroft adds: “So, we have our core standards and policies – which are like hygiene factors – and then beyond this, the focus is on supply chain transparency.”

“ The CPO role is often about telling the company what it needs to hear, rather than what it wants to hear” JON WILLESCROFT

CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER, G4S

procurementmag.com

41

G4S

Understanding the sustainability standards of its suppliers around the world is a big part of this.

‘Do we understand where the risk sits?’ and ‘Can we manage it?’ are the two key questions that Willescroft highlights here.

“The areas where we're investing most time, effort and resources are net zero, supplier diversity, and human rights.”

To this end, G4S recently launched an initiative in the UK to promote a broader representation of diverse-owned suppliers in its supply chain, with the aim of furthering 42 March 2023

diversity and inclusion throughout. Broadly speaking, a supplier is considered diverse when half or more of the venture is owned and operated by a variety of ethnicities, those with disabilities, women, from a range of social backgrounds, or those from the LGBTQIA+ community.

As part of the scheme, G4S is working with Kaleida International – a UK and EMEA B2B marketplace for tenders connecting buyers to diverse suppliers.

Willescroft says: “We’re committed to supporting diverse suppliers. Our suppliers

play a critical role in helping us run a successful business, delivering excellent service to our customers.

“Greater diversity of suppliers brings a richness of thoughts, ideas and innovation.

It’s also critical that our business reflects and supports the societies in which we operate, including often more marginalised, diverse communities.”

G4S is also taking big strides in its global 2050 net-zero commitment, with procurement at the heart of this programme.

Willescroft says: “We’ve made great progress this year with our fleet decarbonisation.

Working closely with our UK partner, Leaseplan, over three quarters of our new vehicle orders have been low-emission vehicles.

“We’re also now getting to grips with our supply chain emissions which account for 70% of the total, and will be working collaboratively with our major suppliers to drive this down.”

procurementmag.com

43

STRATEGIC SOURCING: AN EXPERT CAPTAIN FOR TEMPESTUOUS SEAS Tarun Bhatia, Head of Global Procurement Practice at Evalueserve, explains why strategic sourcing is critical – and why procurement is doomed without it WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

S

trategic sourcing is a process that formalises the way procurement and supply chain information is gathered and utilised. This enables the organisation to use its resources in the best possible way and align its sourcing strategy to business goals.

“Sourcing needs to be more strategic now than ever before,” says Tarun Bhatia, Head of Global Procurement Practice at Evalueserve.

Evalueserve is a global professional services provider offering research, analytics and data management services across a wide range of industries and business functions.

Bhatia says: “In the current volatile global environment, it’s unthinkable to imagine sourcing without a strategy in place. The clear benefits of strategic sourcing are reduced total cost, increased productivity, enhanced planning, and increased digitalisation/automation. ”The unpredictable supply chain is a turbulent

44

March 2023

STRATEGIC SOURCING

procurementmag.com

45

Making Value Measurable Suppeco delivers a paradigm shift in B2B attitude - leveraging customer-supplier relationships to drive collaborative performance excellence, relationship driven resilience, and sustainability deep into the ecosystem & supply chain.

BOOK A DEMO

Ask us about collaborative relationship driven co-resilience.

Ask us about operational compliance for sustainable supply chain.

STRATEGIC SOURCING

ocean, the navigation of which requires a sturdy ship and a visionary captain. If procurement is that ship, then strategic sourcing is its captain.

Data as the lifeblood of strategic sourcing Knowing what we know about the swift and unpredictable changes that are capable of emerging and swiftly impacting procurement and supply chains on a global scale, Bhatia says: “Using reactive/unplanned sourcing (or non-strategic sourcing) leads businesses to fail, especially considering that other industry players are flawlessly planning for raw materials, logistics, utilities, budgets and inventory to streamline their supply chains. So, to stay relevant, businesses need to adopt strategic sourcing into their operations and processes.

