Areas of Expertise

Supply Chain Set-up

I have led the set-up of an effective Supply Chain organisation as follows:

VT Shipbuilding

Following my appointment as the Procurement Director I put in place an improvement programme designed to transform performance from ‘average’ to ‘world class’. The following improvements and changes were introduced:

Processes and Procedures

The existing processes and procedures were difficult to read, were overly bureaucratic in some areas and had insufficient levels of control and governance in others. They were therefore re-written to address this with flow charts introduced to provide a clear view of the operational process.
Feedback over the 5 years since the introduction was positive from both internal management and external organisations including audits by various verification bodies (e.g. BSI) and other external organisations who were tasked with ensuring that a sufficient level of governance was in place e.g. KPMG Fraud Investigation and Governance Unit.

Key Performance Measures

Key performance measures were introduced and ‘visualised’ which covered internal performance of staff, financial performance (against budgets, cash flow and payment) operational support, compliance with procedures and supplier performance. This included monthly (as a minimum) measures of delivery, request to delivery time, savings, throughput, supplier performance, payment performance, staff performance , quality, stockholding, etc

Staff

Organisation and key staff issues were immediately addressed. Skills audit were undertaken and training plans were put in place to address skills gaps. Resources were put in place / organised to ensure the function added value from bid to through life support. Graduate / trainee and talent development programmes were implemented.

Category plans

Category plans were introduced to guide and manage development and were linked and measured against key objectives e.g. savings targets and supplier rationalisation.

Systems

Immediate system issues were addressed and a team was set up to ensure that supply chain requirements were included in changes to the company management systems.

VT Group

With limited resource available the objective was to establish a Group Supply Chain function which delivered the benefit of a Group lead for common indirect spend and provided a staff development platform. Key achievements included:

People

A consistent people development process was introduced which provided consistent feedback on skills and various performance measures. This then fed into a development programme with key objectives including talent identification and retention, ‘up skilling’ and informed the key areas to address for our training programme

Analysis Tool

With a variety of management systems across the business units it was difficult to identify spend across the Group in common areas. The supplier spend system tool was put in place which pulled together the information from each business unit and provided a reliable report showing the major spend areas.

Management Buy-in

Management buy-in was achieved by identifying tangible opportunities, agreeing objectives and providing feedback through regular one to ones with MDs and key stakeholders. Regular briefings were also given at management conferences and business reviews.

Marketing

The overall initiative was branded which provided a focus and clearly defined objective.

Category Plans

Category plans were introduced in all the key areas and cross functional teams were set up (named as product cost reduction teams – PCRT) to agree, support and deliver the strategy.

Delivery

Regular meetings were held with the various PCR Teams to agree actions, responsibilities and recognise achievement of objectives. These reviews involved and were supported by Directors and key stakeholders

Airtanker

Airtanker is a joint venture of five major defence companies who, as an added complication, were also providers of the major supply chain requirements. The project had been through a long bid phase and had been, at the time I joined, been declared as preferred bidder. The team looking after the supply chain requirements were commercial / bid staff and I was seconded in to develop a team to deliver the capability required to achieve contract award. Key objectives included:

  • Contracts to be agreed covering all the major equipment and infrastructure
  • a reduction in the cost (the sub- the contracted element was over £1Billion)
  • To contract with the suppliers which would satisfy the risk profile required by the lenders.
  • To put in place a team to support the delivery requirement after contract award.

This was achieved by the following:

People

A review of the existing team was undertaken to identify any skills gaps. To address this Supply Chain specialists were recruited or seconded in from the partner organisations to form a high performing and focused team, this included the recruitment of a permanent Supply Chain Director. The contract is now operational.

Opportunities and Risk

It was essential to work closely with the technical team and supply chain to identify any possible areas of cost reduction and/or risk mitigation through adjustments to the specification. This involved a series of workshops which developed an agreed output with all key stakeholders (including the customer and suppliers) and strategy to achieve programme targets.

Governance

The existing processes and procedures were developed and used to facilitate the introduction of team working which included all the key stakeholders. These were used to establish a clear agreement and understanding of the division of responsibilities and the approval process

Building Schools for the Future

We were awarded a contract to act as the procurement agent for a large London Borough supporting the delivery of a number of new schools and supporting structure. This had been achieved, up to the point that I was seconded, with commercial, bid and operational staff. The following actions were taken:

The Division of Responsibilities

The division of responsibilities was agreed and processes and procedures put in place to reflect this.

Compliance

Working closely with the technical resource the supply chain function ensured compliance with all the required corporate requirement and relevant legislation (including Public Procurement Legislation)

Templates

The initial OJEU, PQQ and tender documents were drafted and approved. These would cover the majority of requirements.

Resource

I recruited a Procurement Executive to deliver and manage the requirement.

Regular Reviews

Regular reviews were put in place with the Procurement Executive and key stakeholders

VT Education & Skills

The overall financial performance of the business was significantly below that required and my key objective was to reduce cost and improve efficiency. This was achieved through the introduction and ongoing management of a supply chain function and the development of an effective property team. Key steps were:

Initial Analysis

The key cost drivers were identified and analysed to establish areas of potential cost reduction.

Project Teams

Project teams were set up to agree objectives, strategy and delivery of these objectives.

Business Plan

A fully costed business plan was drafted to identify the strategy, the benefit and the organisation required to deliver which identified a potential return on investment of between 10 and 15. This was approved by the board.

Project Plan

A plan was agreed which included the following:

  • A Communication Plan – A communication plan was put in place to across the business which included consultation with all key stakeholders
  • Common Processes and Procedures – The division was made up of 6 different business units and 17 legal entities, common processes etc. were drafted and agreed
  • Shared Services – a shared service was set up which covered a combination of common requirements and critical areas.
  • Staff – Any issues were addressed through a combination of staff development, training and recruitment
  • Low Value, High Volume Requirements – Efficient processes were put in place for low value requirements
  • *High Value Requirements, Strategic Relationships and Business Development – Adequate controls and resource were introduced on high value requirements which developed strategic relationships and business opportunities as appropriate
  • Category Plans – Category plans were introduced as a platform to agree, support and deliver the strategy. This included a list of agreed approved suppliers (which supported supplier rationalisation) and savings targets.
  • Governance – a steering board was set up together with regular category and programme reviews. A gated process was introduced for all key areas.