Carrefour Keynote: PSC LIVE London Global Summit
Stage on 24-25 September, Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit enhanced connections between the leading procurement and supply chain executives worldwide.
On day one of our exclusive event, Florian Tue, Head of Procurement Transformation at Carrefour, delivered an engaging keynote presentation that explored how the company is taking significant steps towards digital procurement transformation.
Driving efficiency in a competitive landscape
Florian describes how Carrefour, a leading retail giant, embraced digital procurement during the challenges of the COVID-19 era.
The objective was clear: establish a unified platform for spending traceability, process transparency and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders across eight integrated countries, including France, Spain and Brazil.
This transformation aimed to address the thin margins of the retail industry by bringing indirect expenses under control, directly impacting EBITDA.
Florian highlights the deployment of SAP Ariba and SAP S/4HANA, emphasising their integration to streamline operations.
He cites Carrefour’s bold goal of generating €94bn (US$97.8bn) in private-label turnover, driven by consumer shifts toward affordability due to inflation.
Key successes and lessons learned
Carrefour’s procurement transformation showcased several achievements:
- Strong executive sponsorship: Florian credits the CFO's unwavering support as pivotal. Resistant stakeholders were encouraged to address concerns directly with the CFO, reinforcing project alignment.
- Unified tool implementation: Deploying a single source-to-pay system avoided fragmentation, allowing the tool to function seamlessly across all regions.
- Rapid deployment pace: Despite challenges, this approach delivered results quickly, showcasing organisational agility.
However, the journey was not without obstacles. Florian notes that a lack of exhaustive needs analysis and governance resulted in over-reliance on external consultants, while the absence of a group-level core model led to initial confusion.
Florian reflects on how they “wanted to go too fast, so we skipped the POC phase.” Carrefour's haste to bypass these phases weakened negotiation power with vendors, a critical lesson for future projects.
Human-centred change management
A recurring theme in Florian's session was the role of people in driving digital transformation.
Addressing initial reluctance from stakeholders required humility and a commitment to listening. Florian emphasises: “Listen to the end users – this is really important – engage them upfront.”
Change management efforts focused on identifying key users, including those less comfortable with digital tools and tailoring support to their needs. This inclusive approach ultimately converted sceptics into advocates.
Carrefour also incorporated lessons from detractors, whose feedback was instrumental in refining processes. Florian observes that these individuals often became the project’s strongest supporters.
Looking ahead: prioritising value creation
Carrefour’s next phase involves further integration of functions like marketing and quality into the PLM (product lifecycle management) system.
The focus will be on prioritising business requirements that deliver immediate value while maintaining end-user ownership.
For indirect procurement, decommissioning legacy tools and adopting the latest version of SAP Ariba are priorities.
Florian closes by highlighting the need for measured pacing in complex transformations, citing the retail proverb: "We should not put the cart before the horse. So, don’t go too fast [...] people are really interesting – listen to them.”
Ensuring simplicity in validation processes and maintaining open communication with users remain central to Carrefour’s transformation philosophy.
Carrefour’s journey reflects the power of executive alignment, robust planning and user-centric strategies in achieving digital procurement excellence.
As Florian concludes, true success is highlighted when you “bring value to the stakeholder not only to the management.”
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