PROCUREMENT STRATEGY
“ Try to engage our competitors because sometimes we have to approach the market together”
Iris van der Harst, Chief Procurement Officer, EQUANS Nederland
Major suppliers will not transform their operations for a single customer. But coordinated pressure from multiple companies creates compelling incentive for change. In the Netherlands, EQUANS participates in industry associations that enable such collaboration.“ We have some branch corporations in Holland, but I think it’ s in every country that you can cooperate and approach the market together,” Iris noted.
The data and measurement challenge Implementing strategic procurement transformation requires robust data capabilities. Iris identifies data standardisation as one of the most significant challenges when looking to decarbonise.
“ Uniformity. So everyone uses a different kind of accounting. So there’ s not one way of extracting the right data, so the data is not going to be there,” she said.
This lack of standardisation complicates tracking performance, comparing supplier capabilities and demonstrating procurement’ s strategic value.
When stakeholders request commitments, the conversation returns to the fundamental question:“ What exactly are you committing to if you’ re not speaking the same language?” Yet Iris acknowledges that waiting for perfect data means missing commercial opportunities. The strategy involves working within constraints whilst pushing for improvements.
The future of strategic procurement Iris’ s vision for the future centres on achieving data uniformity and measurement capabilities that will enable procurement to demonstrate and scale its strategic impact.
88 January 2026