Procurement and Supply Chain Strategies - PSC LIVE London
Brooke DiNatale, Senior Vice President and Head of Product for Global Treasury Solutions for Mastercard, Ninian Wilson, CEO of Vodafone Procurement, Tony Harris, Senior Vice President of SAP Business Network and Gurprit Sandhu, Head of Procurement at enfinium explored procurement and supply chain strategies for today’s evolving marketplace.
The panel, sponsored by SAP, focused on strategic supplier relationships, leveraging new technology and enhancing resilience in global supply chains.
Building strategic supplier relationships
Opening the session, Ninian Wilson, CEO of Vodafone Procurement Company, emphasises the importance of structured engagement with key suppliers.
For Vodafone, regular face-to-face meetings with 15 strategic suppliers ensure consistent communication on performance and future initiatives.
“Even with all the tech we talked about earlier, it's actually people that make relationships,” Ninian remarks.
Gurprit Sandhu, Head of Procurement at enfinium, echoes the sentiment but admitted that his team was in the early stages of establishing procurement practices.
Gurprit highlights how enfinium’s long-term vision for multi-site supplier partnerships has driven significant value creation in its first year.
He underlines the importance of engaging suppliers early in the process, even as enfinium builds a technology foundation to support this.
Tony Harris, Senior Vice President of SAP Business Network, adds that collaboration should be a two-way street.
He points to a life sciences company that assesses its suppliers annually and asks them to rate the company as a buyer. This approach, he suggests, balances the relationship and allows for mutual growth and improvement.
Brooklyn DiNatale, Senior Vice President at Mastercard, concludes this segment by noting that technological tools are “essentially a single source of truth”. She believes that aligning on shared goals and transparency of data strengthens buyer-supplier relationships, creating a foundation of mutual trust.
Integrating technology for enhanced procurement processes
The conversation soon pivots to the impact of technology on procurement.
Tony shares his excitement about advancements in business process optimisation, which he discusses with the audience. “Technology is a huge enabler and driver of process efficiency gains in procurement and supply chain,” he says.
For Tony, applying tools like SAP’s Signal of You, which analyses business processes to identify inefficiencies, can streamline procurement and boost overall productivity.
Ninian also explains Vodafone’s strategy of consolidating technology.
Having implemented SAP Ariba with strong initial setbacks, the company has since achieved a positive Net Promoter Score (NPS). This success has been possible due to close collaboration with SAP, which helps Vodafone’s teams embrace the technology fully.
For companies at earlier stages of tech adoption, Gurprit describes enfinium’s gradual journey, focusing on smaller wins that deliver quick value and establish credibility.
Brooke emphasises the importance of both backward and forward integration, particularly as procurement departments begin to automate.
“By using cloud-native solutions built on APIs, you have the solutions that you can make good decisions,” she says. Brooke also pointed to the financial advantages of e-invoicing and early-pay discounts, which help strengthen relationships with suppliers while optimising working capital.
Addressing supply chain resilience and flexibility
In a final focus on resilience, Brooke initiates the discussion by highlighting how essential it is to map out weak spots before disruption strikes.
She advises that companies conduct thorough risk analyses across the supply chain tiers, from first to third, to detect vulnerabilities. “A lot of companies focus on the top 10%, but are a little bit more unclear what the other 90% is happening,” she warns.
Gurprit shares his “cross-functional “ approach at enfinium, which includes examining risks related to cybersecurity and financial stability of lower-tier suppliers.
Tony adds that the resilience conversation must extend to third-tier suppliers, citing an automotive manufacturer that once had production halted due to a shortage of a single bolt from a third-tier supplier.
According to Tony, technology can enable organisations to track supply chain dependencies and plan for disruptions. However, achieving end-to-end supply chain visibility is a challenge, he admitted, one that SAP is working to address.
Ninian highlights the urgency for greater transparency in today’s supply chains, especially in light of global economic shifts that may soon result in regional trading blocks.
He notes that Vodafone has invested heavily in tools to monitor the origin of all equipment purchases, which is critical in the current environment.
Evaluating and adapting strategies
The panel closes with advice on reviewing procurement and supply chain strategies.
Ninian admits that one of the hardest parts of his job is assessing the effectiveness of new strategies and recognising when an approach is not delivering as planned.
“I hold on to things too long when actually all the data and information saying it's not working,” he admits. Ninian emphasises that successful companies create a culture where failures are treated as learning opportunities.
Brooke from Mastercard adds that her team often relies on an “outside-in” approach, assessing outcomes from the customer’s perspective to gauge success.
This allows them to pivot when necessary, especially in emerging areas like Mastercard’s non-card business.
Gurprit also highlights the value of remaining a “critical friend of the business”, gathering feedback from stakeholders regularly to adjust course if needed.
As the panel concludes, the speakers expressed optimism about the future of procurement and supply chain strategies.
With strong supplier relationships, innovative technology and proactive resilience planning, companies are well-positioned to adapt to future disruptions.
The panel session at Procurement and Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit reinforces the need for strategic partnerships and adaptability in a rapidly changing global supply chain landscape.
Essential diary dates for 2025
Discover the essential diary dates for Procurement Magazine and Supply Chain Digital, as well as its sister publications – Manufacturing Digital and Sustainability Magazine.
To follow Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE on LinkedIn, click here.
2025 diary dates:
- Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE Singapore | 11 February
- Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: Sustainability | 5-6 March
- Sustainability LIVE: Net Zero | 5-6 March
- Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE Dubai | 29 April
- Sustainability LIVE Chicago | 4-5 June
- Procurement LIVE Chicago | 4-5 June
- Supply Chain LIVE Chicago | 4-5 June
- Manufacturing & LIVE Chicago | 4-5 June
- Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London | 23-24 September
- The Global Procurement & Supply Chain Awards | 24 September
Make sure you check out the latest edition of Supply Chain Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE
Supply Chain Digital is a BizClik brand
