How Zip Transformed Lighthouse's Supply Chain Efficiency

For a high-growth enterprise, a disorganised procurement process can create major operational bottlenecks, impacting the entire supply chain.

When Lighthouse appointed its first Procurement Director Pieter-Jan (PJ) Cuvelier in 2023, he found Lighthouse without a structured approach to buying.

The travel and hospitality commercial platform was expanding, but its ad-hoc purchasing methods were becoming a major obstacle to sustainable growth, prompting a complete overhaul of its procurement function.

Streamlining intake and improving visibility

The situation PJ discovered was one of inefficiency. Approvals were managed through fragmented channels like Slack and Jira, contracts were signed manually and there was minimal visibility into spend or renewals. This lack of a central system made strategic planning and budgeting difficult.

"It looked like you can imagine," PJ says. "No centralised process; a lot of people with the best intent trying to get contracts signed, involving legal and security on an ad-hoc basis."

This reactive approach to purchasing meant the business could not plan effectively, a critical weakness for its supply chain. "If you don't have that visibility, you're always in reactive mode," he adds. "You see something and want to solve it, but probably have to wait another 12 months."

To address these challenges, Lighthouse needed a solution that could provide a single front door for all purchase requests, creating a clear and efficient starting point for its supply chain.

Having used Zip at a previous company, PJ understood its potential to provide a scalable, no-code platform that did not require constant IT support or extensive training for employees.

"A solution like Zip is the basis for every procurement function," PJ says. "We don't have (the) resources to train 700 people every month on process changes. So, having an easy, no-code solution that allows you to tweak it as you go is key."

The implementation took just a few months and successfully transformed the fragmented request process into a unified system with conditional workflows that automatically route requests to the correct stakeholders.

From bottleneck to strategic enabler

The new system centralised visibility into spending, which greatly improved forecasting and budget management. With all requests flowing through a single platform, the procurement team can now process items in an average of nine to 15 days, supporting dozens of unique requesters each quarter.

This efficiency has repositioned the procurement function from a roadblock to a strategic partner that facilitates business growth. "Zip was one of the best decisions we made," PJ continues.

"It helped us build a future-proof procurement function in a high-growth SaaS company that allows us to manage spend, prove value and deserve the trust of our stakeholders."

This strategic change was recognised at the highest level. PJ reveals: "One of the biggest compliments came from our CFO, who said, 'I wish I had started with procurement earlier'."

A foundation for scalable growth

The intuitive design of the platform boosted adoption across Lighthouse's European workforce, leading to greater compliance without the need for dedicated training programmes.

"Having something easy without the need to train people just increases adoption. And increased adoption means increased compliance," PJ explains.

As Lighthouse continues to expand and add new products, its procurement function can now scale seamlessly alongside the business, ensuring that the acquisition of necessary services and technologies supports rather than hinders its long-term growth ambitions. This creates a resilient and agile supply chain from the very first step.