“Strategic Sourcing is all about data formalisation,” Bhatia says, before going on to say that this data can be in multiple forms – market data (trends, technologies, growth, drivers, best practices); supplier data (financial, operational, performance, capabilities); inventory data; spend transactions data; PO data, and contracting data.

“The ability to utilise and monetise this data forms the foundation of strategic sourcing. So, data is extremely critical and integral to the entire process of strategic sourcing,” he says.

“ Sourcing needs to be more strategic now than ever before” TARUN BHATIA, HEAD OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT PRACTICE, EVALUESERVE

Strategic Sourcing’s impact on ESG, Diversity & Inclusion, and Sustainability Bhatia believes that the strategic-sourcing function is perfectly positioned to take the lead in creating supply chain transparency on ESG factors, diversity & inclusion (D&I), and sustainability.

“Strategic sourcing has the responsibility to strike the right balance between business procurementmag.com

47

STRATEGIC SOURCING

“ In the current volatile global environment, it’s unthinkable to imagine sourcing without a strategy in place” TARUN BHATIA, HEAD OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT PRACTICE, EVALUESERVE

48

March 2023

continuity/growth and ESG, D&I, and sustainability,” he says. “Since there is a huge focus on reduced scope 3 emissions, decarbonised/greener supply chains and circularity, strategic sourcing drives (and will drive) ESG and sustainability-related activities for an organisation.

“Similarly, for D&I the strategic-sourcing function has the responsibility to onboard and manage D&I-compliant suppliers. If an organisation has set a target for itself – say in terms of onboarding a certain percentage of D&I-compliant suppliers, supplier ESG monitoring processes, or sustainable supply chain guidelines – then the strategic-sourcing function will drive all of those initiatives, owing to their

STRATEGIC SOURCING

proximity with supply chains, suppliers, regulations, developments and access to competitive insights on ESG, D&I, and sustainability.”

The future of strategic sourcing There are, according to Bhatia, three key impacts that strategic sourcing will have in the coming five to ten years: Driving Business Value – Sourcing leaders will become trusted advisors who will accelerate business growth. As we speak, sourcing leaders are already playing a strategic role in operational supply chain strategies. In the future, they will also be in the driver’s seat on topics such as sales, go-to-market strategies, and

business growth. This would be a natural progression owing to their vast knowledge and experience from working with multiple partners, suppliers, technologies, data, and market insights.

Insights (not data) at the heart of sourcing – All organisations will work with trusted partners who share actionable intelligence and insights regarding all their sourcing strategies.

Harmonised, formalised data that is ready to be analysed will be the starting point; a hygiene factor. Sourcing leaders will need clear and robust recommendations on what needs to be done and how it needs to be achieved, rather than just data and knowledge.

Sustainability and decarbonisation – The whole world is focusing on this, and

procurementmag.com

49

STRATEGIC SOURCING

50

March 2023

STRATEGIC SOURCING

the strategic-sourcing function is following suit. Sourcing functions will continue to ramp up their climate commitments, such as green steel, recycled aluminium, and recycled plastic.

“The message is loud and clear,” says Bhatia, “you need to have the capabilities to formalise and monetise loads of internal (ERP, spend, PO, contracts) as well as external (market, suppliers, costs) data.

This capability can be internally developed or outsourced to an expert, and will form the foundation to move forward on the right path.

“If organisations have already achieved that, then the next priority is to have systems that help you prepare for volatilities, such as fluctuating raw material and commodity prices, and targets related to green sourcing, scope 3 emissions reduction, and greener supply chains.”

“ You need to have the capabilities to formalise and monetise loads of internal (ERP, spend, PO, contracts) as well as external (market, suppliers, costs) data” TARUN BHATIA, HEAD OF GLOBAL PROCUREMENT PRACTICE, EVALUESERVE procurementmag.com

51

HI + AI =

TRUE PROCUREMENT INTELLIGENCE 52

March 2023

=

AI IN PROCUREMENT

Prerna Dhawan, CSO at The Smart Cube, tells you why true procurement intelligence is the result of Human Intelligence plus Artificial Intelligence WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

O

ver the last few years, we’ve seen artificial intelligence being used for a host of procurement applications, from spend analysis to supplier risk management. Recently, the stature of procurement within the business has grown in importance, particularly after helping companies navigate pandemicdriven disruptions.

