“When we talk about transformation, a lot of people come in and make lots of changes. I actually see quite often the best transformation being much more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”
Transforming a procurement function can seem a mammoth task, requiring the coordination of several people to create tangible change. To demystify procurement transformation and sustainable sourcing, Martin Smith is joined by CPO at Legal & General, Daniel Keyworth and Group Procurement Director at M&S, Andrew Newnham.
Daniel and Andrew break down the most effective way to generate procurement transformation, and how making changes over time can alleviate many potential problems with transformation. With respect to sustainable sourcing, they also discuss a shift in consumer attitude towards sustainability, and the potential this creates for influencing your suppliers
This episode of Talent Talks covers:
- Aligning procurement with broader company objectives
- Achieving smaller, more regular, evolutionary transformation
- Communicating with stakeholders
- The difference in approach for different sectors
- The impact of younger, more environmentally aware consumers
Links & References:
- Martin Smith, Founder & Director of Talent Drive https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsmith2009/
- Daniel Keyworth, Chief Procurement Officer at Legal & General https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-keyworth-mcips-35b01570/
- Andrew Newnham https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewnewnham/
Episode Highlights:
“When we talk about transformation, a lot of people come in and make lots of changes. I actually see quite often the best transformation being much more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.” – Andrew Newnham
“The best transformation is things that just happen over time and then just evolve. You don’t stop every five years and say ‘Right, we’re going to transform’, you should always be doing some form of transformation.” – Daniel Keyworth
“There’s no point hiding away, locking yourself away, coming out with a shiny new strategy, presenting it and then expecting it to happen. It’s got to be a team activity with the support of the business.” – Daniel Keyworth
“The plan is to build stronger, trusted supplier relationships and partnerships, rather than just having those sort of engagements that are formally based on reports and data. Strengthen that and build it through the partnerships and the conversations, and having a more peak rapport.” – Daniel Keyworth
“Actually procurement means different things to different people, and I think this is true about procurement transformation. There isn’t a template that fits lots of organizations, I think you need to find out what works at the organization you’re in. ” – Andrew Newnham
“One of the key things and outcomes is to get as much involved in a real buying decision as possible to move from being the person that gets asked to raise a PO, to someone who’s consulted to say ‘Should we even be buying this in the first place?’.” – Daniel Keyworth
“Actually procurement should really be at the forefront of the business more than ever. If it can’t be at the forefront now, during the pandemic, then I don’t know when it will be. Not just from the cost side, particularly in the retail sector, but also across supplier risk, look at the governance, looking at the whole collective commercial area of the business.” – Martin Smith
“Influencing our suppliers is the key next step. We’re getting our heads around how we choose to buy, but then once we’ve got that right, and we’re engaging with the right suppliers, and we’ve got the right service at the right cost with the correct environmental footprint, then how do you really work with your key suppliers and partners to make that even better. It’s that collective strength in a supply chain which will drive change.” – Daniel Keyworth
“Try new things, fail, try things again. Try things that maybe didn’t work before that will work in a year’s time, because the whole environment is different. I think that’s the good thing about Daniel and I’s job: it’s that you’re not finished.” – Andrew Newnham
“Don’t be afraid of failure, because you need to fail a couple of times to get to the end of the transformation. And be confident to stop and change your thinking. There’s nothing wrong with that.” – Daniel Keyworth
