Program Management: Managing the efficiency and performance of global procurement teams

Bringing colleagues from Contracts & Procurement together, Concentric Consulting was trusted to manage the alignment of global practice, sharing knowledge, promoting collaboration, and delivering new value.

Brief

Sharing experiences and aligning under the group procurement strategy

With a combined spend of over $4.5 Million per annum (source: 2014 Annual Accounts), BG’s global Contracts & Procurement function needed a unified strategy to address upcoming challenges, opportunities to contribute to future plans, and a forum for sharing knowledge that could be used to drive value or find new efficiencies.

Concentric provided comprehensive Program Management, designing three integrated forums to bring senior leadership together and align them around the Group Strategy and functional agenda.

Delivery

Program Management forums to improve understanding and communication

Bringing the global senior leadership community together required an agile approach to Program Management – one that considered varying needs and priorities in both individuals, regions, and the wider business.

Concentric began by engaging senior regional stakeholders and Group Directors with one-to-one calls and meetings, which would later form the foundation of our session design. This was followed by gaining alignment on the key business deliverables which would have the biggest impact to the bottom line. Creating a collaborative environment with a clear, structured agenda and preparing effective workshop materials to capture live outputs from the session.

Concentric provided the facilitation and business challenge for reach session ensured alignment on outputs, actions, and risks and provided the post-workshop feedback report including robust action plans. This allowed the client team to monitor performance through quarterly virtual progress telecoms.

Below is a summary of the key elements for each facilitated interaction of the Program Management approach:

Forum 1

• Framing the business requirement and strategy
• Building a deep market understanding
• Sharing and jointly resolving work dilemmas
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities

Forum 2

• Agreeing and prioritising the strategy and 3-year plan with 15 identified priorities
• Establishing cross-region knowledge share and learning
• Discussing key programs, projects and training courses and their impact on the C&P community

Forum 3

• Finding efficiencies and reducing costs in a climate of declining oil prices
• Positioning C&P for success following the announced Royal Dutch Shell takeover
• Celebrating our successes and strengthening team connections

Outcomes

On-track projects and a global strategy

Over the 18-month period, the Contracts & Procurement work stream delivered or were on track to deliver everything on our agreed agenda. Regional teams were buying into central processes, and value was delivered using a global framework agreement with local oversight and ownership.

The knowledge Concentric had engendered improved performance when working with high-quality contractors, leveraging efficiencies from the group’s global scale and built a high performing organisation.