A procurement specialist providing expertise in technology sourcing, relationship management, coaching and mentoring
28 years procurement and commercial experience
A proven track record of delivering a measurably improved ROI working with Organisations and Vendors
I pride myself on the ability to integrate, quickly and seamlessly with your in-house teams to build relationships that enable and facilitate delivery.
With knowledge and experience gained over three decades in the corporate world of buying and a proven track record of helping FT100 companies (Rolls-Royce, Centrica, Aviva, AstraZeneca and Barclays), I deliver shareholder value by developing and leveraging strategic relationships; and ultimately reducing cost.
I made the move from “internal consultant” to the world of procurement consultancy when joining Proxima, and enjoyed working on a number of challenging client assignments including; Co-Operative Bank, Dyson, Inchcape, N Brown Group, EasyJet and DFS to name a few.
As a self-confessed “improvement junkie”, with more than a passing interest in organisational behaviour and psychology, I have developed a passion for coaching and mentoring. As a qualified coach, I offer coaching and mentoring for those new to leadership positions and the “hands on” professional buyer.
My coaching style can be described as gently disruptive with the aim of challenging my clients to dig deep, raise their self-awareness and find solutions to their challenges.
What I can offer
Procurement Delivery
A range of flexible on demand procurement consulting services
Organisations operate in different sectors and markets, all with distinct challenges. Leveraging my knowledge and experience, I provide you with specialist support and insight for your business, delivering exponential value.
My range of procurement services are well placed to address your key objectives, whether you’re looking to increase profitability, remain competitive during difficult market conditions or manage risk.
All or this whilst using my coaching centred approach to upskill your in-house procurement and commercial teams.
Key services include:
Strategic sourcing & RFP management
Negotiation planning & execution
Commercial management
Supplier management
Contract re-negotiation
Spend analysis & insight
Interim Management
It can be stressful when there is an increased short-term demand for specialised IT procurement skills and a lack of available capacity
Common factors leading to resource shortages include:
‘One-off’ major project procurements
Regulatory changes and the need to implement new systems which can bring about unplanned crises or unexpected problems within IT, for which the required internal skills are lacking
Integration of a merged or acquired company’s procurement function leading to increased short-term workload
Assimilation of new tools and processes, temporarily reducing staff capability
Delay in replacement of key staff members
My Interim Management service enables you to overcome short-term capability deficiencies and ‘turbo -boost’ project delivery.
Operating at both ends of the spectrum, I provide commercial and category management interim solutions, whilst leveraging my experience of developing high performing teams within Head of Category or Head of Procurement leadership roles.
Relationship Management
Supplier relationships are like any other relations in that they thrive on trust, honest and transparent behaviours
Relationships turn bad when either or both parties stop listening to each other, and start acting on “inherited opinions” rather than facts. A bad supplier relationship is, at best, costly in the management time required to “put out fires” and at worst, hugely costly in terms of reducing time to market, developing innovation etc. Ultimately it can have a serious, material impact on your financial performance.
Often, relationship breakdowns can benefit greatly (and speedily) from external facilitation; facilitation with the purpose of ensuring that both parties actively listen to each other, with the aim of finding the root cause and, if willing, working together to find a way forward.
Key benefits of Relationship Management include:
Offering a neutral and equitable process, which seeks to get to the root cause of supplier relationship issues
Freeing up costly management time that would be better served elsewhere
Improves and develops working relationships to drive innovation and reduce cost
Coaching
Soft skills and emotional intelligence has been proven to be an effective skill set when engaging with senior business stakeholders
The practice of coaching has been attested by many to improve productivity and help professionals reach their potential, overcoming limiting beliefs that may be holding them back via the process of increasing self-awareness.
Whilst mentoring has its roots in sharing expertise and experience to help accelerate the mentees development, a coach helps you learn through interaction, rather than teaching or telling. Coaches listen to you, help you work on your self-awareness and accelerate your thinking.
Whether you are pursuing individual development or wanting to improve your team’s performance, I work with you to develop a bespoke coaching program which is designed to work through your specific challenge(s).
Individuals
With individuals, my main focus is on improving self-awareness, making people aware of their own preferences, how they like to operate and the impact that this has on others. I empower people to improve their personal effectiveness by developing their skills through personal development plans and specific training programmes (e.g. time management, conflict management, influencing skills etc.). I also provide one to one coaching to deal with specific situations.
Teams
I work with teams to maximise the potential through developing team effectiveness. I work on team preferences and understanding team dynamics, helping teams understand reasons for difficulties and/or conflict and how best to deal with these. Working with new team managers, I help them make the transition from doing-to-managing, and also with experienced managers to help them get the best from their teams.
Organisations
I work with new and experienced leaders within organisations to build their leadership skills and make them more effective. With new leaders, the main objective is to help them make the transition from managing to leading. With experienced leaders I focus on developing vision and strategy, as well as specific leadership skills. My programmes include 360º feedback, one-to-one coaching, use of real business situations and opportunities to share learning with other leaders.
Case studies
Outsourcing and Transformation
Currently consulting with a leading global defence company to develop and implement a sourcing strategy for its second-generation outsourcing program of Workplace IT Services. This program encompasses End User Computing, Mobility Devices, and Collaboration solutions across multiple countries and numerous sites, serving approximately 44,000 users.
FMCG Supply Chain Transformation
Led the commercial workstream for an FMCG client's supply chain transformation program, overseeing the selection of a system integrator from top providers, including Capgemini, PwC, TCS, and Wipro. This resulted in securing a significant multi-million-pound contract and achieving substantial cost savings. Concurrently, managed negotiations with SAP and Blue Yonder, securing significant double-digit percentage savings on a 5-year SaaS contract.
Negotiation Strategy: Outsourced Services
Working with the CIO, Director of Technology and Head of IT Service Delivery, I led the commercial review and development of a negotiation strategy for the retail client's multi-million pound IT outsourcing agreement, encompassing IT Service Management and Application Development & Maintenance.
Application Development and Support
Spearheaded an accelerated savings program for a retail client’s IT estate by formulating and negotiating a revised operating model for Application Development & Support services. This initiative promoted increased automation and greater utilization of offshore resources, achieving a 25% contract saving and a 30% reduction in rate cards.
Data Center Migration
Led the sourcing workstream for migrating a retail client’s on-premise data centers to IBM's cloud mainframe platform. Simultaneously renegotiated key third-party software agreements, securing revised right-to-use terms.
IBM Global Audit
Successfully defended a global IBM software audit by implementing a sub-capacity licensing model and a comprehensive software removal program, achieving a 90% reduction in a multi-million-pound compliance risk.
