PROCESS OPTIMISATION suppliers manually . We also looked into traditional supplier relationship management ( SRM ), and that is actually the main driver to get the supplier into our portal because it ’ s about what ’ s in it for them . Through the SRM module , we can actually exchange information and data . Suppliers are able to look at their sales figures or at their delivery positions whenever they want .” The last area that Ahlsell looked into was supplier onboarding , so that they could have all the financial and sustainability checks automised .
“ And all this functionality was not necessarily provided by one supplier , but could be different suppliers behind the scenes . The key for us was that it should all be accessible via the portal with a single sign on ,” she says .
The master keys to process optimisation : Master Data Looking out at the crowd , Chinell rhetorically asks : “ And what , among all of these processes , was the key success enabler ?”
“ If I had to point to one key driver for success ,” she answers , “ It ’ s master data .” Chinell explains that when it
50bn SEC (€ 5.5bn )
Ahlsell ’ s turnover
7,500
Employees
300 branches throughout the Nordics
1.5mn +
Offered SKUs
250,000 + Customers
10,000 + Suppliers
30 % of all Ahlsell ’ s orders are placed on the web comes to optimising processes , any organisation that doesn ’ t have its master data under control will run into problems and difficulties . So it acts like the trunk of a tree , supporting all ensuing ramifications , and therefore , needs to be robust .
Change management : Changing thinking , changing feeling Concluding , Chinell says : “ And lastly , you need to work with change management . Everything is about change . You need to prepare , communicate , and repeat . It ’ s not enough to create awareness ; you need to create desire .
“ And once you ’ re created awareness and desire , you need to make sure that there is the knowledge and ability to actually embrace these new technologies . Digitalisation is a transformative journey . It demands a lot of energy and it can be fun , but it ’ s also challenging .
“ It demands that you are swapping back and forth between your logical left-brain and your creative right-brain . Procurement specialists love the left-brain because they ’ re noticed based on the logical skills concerned with numbers , structure , order , and so on .
“ But ,” she says , “ you need to be able to swap between the logical left side and the more creative right side of your brain to really solve problems , to rethink , and to do new things – because digitalisation is about changing the way you do things , which means changing the way you think about things .” procurementmag . com 49