For procurement's position to remain elevated and for the function to continue evolving – considering more innovation, sustainability initiatives, and enhanced risk management – along with constantly increasing volumes of data, the use of AI is absolutely critical for fast decision making.

What problems do you think AI can solve in procurement in the future?

Prerna Dhawan is Chief Solutions Officer at The Smart Cube, responsible for developing and managing the company’s solutions portfolio. Dhawan owns the strategic direction and investment prioritisation procurementmag.com

53

Because Insight Beats Hindsight

Inform your supply chain resilience planning with our time-measured report series Ensuring the agility and resilience of your business and supply chain starts with identifying the risks.

Download our report to start your resilience planning today.

Download ASCRI Report

AI IN PROCUREMENT

across the portfolio, developing AI+HI solutions based on customer feedback, market dynamics and internal innovation.

“One important area where AI is helping to transform procurement is commodity price forecasting,” she says. “Typically, commodity market movements are perceived as a risk to savings projects or as a factor that organisations must manage from a cost-avoidance standpoint.

“But businesses can leverage the opportunities from these movements because AI makes it possible to look at larger, more complicated data sets over a longer period of time, helping to improve the accuracy of predictions and supercharge decision making, near real-time.”

The decisions made using price forecasts have a direct impact on a company’s bottom line, and they also have an impact on

“A BIG COMPONENT OF THE WORK DONE AT THE SMART CUBE CONCERNS UNITING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE" PRERNA DHAWAN CHIEF SOLUTIONS OFFICER, THE SMART CUBE

supplier relationships, business continuity, and many other processes. The uncertainty and volatility that are continuing to impact commodities – in conjunction with more data sources being readily available to support decision making – have made one thing apparent: AI is set to play a substantial role in commodity intelligence moving forward.

“Another use-case where we’re starting to see traction is in supplier management,” says Dhawan. “AI can help inform recommendations on supplier changes and contract renegotiations based on market procurementmag.com

55

AI IN PROCUREMENT

trends and disruptions. Leveraging data and AI technology, teams can discover and access smaller, emerging players that weren’t on their radar beforehand.”

Some companies only work with businesses they have a relationship with and may negotiate based on previous deals. However, they could be identifying new suppliers and incorporating external factors into their negotiations such as future trends and factors that may be impacting that supplier. Dhawan says: “Data-driven negotiations like these lead to more robust ones that drive much more value.”

AI procurement professionals?

Asked about the anxiety-ridden misgivings of AI entirely subsuming human beings in procurement, Dhawan says: “The extent to which AI will replace human professionals will vary according to the stage in the source-topay process.

“Many aspects of transactional procurement (P2P) – such as invoicing, contract management, accounts payable – yield significant scope to AI, as the activities are repetitive. When it comes to more strategic activities like category strategy development, business requirement gathering and supplier management, however, AI will exist to support and accelerate human decision making rather than replace it.”

Dhawan’s position is that AI can provide procurement specialists with more time to automated and therefore necessitates some form of human intelligence (HI) – as well as the emotional intelligence that comes with it.

This includes important activities such as fostering relationships with internal customers and suppliers.

“A big component of the work done at The Smart Cube concerns uniting HI and AI,” 56

March 2023

“CHASING AFTER THE LATE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION ISN’T ALWAYS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. FACTORS SUCH AS ADOPTION, APPLICABILITY AND RETUR ON INVESTMENT (ROI) MUS BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT PRERNA DHAWAN CHIEF SOLUTIONS OFFICER, THE SMART CUBE

EST N T

RN ST T”

procurementmag.com

57

AI IN PROCUREMENT

“THE EXTENT TO WHICH AI WILL REPLACE HUMAN PROFESSIONALS WILL VARY ACCORDING TO THE STAGE IN THE SOURCE TO PAY PROCESS” PRERNA DHAWAN CHIEF SOLUTIONS OFFICER, THE SMART CUBE

58

March 2023

AI IN PROCUREMENT

The Smart Cube The Smart Cube combines Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence in a powerful blend that adds value for their clients. It’s a refreshingly different approach to organisational intelligence.

geopolitical conflicts and the growing cyberthreat landscape are all complicating risk monitoring.

