“The next stage of the stakeholder understanding of what value could be for procurement is unlocking new things that they haven’t already thought of.”
Procurement is an ever evolving world, and with several decades of experience between them, this week’s guests on Talent Talks are well acquainted with how to adapt to new technologies and opportunities.
Robert Bonnar is a Global Procurement Director with valuable experience at SHV Energy, A-B InBev and GlaxoSmithKline, and Andy Neilson’s illustrious career includes time with Fitness First, Clarks, and now a position as Congress Member with CIPS.
We hear their collective wisdom on the areas of focus that will further propel the procurement profession, the importance of innovation and tools that make collaboration with stakeholders easier, and how we can demonstrate procurement’s power as a go-to profession.
This episode of Talent Talks covers:
- Main areas of focus in order to keep evolving the profession
- Unlocking value adding opportunities beyond cost-saving
- The need to focus on innovations and tools to collaborate with stakeholders
- Remote work and recruitment cutting out unnecessary travel
- Procurement specialists becoming more general
- Selling procurement as a go-to profession
This episode of Talent Talks is sponsored by 4C Associates – a leading European procurement and supply chain consultancy, who work collaboratively with forward-thinking clients to deliver real business value across a wide range of transformation and cost optimisation service offerings. Visit https://www.4cassociates.com/ for more information.
Links & references
- Robert Bonnar, Global Procurement Director at SHV Energy https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbonnar/
- SHV Energy https://www.linkedin.com/company/shv-energy/
- Andy Neilson, CIPS Congress Member https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewneilson1/
- Twisted Orange https://www.linkedin.com/company/twisted-orange/
- Martin Smith, Founder & Director of Talent Drive https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsmith2009/
Episode highlights
“I think as well as external relationships, internal stakeholder relationships is an area I’ve thankfully seen an increased focus on, and I think that that will continue going forwards.” – 3:10 – Andy Neilson
“The next stage of the stakeholder understanding of what value could be for procurement is unlocking new things that they haven’t already thought of.” – 6:35 – Robert Bonnar
“It’s about making sure that we have a balance in all things, and that we actually plan properly together. It’s not just swinging from one extreme to the next.” – 9:25 – Robert Bonnar
“A lot of cost reduction, or perhaps more value increase efficiencies, can and should be gained from focusing on your existing supplier relationships rather than new ones.” – 13:10 – Andy Neilson
“What I’d hate to happen is that we all go back to the office, where certain organizations are saying ‘Right that’s it, crisis over, you’re back in the office 5 days a week’, because that immediately demonstrates a lack of trust.” – 25:15 – Andy Neilson
“There’s real scope for proper travel management, and travel budget planning that I think is an evolution that – alongside the idea of not having to be in the office nine to five – maybe having more targeted travel, and assistance with that traveling will be a great benefit in terms of hiring or looking at global roles.” – 30:55 – Robert Bonnar
“We’re seeing lots of category experts becoming more generic. So whilst you’ve still got IT experts, marketing experts or professional services experts, actually what organizations are looking for, in my experience, are people who can offer broader category support.” – 34:45 – Andy Neilson
“One thing I always say is that if you’re going to learn, you’re going to have to ask questions of everybody around you. You’re never going to learn purely from a textbook, you’re never going to learn purely from doing it, you need to get that blended balance.” – 46:00 – Andy Neilson
“Data & digital, and procurement with purpose or sustainability; those would be the two things that, if you’re a procurement practitioner coming into the industry now, if you embed that in everything that you do, opportunity will just multiply. Doors will open, because people need that now and they’re going to continue to need that.” – 50:44 – Robert Bonnar
