P&SC LIVE London: Keynote – Darren Leigh, Unipart Keynote
Darren Leigh, CEO at Unipart, delivered a fascinating keynote presentation at Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit, exploring the significance of strategic partnerships in supply chain management.
The presentation delved into Unipart’s ongoing commitment to fostering long-term relationships that support the needs of British industries and global businesses alike.
Building strategic supply chain partnerships for the future
Beginning his keynote, Darren provided an overview of Unipart, a British multinational supply chain, logistics, consultancy and manufacturing company.
He highlighted Unipart’s role as the “largest provider of logistics services to the NHS” and acknowledged the company’s partnership with Vodafone.
Darren’s presentation focused on the evolution of supply chain management from a transactional focus to one rooted in strategic business partnerships.
In his view, partnerships are vital in order to tackle modern supply chain challenges, such as greater global complexities, environmental concerns and cost pressures.
Enhancing productivity through collaboration
A key theme to emerge throughout Darren’s keynote was productivity – a key issue in the UK, where productivity levels are "up to 18% lower than the US, Germany and France”.
He revealed that Unipart’s approach to productivity “engages people at every level of the organisation to challenge the status quo and to strive for continuous improvement and operational excellence". This approach has created eye-catching results, with Unipart’s workforce three times more actively engaged than the average UK company.
Darren went on to explain how the London Business School had approached Unipart with issues regarding inefficiencies and a high employee turnover that threatened its ability to deliver 400 courses a year.
After applying Unipart’s productivity methodology, the school saw a 170% increase in on-time course delivery.
Building resilience through agility and flexibility
Darren continued to explore a prominent topic from P&SC LIVE London: resilience.
He referred to a 2022 report from Deloitte which discovered three out of four respondents rate supply chain resilience as important, with flexibility, agility and collaboration identified as "the key characteristics of a resilient supply chain".
Darren used Unipart’s collaboration with McLaren Automotive as an example of resilience in action. When one of McLaren’s crucial, UK-based polymer suppliers faced severe financial challenges, Unipart quickly stepped in, acquiring the struggling business within weeks to secure McLaren’s supply chain.
He continued: "Only through agility, flexibility and collaboration can we all work to increase supply chain resilience in future.”
Darren stressed that this level of resilience can only be achieved through strong partnerships that are flexible enough to adapt swiftly to unforeseen disruptions.
Advancing sustainability in the supply chain
A third theme Darren explored was sustainability.
Spotlighting the vital relationship between sustainability and supply chains, he pointed to McKinsey's finding that 90% of a company's impact on the environment comes from their supply chain.
Unipart has worked to minimise its environmental footprint, taking on projects such as reducing plastic packaging in its logistics operations for Sky as part of its Ocean Rescue campaign. Unipart also signed onto the UN’s Race to Zero initiative, pledging to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Beyond environmental sustainability, Unipart is dedicated to employee health and safety, with more than 65 Swords of Honour awarded to Unipart by the British Safety Council over the last three decades.
"We hold more swords of honour than any other company," Darren added.
The CEO also explained how Unipart remains committed to creating a safe and supportive workplace environment and adopts a holistic view of sustainability that encompasses both environmental and human wellbeing.
Forging partnerships for a competitive future
Darren concluded his talk by reinforcing the importance of maintaining strong supply chain partnerships that not only include businesses but also involve academia, government and other key sectors.
By doing this, organisations are able to stay competitive in an evolving industry, he argued.
Ending his presentation, Darren concluded: "If you remember one thing from this brief session, it's that we all need to collaborate more. We need to work in partnership to best seize the opportunities that are out there. And I believe that there are some fantastic opportunities out there to be seized."
Essential diary dates for 2025…
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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
- Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE Chicago | 4-5 June
- Manufacturing & Mobility LIVE Chicago | 4-5 June
- Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London | 23-24 September
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