“Nowadays, organisations face multiple types of risk at numerous points in their supply chain.”

According to Dhawan, with so many potential risks at play, it's not humanly possible to keep track of all that data on a real-time basis without technology. “So that's where AI and machine learning can really shine,” she says. “They can be used to examine a vast amount of data and provide early warning signals.

“From there, humans can contextualise that data, deciding how it impacts their business and what action to take. As the risk landscape complexifies, this use of AI will become even more important.”

Procurement organisations must find the balance between AI and HI that works best for them, according to Dhawan.

“Chasing after the latest technology solution isn’t always the right thing to do.

Factors such as adoption, applicability and return on investment (ROI) must be taken into account.

“The optimum approach towards AI will be about unearthing the best use-cases for it to work alongside HI, in the specific contexts of an organisation – and then striking the right balance between the two – to best meet the business objectives.” procurementmag.com

59

PACTUM AI:

FROM AUTOMATING AGREEMENTS TO AUTOMATING ETHICS Pactum AI uses chat & artificial intelligence to negotiate agreements between suppliers & large enterprises – with the potential to solve much bigger problems WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

A

s a fluctuating recession, reduced economic growth, and inflation eat into companies’ profit margins, autonomous negotiations are now more important than ever.

“With autonomous negotiations, companies can turn data into significant savings, reducing an average of 3% to 7% costs on supplier agreements, resulting in millions of dollars of new value created each year,” says Martin Rand, CEO and Co-Founder of Pactum AI. “We refer to this as a ‘counter-cyclical force’ to a recession and inflation.”

Pactum is an autonomous negotiation company that uses chat and AI to negotiate agreements between suppliers and large enterprises.

As CEO and Co-Founder, Rand is responsible for setting the direction of the 60

March 2023

AUTONOMOUS NEGOTIATIONS

procurementmag.com

61

ADVERT PAGE MEDIA SALE The connected

supply chain turns volatility into opportunity.

The e2open connected supply chain platform provides the end-to-end visibility and collaboration you need to tackle unpredictability. Build trust and confidence with your channel, supply, logistics, and global trade partners. Take control of supply constraints through direct procurement and meet customer commitments in the face of disruptions and scarcity.

The connected supply chain. Moving as one™. www.e2open.com E2open and the e2open logo are registered trademarks of e2open, LLC, or its affiliates.

AUTONOMOUS NEGOTIATIONS

company and hiring the right leadership team. He is supported by his Co-Founders, Kaspar Korjus and Kristjan Korjus, who are also involved in the strategy and day-to-day operations of the company.

Picking up this thread, Rand says: “Now imagine if autonomous negotiations save 3% to 7% for every Fortune 500 company out there. We are now talking billions of unrealised created dollar values – something that has the serious potential to turn the economy around and to effectively raise the world’s GDP!” Human-Dependent vs Autonomous Negotiations Confronting the questions and apprehensions surrounding whether machines will replace people or simply augment our efforts, Rand stands for the latter. “Humans have distinct advantages over AI,” he says.

“ Using the amount of carbon offset or reduction as a tradeable term in negotiations will mean that it becomes an asset that is traded throughout the supply chain” MARTIN RAND

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, PACTUM AI

procurementmag.com

63

“ Racial or gender biases can be traced and entirely removed from the algorithms” MARTIN RAND

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, PACTUM AI

64

March 2023

“They can think outside the box in creating truly custom deals, influencing the other party with their charisma and charm – something that chatbots are manifestly incapable of doing. The much-overlooked reality, however, is that humans are not negotiating with these suppliers anyway.

