VODAFONE PROCUREMENT COMPANY
“ When we set our vision , we initially went to market to find an off-the-shelf solution that will meet our objectives . We invited 30-plus different partners and came to realize that the landscape wasn ' t ready . That gave us an indication that this is an area where we should invest more time and develop something to maintain our leadership position for the future . We believe such a solution will be relevant not just for Vodafone , but also for our partners .”
Alongside evolving the core functions of its procurement division , Vodafone is also leveraging its digital transformation to encompass environmental , social and corporate governance ( ESG ) objectives . Plaza- Bartsch says : “ Supply chain is a key contributor to Vodafone ’ s purpose agenda . This is by embedding planet and society objectives across everything we do , from how we make decisions ( policies ) and how we run our business ( processes and systems ), enabling us to influence and align our more than 10,000 global suppliers around common objectives .”
Sustainability , diversity and inclusion have become core concerns for the private sector , but many businesses continue to grapple with exactly how to quantify them , and how to link them to business objectives . At Vodafone , Plaza-Bartsch ’ s approach is to make them tangible and transparent so that they can be managed .
“ For example , we have embedded purpose commitments in our sourcing process ,” he says . “ When evaluating suppliers for new work , 20 % of our scoring criteria will account for their commitments to diversity , inclusion and the environment . Enabling this through our systems has been key to secure a consistent implementation across our spend .”
Likewise , to support a reduction of carbon emissions objectives , Vodafone is leveraging big data to access and create full transparency of its CO2 footprint . " For us the use of
technology is essential to understand and predict CO2 emissions growth through our supply chain ” Plaza-Bartsch says . “ By creating this visibility , we can be more targeted when selecting areas of opportunity to actively drive a reduction in emissions on a year-by-year basis by working with our partners on greener technologies and solutions .
“ It ’ s the same for ESG . We expect that the demand for information and transparency across our supply chain will continue to rise . We will see larger and more connected ecosystems that will contribute richer information to enable business foresight at scale .
“ Innovation has become the new normal across our digital transformation journey and our culture . Customer experience will continue to be an uncompromised priority , combined with an obsession for speed and simplicity across all our user journeys . This will enable us to scale commercial and operational value to Vodafone , and beyond that , enable lasting and impactful improvement to society and our planet .” businesschief . eu 41