John Holland & Ivalua: Leading Procurement Transformation

With procurement teams facing mounting pressure to deliver efficiency and resilience, organisations are increasingly embracing digital transformation to enhance their capabilities.

Major infrastructure firm John Holland has partnered with Ivalua to overhaul its procurement systems, aiming to enhance efficiency and supplier oversight across its extensive network of contractors and suppliers.

Moving towards digital procurement

Operating as one of the leading construction and infrastructure companies across Australia and New Zealand, John Holland maintains a central position in delivering significant building, transport and infrastructure initiatives throughout these regions. The company has a workforce exceeding 6,000 employees and collaborates with an extensive network comprising more than 1,300 subcontractors and 9,000 suppliers.

Given this scale, the organisation required a procurement system capable of handling demand whilst fostering strong supplier relationships. The company sought a flexible and scalable solution that could effectively manage project expenditure, enhance supplier visibility and accommodate mobile, on-site procurement workflows.

To address these requirements, John Holland has selected Ivalua's platform to consolidate and streamline its source-to-pay (S2P) processes. Ivalua operates as a prominent provider of cloud-based spend management software that utilises AI agents to enhance operations. The company's unified S2P platform enables organisations to achieve improved management of their expenditure and suppliers, potentially increasing profitability, enhancing sustainability, reducing risk and improving employee productivity.

After conducting an evaluation period, John Holland determined that Ivalua represented the optimal solution for modernising S2P operations, citing Ivalua's supplier management capabilities, flexibility and ability to meet specific requirements for the construction sector.

Arnaud Bonhoste, IT Sourcing Manager at John Holland, says: "Selecting Ivalua was a strategic decision to support our evolving procurement and supplier management needs. The platform's support for complex project-based spend, clean mobile experience and robust supplier management capabilities stood out, and we are confident this transformation will enable us to unlock real value across the company."

Procurement's evolving strategic importance

Since 2020, procurement's function has evolved from a back-office, cost-saving role to a mechanism for building business resilience. Procurement now holds a position in every business decision, with dependable suppliers serving as the foundation to help organisations remain stable during uncertain periods.

As organisations like John Holland grow, they require confidence in their transparency, value unlocking and collaboration capabilities. Ivalua's S2P platform facilitates cost reduction, manages performance and risk, improves compliance and strengthens supplier relationships within a single platform. It digitises processes across spend and suppliers, establishing a unified source of truth and visibility.

This approach enables business leaders to empower their teams to generate greater business value whilst unlocking their own potential in contract negotiation, spend analysis and sourcing capabilities. For John Holland, which oversees a substantial network, unity, collaboration and visibility prove vital for resilience.

Andrew Stafford, VP APAC at Ivalua, adds: "We are delighted to partner with John Holland as they take a major step toward transforming their spend and supplier management operations.

"This partnership reinforces Ivalua's growing leadership in the construction sector globally and momentum in Australia and New Zealand, demonstrating the trust placed by leading organisations that manage some of the region's largest and most complex infrastructure projects."

Implementation support from KPMG

Supporting the partnership, KPMG Australia has been selected by John Holland to design and implement the Ivalua S2P solution. The firm will utilise KPMG's Powered Procurement methodology to facilitate a straightforward integration.

Samantha Durban, Partner, KPMG Australia, said: "Ivalua is ideally suited to John Holland's complex operational requirements, thanks to its configuration flexibility and adaptability. We are looking forward to deploying our extensive experience in Ivalua deployment to help John Holland reap the benefits of an advanced supplier management platform."

Through this partnership, John Holland could build operational resilience through stronger collaboration across procurement, finance and project teams. The company aims to develop further compliance through more visible supplier data and performance, potentially helping mitigate risk and strengthen network relationships.