“Category managers and merchants focus mainly on strategic suppliers. Procurement and merchandising teams are always stretched beyond capacity, so lack the manpower to engage with every single supplier. Our system will not miss opportunities – and has not yet gotten anyone fired.

AUTONOMOUS NEGOTIATIONS

“The system essentially negotiates deals that humans are incapable of – due not to the inadequacies of their ability, but to the sheer number of deals that take place at any given time.”

How autonomous negotiations can solve the ESG and DEI dilemma It could be argued that autonomous negotiations are an example of ‘emergent properties’ in AI. That which was originally created simply as a time-saving tool has evolved to develop attributes that are now capable of feats extending far beyond its initial conception.

Case in point: Pactum uses a technology called ‘explainable Artificial Intelligence’.

According to Rand, ‘explainable’ here means that the AI is able to trace the root cause of any decisions made. This has exciting implications for ethical conundrums, as well as clever ways to stimulate financial momentum towards sustainability efforts.

“Consequently, racial or gender biases can be traced and entirely removed from the algorithms,” he says. “And, in terms of sustainability, carbon offset can actually be turned into a tradeable term within a negotiation.” procurementmag.com

65

AUTONOMOUS NEGOTIATIONS

This is an important point. The problem with attempts at reducing greenhouse gas emissions is that enterprises simply don't have the ability to control the supply chain two steps down the line (Scope 3 emissions).

“However,” says Rand, “using the amount of carbon offset or reduction as a tradeable

66

March 2023

term in negotiations will mean that it becomes an asset that is traded throughout the supply chain.

“Such use of the invisible hand of the market economy is much more effective than mandating suppliers to submit plans on carbon reductions.”

In other words, autonomous negotiations can actually leverage AI and big data to work with suppliers towards an achievable, integrated, decarbonised supply chain. Rand offers an example of how businesses can achieve this. “A company can digitally embed energy

efficiency and environmental criteria into their purchasing contracts as a condition for doing business.

Autonomous agents and advanced analytics platforms have the ability to optimise inventory management and delivery at scale, in environmentallyfriendly ways.”

The autonomous negotiations of the future – beyond contracts “We see a future where autonomous negotiations will expand to more business operations – and not remain confined to supplier contracts,” says Rand.

“Any function that requires any kind of negotiation has the potential for autonomous negotiations to take place.

Examples include sales, recruitment and media placements, just to name a few, but the possibilities are endless.

“In the future, one company's chatbot could negotiate with another company's chatbot, thereby eliminating the resource-consuming drudgery of manual negotiations. I believe that we could also see autonomous negotiations come out of the B2B environment and play an active role in B2C settings.”

Rand says that we are witnessing a time where AI and chatbot capabilities have become so powerful that the people using these technologies have to reorient themselves much more towards strategic thinking. “Every day we see that the strategy is being left to humans and implementations to machines.

“Enterprise systems have become capable of actually conducting business rather than simply facilitating it. It is important that people are able to guide the technology in the right direction.” procurementmag.com

67

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

CIRCULAR ECON THROUGH VISIBI AND COLLABORA 68

March 2023

NOMIES ILITY ATION

Alex Saric, Chief Marketing Officer of Ivalua, holds that procurement plays an important role in bringing about circular economies – here’s how WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

A

s Ivalua’s Chief Marketing Officer, Alex Saric is responsible for the company brand and demand generation, globally.

He manages a team of around 50 people, including regional field marketing teams and global product marketing, communications, demand generation and customer marketing teams.

Ivalua is a leading provider of cloud-based software that enables large organisations to better manage their spend and suppliers.

Hundreds of the world’s most admired brands, such as IKEA, the City of New York, Rolls Royce and Honeywell rely on its platform to reduce costs, manage supplier risk, increase revenue, better manage their cash, improve employee productivity and more.

