Transforming Procurement at a $1.2B Global Office Products Manufacturer

Business Situation

• Challenged to accelerate savings due to business profitability pressures
• Team tactically focused and viewed their role as a disconnected support function
• Operations team embracing Lean, but Procurement not engaged
• Suppliers not engaged as partners in improvement efforts
• Innovation efforts constrained by sourcing new products in SE Asia

As Division CPO Delivered these Key Results

• Led a strategic supplier improvement program, using Lean/Sigma tools and processes driving >$30M savings, 85% quality improvement, and 98% material availability.
• Upgraded strategic leadership, cross-functional stakeholder engagement, and change agent capabilities with Procurement team.
• Partnered with strategic suppliers to identify and implement Lean/Sigma improvement initiatives.
• Created a strategic sourcing team, mostly in China, to support sourcing suppliers and new products from SE Asia.
• Received corporate leadership award for excellence in driving significant improvement in cost, processes, and partnerships.