PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
When Iris van der Harst joined EQUANS as Chief Procurement Officer for the Netherlands in February 2024, she recognised that the procurement function needed to operate fundamentally differently. At this multi-tech solutions company – employing 90,000 people across 20 countries with more than US $ 21.9bn in revenue – procurement’ s role extends far beyond traditional cost management into strategic value creation.
Coming from bol, the largest online retailer in the Netherlands and Belgium, Iris saw an opportunity to align procurement strategy directly with corporate objectives. At EQUANS, where helping customers navigate energy transition sits at the heart of the business model, procurement becomes a critical enabler of commercial success.
From tactical to strategic: evolving the procurement role The most significant shift in procurement strategy involves moving from a primarily tactical function to a genuinely strategic one. Iris argues that this transformation requires developing entirely new capabilities within procurement teams.
“ The role really changes from being maybe the negotiator or fixing, you get an invoice and you have to fix everything, but( now) have a real competence of being able to have those conversations with your suppliers and gain trust,” she explained.
HEADQUARTERS: COURBEVOIE, FRANCE
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 90,000 NUMBER OF COUNTRIES: 20
This evolution demands that procurement professionals become skilled in identifying suppliers willing to take collaborative risks, co-creating innovative products and services and serving as the critical link between customer demands and supplier capabilities.
At EQUANS, this strategic repositioning means procurement actively shapes what solutions exist in the market, working with suppliers to develop offerings that did not previously exist and connecting those innovations directly to customer needs.
Building strategic supplier relationships Modern procurement strategy depends on transforming supplier relationships from transactional interactions into genuine partnerships.
Rather than mandating requirements, Iris’ s team engages suppliers in structured collaborative meetings designed to address shared challenges.
“ Just engage in the conversation first, try to explain the problem that we have. So we really want to offer this to our customers,” she explained.
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