The circular economy and its relation to procurement The circular economy is where organisations across the supply chain collaborate to share, lease, re-use, repair, refurbish and recycle existing materials to reduce their environmental impact. Procurement is procurementmag.com

69

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

the conduit to an organisation’s suppliers and is therefore critical to attaining a circular economy.

“To achieve a circular economy, organisations will need to embrace a

transparent, collaborative, and data-driven approach to procurement,” Saric says. “This allows them to gain actionable insights and identify areas where such an approach can be implemented across the supply chain.”

“ To achieve a circular economy, organisations will need to embrace a transparent, collaborative, and data-driven approach to procurement”

The Circular Economy and Net Zero When it comes to achieving net zero, much of the focus lies on Scope 1 (direct emissions) and Scope 2 (indirect emissions from electricity, steam heating etc) emissions. Scope 3 emissions are produced by the rest of a company’s value chain, such as suppliers, and are consequently often overlooked. Yet, for most organisations, Scope 3 emissions represent the bulk of their carbon impact.

Saris says: “A circular economy creates much greater efficiency across the supply chain, reducing the number of products that

ALEX SARIC

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, IVALUA

procurementmag.com

71

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

“ A full circular economy is still difficult to attain for most businesses, but just getting closer to that model can have a huge impact on the planet” ALEX SARIC

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, IVALUA

Ivalua Ivalua is a leading provider of cloud-based software that enables large organisations to better manage their spend and suppliers.

Hundreds of the world’s most admired brands, such as IKEA, the City of New York, Rolls Royce and Honeywell, rely on its platform to reduce costs, manage supplier risk, increase revenue, better manage their cash, improve employee productivity and more.

72

March 2023

need to be manufactured from scratch. In turn, this reduces the emissions produced during the manufacturing process.”

Achieving a Circular Economy in the face of Greenwashing A full circular economy is still difficult to attain for most businesses, but just getting closer to that model can have a huge impact on the planet. “I am optimistic about making gains because doing so is not only beneficial to the planet but can also improve profitability, as the cost of reusing items can be significantly lower

than buying or producing them from scratch,” says Saric.

“There are some companies already making great strides in this area. For example, Moët, Hennessy, Volvo, and aircraft equipment manufacturer Safran have all utilised the circular economy to help reduce Scope 3 emissions. This has involved employing circular economy strategies to help reduce overall emissions by 55% by 2050.

“Moët Hennessy’s Golden Seeds project helps to ensure that liquids extracted from the harvesting process are reused and recycled across other operations and projects. And

Volvo is working alongside two key partners as part of its ‘green steel’ project, taking surplus green hydrogen already being used to construct the steel, and using this to power filling stations and vehicles.

“Meanwhile, Safran is recycling 60% of its raw materials used for titanium and nickel alloys thanks to an investment into EcoTitanium® – the first European plant to develop aeronautical grade titanium alloys through recycling. This plant is already beginning to produce titanium ingots from scrap collected from the company and its subcontractors.” procurementmag.com

73

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

What are the main barriers to the Circular Economy When attempting to implement a circular economy model, organisations face a lack of visibility and monitoring of suppliers’ data, alongside engagement gaps between their suppliers and procurement teams. To close these gaps, organisations must become more stringent and innovative, striving to make small gains in hard-to-reach places.

Saric says: “They should also acknowledge that these gains cannot be achieved alone and facilitate better collaboration with suppliers across the value chain.

Collaboration with suppliers remains manual and inefficient, limiting its effectiveness and scale. Digitisation can greatly improve both collaboration as well as transparency.”

Asked about one insight that he’d like for his audience to be aware of, Saric says: “While progress can, in part, be measured by financial commitments – the amount being invested into collaborative projects – it can also mean documented evaluations of transport or distribution channels, and the emissions these produce. This might involve more auditable displays of emissions coming from material and energy use.

“One thing that’s clear is that collective accountability is required. And this can only be achieved if everyone is able to share information on emissions across the supply chain – even from sub-tier suppliers – and operate with a single source of truth. Collaboration tools connecting organisations, suppliers, and stakeholders will also be a critical foundation for the circular economy.

