ENERGY 4.0
of outsourced functions around energy , utilities and procurement .
Discussing how Arcadia ’ s relationship with energy suppliers began to evolve , he reveals : “ A lot of the utilities companies like Gazprom Energy , British Gas and EDF were starting to come and talk to us directly , and so I engaged with them . They were very open and honest , saying that they wouldn ’ t necessarily give a broker a better deal .
“ I took it upon myself to train and align myself to a number of brokers quite quickly , and to understand the nuances of the industry and procurement . I realised we could do a lot of it ourselves and gas was the first one we brokered directly on our own . We were already with Gazprom so it was like a renewal and we ran it within our own company .”
Laurent found that he was getting the same offering as when using a broker , but that working more closely with Gazprom Energy allowed greater flexibility and opportunity to negotiate .
“ The creation of our energy and utilities department all stemmed from me having those initial conversations with a lot of people and doing that first deal on gas . We realised we could do this in-house if we had the right skillset , so I put a business plan together , got HR to agree it , and got my CEO and directors on board . And that ’ s how we came to start engaging directly with utilities companies ,” he reflects .
Having built the energy and utilities team , which now comprises five people , and spending several years bringing the company ’ s energy procurement in-house , Laurent set his sights on a new objective that represented another significant change for Arcadia .
“ We were a business that was very risk-averse and liked certainty , but I realised we were missing an opportunity to take advantage of some better pricing , where the market might dip ,” he explains . “ I was championing a move from fixed to flex for a number of years – it just took me a while to convince various people , including our finance director , finance controller , CEO , property director and my procurement director , to move onto a flex deal .”
Late last year , his tenacity paid off with Arcadia signing a flexible contract with Gazprom Energy for the supply and management of gas to 73 stores ,
30 June 2018