PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
A key insight drives this strategy; helping suppliers improve their operations benefits the entire customer base.“ If you look in the complete supply chain of our suppliers, maybe they can decarbonise one of their plants or factories and that won’ t only help us as a customer, but they will also help all their other customers.. help them together in creating better products and also try to do it on maybe at the same price or even lower,” Iris noted.
This principle applies to quality improvements, digital transformation, risk reduction or any strategic procurement objective. By framing supplier development as mutual value creation, procurement builds partnerships capable of driving genuine innovation.
Aligning procurement with commercial objectives The most critical element of procurement transformation involves tight alignment with commercial strategy. Iris has achieved this by directly connecting supplier capabilities with customer requirements, positioning procurement as an enabler of revenue growth.
Iris uses customer demand strategically to maintain focus.“ I use our customers because the customers are asking for it and they really use me as procurement to put it on the agenda all the time. So I just take the customer card all the time,” she said.
One of EQUANS’ largest clients asks monthly about specific aspects of the company’ s supplier strategy – creating natural leverage for keeping procurement initiatives resourced and visible.
82 January 2026