Tools that drive a smarter, more connected, visible, transparent and collaborative approach are needed to help organisations define and execute circular economy initiatives.”

74

March 2023

The future of the Circular Economy Regulations are tightening, and, at the same time, more consumers are casting a watchful eye over sustainability protocols. For this reason, most organisations are now revealing strict and ambitious targets for their 20202050 journey. “One thing organisations should keep in mind when it comes to implementing plans for a circular economy,” says Saric, “is that these efforts don’t

“ A circular economy creates much greater efficiency across the supply chain, reducing the number of products that need to be manufactured from scratch. In turn, this reduces the emissions produced during the manufacturing process” ALEX SARIC

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, IVALUA

necessarily end the scrutiny, especially when it comes to Scope 3 emissions. It’s one thing to lay out plans for progress, and another altogether to deliver, measure and prove it.

This is where the need for digital intervention becomes clear.

“While more companies may implement a circular economy, Scopes 1 and 2 should be kept under control as we edge closer to key milestone dates, but Scope 3 remains

a challenge for organisations. By bringing suppliers and partners into the planning process, and into the very heart of dayto-day progress, tackling Scope 3 can become more manageable, measurable and achievable. As pioneering businesses make progress in enabling a circular economy, the benefits to the planet and their bottom lines will spur others to quickly follow their lead.”

procurementmag.com

75

PROCUR CONSUL Procurement Consultants are critical to procurement success. Here are the Top 10 procurement consultants WRITTEN BY: ILKHAN OZSEVIM

76 March 2023

REMENT LTANTS

TOP 10

procurementmag.com

77

TOP 10

10

IBM Consulting IBM Consulting is ‘a new partner for the new rules of modern business’. They integrate an open way of working by bringing a diverse set of voices and technologies together, collaborating closely, ideating freely and swiftly applying breakthrough innovations that drive exponential impacts.

With a dedicated focus toward accelerating outcomes, they allow their clients to transform everything from business strategy and experience design to technology and operations. IBM Consulting’s approach is one that focuses on open ecosystems, open technologies, open innovation and open cultures as the key to creating opportunities and improving business operations from the ground up.

78

March 2023

09

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company is a highly regarded global management consulting firm that offers a broad spectrum of consulting services to businesses worldwide.

The firm's consultants are wellversed in a range of industries and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their work.

Some of the standout consulting services offered by McKinsey include: Strategy Development, Operations Optimisation, Digital Disruption, Change Management and Sustainability Transformation.

McKinsey's consulting services aim to help organisations reach their full potential, achieve their goals, and thrive in today's fastpaced business landscape.

TOP 10

08 Proxima Proxima is a world-leading procurement and supply chain consultancy that helps some of the world’s largest and most successful businesses ‘spend their money wisely’. Proxima achieves this through its advanced suite of procurement consultancy services which focus on cost transformation, supply chain sustainability and decarbonisation.

Proxima is powered by a team of experienced consultants who are experts in their respective fields, who have a strong commitment to ongoing learning and professional development to stay at the forefront of industry trends and best practices.

Considered one of the best procurement consultancies in the game, Proxima leads by delivering measurable results, with a track record of achieving significant cost savings and process improvements for their clients, while working closely with them to understand their particular organisational requirements and developing customised solutions that meet their specific goals.

07

Capgemini Capgemini is a multinational consulting firm that provides procurement services to organisations of all sizes.

Capgemini consultants help clients implement procurement transformation initiatives, optimise their end-to-end procurement processes, and drive better supplier performance.

Their areas of expertise include: Cloud, Customer first, Cybersecurity, Data and Artificial Intelligence,, Enterprise management, Intelligent Industry and Sustainability. Capgemini focuses on three ‘playing fields’ dedicated to the digitalisation of key management areas at the core of businesses: Customer First, Intelligent Industry, and Enterprise Management.

procurementmag.com

79

Join us at Procurement & Supply Chain Live in London.

