Market Dojo Annual Procurement Conference Presentations 18

We hosted our annual procurement conference at Englefield House on Thursday 17th May. It was a great day and for those that missed it, we’ve included some of our key highlights from each of the presentations on the day.

You can download each of the presentations directly from here.  You can also read our other blog on the day here.

Dr Paul Joesbury BEng(Hons) MBA FCIP Group Purchasing and Supply-Chain Director at LEVC

Presentation Title: Procurement effectiveness:

Paul gave a wonderful presentation on the procurement and focused on procurement effectiveness.  Below is a diagram of the 5 dimensions to making procurement effective.  Paul discussed in detail each of them, to making procurement effective and the reasons why you need to make a change

Paul Joesbury gave a clear direction that procurement and supply chain must become an integral part of the decision making process. Doing so improves an organisation and adds additional value that is more than just savings but includes improving cash/working capital, staff morale, meeting customer requirements, value-added services, minimizing risk and better market insight.

Dr Howard Price Managing Partner and CPO: Procurement, Supply Chain and Cost Transformation Consulting

Presentation Title: Getting value from eSourcing: a personal perspective

Howard gave an inspired presentation based on his experience.  He littered the presentation with pictures and references and even a prize for those that listened (won by Sue Renny from DAS – Congrats)

He equated the downfall in procurements persona to Gollum in Lord of the rings. With the ring representing costs, he was making the point that cost is important, but not the whole story and that innovation, revenue growth, time and social responsibility are key areas that procurement influences. Whether it’s upstream or downstream activities, procurement drives political, social, economic and technological development within an organisation.

He feels procurement should be less like:

And more like:

Rob Lees Former Commercial Director at UK Ministry of Defence, now seeking new challenges

Presentation Title:  Three things that keep me awake at night

Perhaps we shouldn’t read too much into this title or we would all need to assume Rob should get out and about more. Rob Lee’s discussed the three key areas should be a key value for every procurement professional.

The three things were:

1.  Our customers don’t respect us for what we can deliver…

2. We haven’t the talent on board to do the things our customers expect….

3. We haven’t the market credibility to meet suppliers on level terms….

In short, we’re

–  underweight…

–   …friendless

–  …and outnumbered

He delved into how procurement need to

1. Talk to their stakeholders – Get the right stuff at the right quality, cost, time, and quantity from the right balance of suppliers to enable your business to meet its business plan

2. Gain respect by looking at the key procurement issues

3. Find the right people with the right qualities

4. Develop Market Credibility

Meaning that now the voices in your head  should be able to tell you that:

1. You have respect because you took the time to consider, plan and understand the values

2. Your respected team can now deploy talent effectively because you now have the right team with a method to solving the issues that you face

3. You have market credibility because you’ve gain the respect, talent and information that you needed.

In short

–  You’re respected…

–  …talented…

–  …and confident

Nick Drewe Co Founder Lewis Barnard CSM – Apparently one went to school with Prince William and the other was 3rd in line to play Harry Potter… joking aside, one of these are true, do you know which?

Presentation Title:  #eSourcing – More than just software

Nick started off the presentation relaying the fact the eSourcing, even though has been around for 20 years, is still misunderstood. Many think it is still just about eAuctions or don’t see the benefits of eSourcing through a dedicated tool over email. Whilst many think it is just for procurement when in fact we have many logistics customers running spot auctions or people in the extremities of an organisation using Quick Quotes.

Lewis Barnard, who is heading up our customer success team highlighted some of the reasons why clients work with Market Dojo. It is all about the team and I (as one of the founders) can be proud to agree with Lewis that we have a fantastic team.  He also highlighted that our Self Service onboarding solution is a great opportunity to look at the current processes and update them.

Colum Colbert FCA, Head of Procurement Services at Paddy Power Betfair

Presentation Title:  Procurement Systems Strategy

Colum presented having become fairly new to procurement and brought a new perspective to the role and process of procurement.   However, you wouldn’t have known that Colum was not to procurement, as all of his insights resonated with the audience. We were very appreciative that he made his way over from Ireland to deliver his speech.

He discussed the differences at Paddy Power to traditional procurement roles, including the department of mischief (!) and it is one of the few workplaces you can go where they let you bet…just not with their own systems.

Colum really understood where he would like the team to get to and the different technologies that he’s putting in place to the visibility, effectiveness and efficiency of procurement:

Colum also appreciated that you need a gradual approach to change in people, processes and systems. He discussed how he would like both his internal and external stakeholders to feel valued whilst ensuring that the changes you put in place are effective and gain long-term adoption

Graham Roberts Chief Procurement Officer at Steria

Presentation Title: eSourcing lessons learnt 

Can anyone tell me where the background came from?

Of course its Star Wars!  Graham took us down memory lane, for films and procurement, and showed us what has changed and what hasn’t!

Graham brought a real energy to the presentations and made sure we were kept awake after lunch.

Here were his 5 simple lessons:

Lesson 1: Push the Value of eSourcing Technology

Lesson 2: Consider Your Company’s Culture

Lesson 3: Push Your Staff – Make it a goal

Lesson 4: Push Your Suppliers

Lesson 5: Higher Cost Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Higher Quality

Final Thoughts

1. Data Data Data

2. Know what you want before you start

3. Judge the timing

4. “Why should we use eSourcing?” It should be, “Why shouldn’t we use eSourcing?”

William Bridgman Chairman at Warren Services Limited

Presentation Title: Digital Manufacturing at its best

As ever the enigmatic Will gave a presentation off the cuff and really gave the room something to think about.  As a chairman of a £10m turnover manufacturing company they punch well above their weight in sourcing adoption.

From a basic desire to achieve efficiency increases above all else he has changed the way Warren go out to suppliers.  By using Market Dojo eSourcing and Quick Quotes they are ensuring that all data in one place and all communication will go through one system.

He also talked about the latest joint venture with Market Dojo and the creation of a raw materials marketplace.

Steve Kirk Chief Procurement Officer | Procurement Director | Transformation and Operational Excellence Specialist

Presentation Title:  What makes a successful eSourcing implementation?

I very much related to Steve’s presentation.  His messages were clear and simple and something that all procurement professionals should take heed to.

He proposed that eSourcing should be mandated but with a company-wide remit.

Make sure the benefits find there was to the C level execs, ensure legal and security are involved, benefits should be made clear from the tools, and finally the suppliers should be encouraged to interact through the transparency, and potential for collaboration and innovation.

We will leave you with his end summary slide and a note to ask him about shovels next time you see him.

Take advantage of the business need to

1. Drive digital change and increase automation

2. Standardise ways of working

3. Accelerate savings to the bottom line

Don’t let behaviours stop the change

– We have known for nearly 20 years that eSourcing drives better processes and increases the need to build a robust Sourcing event

Take the planning and investment seriously

Addendum:

Market Dojos three takeaways were:

1. Procurement is more than just cost savings

2. But we do care about the money!

3. Everything looks better when the sun is shining

We’d love to hear about yours?