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“ You ’ ve got to be efficient , but you ’ ve got to be effective . A number of companies have gone for efficiency – and that ’ s very good for function – but you ’ ve got to balance out the effectiveness of the output ”
— Alex Thomson , Head of Procurement Services , BP GBS constantly in all parts of that process .
“ There might be new and emerging technologies that force you to rethink a strategy you devised six months ago ; there might be changes to your demand patterns that come out of your ordering behaviour , necessitating a review of your supplier portfolio .” Enabling effective management of these concurrent processes , Smith says , is Compass ’ s raison d ’ etre . “ The process ’ s execution may exist in different systems , such as SAP Ariba or some of our legacy environments , but Compass provides end-to-end digital integration of all elements of procurement in one place .”
Highlighting other factors driving the firm ’ s procurement transformation , Smith begins with the seismic shifts in the global energy market . “ The world will require significantly more energy to support population growth and the prosperity that everyone is looking to drive ,” he says , “ but that energy needs to come with lower carbon . To do this , BP needs access to new ways of doing things , disruptive thinking and new technologies .” In procurement , this challenge can be tackled by optimising
APRIL 2020