TOP 10

06

EY (Ernst & Young) Consulting at EY realises business transformation through “the power of people, technology and innovation.” EY provides a range of consulting services, including analytics consulting, customer experience, cybersecurity, strategy, risk, compliance and resilience, and supply chain and operations.

EY consultants are focused on supporting organisations to streamline their procurement operations, reduce their costs and transforming at speed. By placing humans at the centre, leveraging technology at speed and enabling innovation at scale, EY enables their clients to transform to achieve long-term value for people, business, and society.

05

Bain & Company Bain & Company has earned a reputation for delivering exceptional procurement consulting services to organisations since its inception in 1973. The company's consulting services focus on their clients' most critical issues and opportunities: strategy, marketing, organisation, operations, technology, transformation, digital, advanced analytics, corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and sustainability across all industries and geographies.

From enhancing agility, to strategy and transformation, Bain & Company are one of the biggest names in Consulting, and their tried and tested - and always developing methodologies and expertise are highly sought after.

procurementmag.com

81

TOP 10

04 BCG (The Boston Consulting Group) BCG consultants have extensive expertise in the procurement field and bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their work. They work closely with organisations to understand their particular needs and provide tailored solutions to help improve supplier relationships, optimise procurement processes, reduce costs and boost productivity.

By utilising the latest technologies, methodologies and best practices, BCG consultants help organisations to streamline procurement operations, increase efficiency and drive significant cost savings. BCG is committed to delivering measurable results and driving success for their clients - a recognised major player in the field.

82

March 2023

03 Accenture In third place is Accenture; a global, Irish-American professional services company specialising in information technology (IT) services and consulting. Accenture provides a wide range of consulting services to organisations across various industries.

The company's consulting services are focused on helping organisations to improve their business performance and achieve their strategic objectives. Some of the key consulting services that Accenture provides include: • Strategy • Digital Transformation Operations • Technology • Human Resources • Supply Chain Accenture’s services are designed to be flexible and tailored to meet the unique needs of each organisation.

02

TOP 10

PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) PWC is another big player in procurement consultancy services, offering a high standard of expertise to organisations worldwide.

PWC consultants help clients implement procurement transformation initiatives, optimise their procurement processes and drive better supplier performance.

PwC Procurement Consultants offer a wide range of services, including: • Strategic procurement • Procurement transformation • eProcurement

• Category Management • Supplier management • Spend analysis

PwC Procurement Consultants also provide training and development programs to help organisations build the skills and knowledge they need to effectively manage their procurement processes. By working with PwC Procurement Consultants, organisations can access the expertise and experience they need to improve their processes and achieve their business goals, and beyond.

The New Equation WATCH NOW

001 001

A BizClik Brand

ADERS • LE 20

• 22

LEADERS 2 0

22

• 22

22

LEADERS 2 0

1001 00 ADERS • LE 20

OUT NOW Don’t miss this Issue!

The most influential people in Supply Chain Read now

Creating Digital Communities

TOP 10

Deloitte named by Great Place to Work® as one of the Fortune® World’s Best Workplaces™ 2022 WATCH NOW

86

March 2023

TOP 10

Deloitte Deloitte is a global professional services firm that provides a wide range of consulting services, including procurement consulting. Deloitte consultants help organisations optimise their procurement processes, reduce costs and improve supplier relationships. Deloitte’s Sourcing and Procurement Strategy services include: • Direct & Indirect Materials Sourcing • Technology Enabled Transformation • M&A Related Services •E xtended Business Relationship Management • Managed Services • Talent Development Deloitte consultant strategies help companies realise optimal effectiveness and efficiency by looking at the three key challenges of: People, Processes and Technology.

Widely recognised as one of the most effective procurement consultant companies, Deloitte empowers their clients through fit-for-purpose solutions that are practical, affordable and results-driven.

procurementmag.com

87

Join the Virtual Event Disrupting Procurement & Supply Chain 28TH JUNE 2023 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Watch our 2022 Showreel GET YOUR PASS

SPONSORSHIP

A BizClik Event