This month’s cover story features a truly insightful discussion with Gilles Néron, Vice President, Strategic Procurement at Air Canada, and Coralyn Ah-Moy, Senior Director of Procurement Transformation and Centre of Excellence who explain how a disciplined, people-led transformation is redefining value in one of the world’s most complex operating environments…
From source to strategy: How Air Canada rebuilt procurement as an enterprise enabler
When Air Canada launched its Unifier programme, the ambition went far beyond a conventional ERP upgrade. For the airline’s procurement function, it marked the moment to move from being a highly capable sourcing organisation to becoming a fully embedded enterprise partner, shaping cost discipline, operational performance and long-term value creation.
As Canada’s flag carrier, Air Canada operates in an environment defined by scale, complexity and constant volatility. Its procurement function must support a vast and highly regulated operation spanning fuel, maintenance, airports, catering & onboard products, IT, Data and Digital, corporate, commercial and crew accommodation & transportation, all while balancing cost discipline with safety, reliability and customer experience. External shocks such as fuel price volatility, supply chain disruption, geopolitical uncertainty and fluctuating passenger demand place further pressure on procurement to be both resilient and agile.
In this context, procurement is not simply about buying well, but about managing risk, ensuring continuity of operations and enabling the airline to respond quickly to changing market conditions… Read the Air Canada story here…
Crescent Hotels & Resorts: Creating procurement guardrails, not handcuffs
When it comes to hotel management, the procurement landscape is vast and complex. Making sense of it requires expertise and wisdom, both qualities possessed by Adam Butts, Senior VP of Procurement at Crescent Hotels & Resorts…
Butts has been in the hotel management industry for over 23 years. This prepared him for the unique challenges that Crescent has presented. As a Senior Procurement Executive, Butts looks at five different dynamics when it comes to hotels: costs, operations, risk, owner interest, and guest experience. The latter really sets the guardrails, and always has to be top-of-mind for any possible change.
“Guest experience is number one, closely followed by owner interest,” he explains. “It’s non-negotiable. Being in an industry where guest experience is king, it’s very important that we’re always making sure we don’t do anything that disrupts it. Every decision we make has to enhance the guest experience, not minimise it in any way.”
Click here to read the full story.
Steag Iqony Group: AI, ESG and a new era of partnership
Across Germany’s shifting energy landscape, Steag Iqony Group is transforming procurement into a strategic force for resilience, sustainability and digital excellence. We speak to Chief Procurement Officer André Snoeijer, Head of Digital & Process Excellence Janet Würpel, and Head of ESG Julia Morks, to see how procurement is being rebuilt for a future defined by challenges, innovation and change…
In 2023, as Germany’s energy sector reeled from geopolitical pressure, supply volatility and increasing regulatory demands, Steag Iqony Group stood at the crossroads. The company had recently been divided into two entities: Iqony, focused on renewables and low-carbon solutions, and Steag Power, responsible for operating flexible, dispatchable power plants that ensure Germany’s vital security of supply.
For Chief Procurement Officer André Snoeijer, the division created significant operational complexity and required a fundamental redesign of procurement structures. “We wanted to separate the conventional assets from the renewable assets and prepare ourselves for the sale of the company,” he explains. “My task was to prepare two independent procurement organisations: one for Steag Power and one for Iqony.”
Click here to read the full story!
Unlocking the opportunity in supply chain challenges
“Challenges are opportunities in disguise.” Venkatesh Srinivasan is clear that the hand you are dealt with is what you make of it. And in the supply chain, on the back of myriad recent challenges the industry has been forced to deal with, many would agree that was sound advice.
Navigating supply chain challenges
Indeed, the likes of COVID-19, geopolitical issues and trade wars as well as inflation concerns are just some of the many hurdles the supply chain industry has had to mitigate. That isn’t to mention the rise of AI and sustainability as increasingly prominent items on the leadership agenda.
Witnessing these disruptions first-hand is Srinivasan who, as a supply chain and operations executive with 20 years of experience in growth-oriented technology companies, is used to dealing with change. He possesses a diverse experience that covers automotive, consumer hardware, semiconductors, and climate tech. Over the years, Srinivasan has demonstrated success in building supplier partnerships and driving profitability and has rich experience in quality, sourcing, and working with suppliers in Asia and Europe for startups and large corporations.
Srinivasan is keen to stress that what the supply chain is facing is a byproduct of the complexity of the global environment. “It’s a reflection of the world we live in,” Srinivasan tells us in our recent podcast. “It’s a function of our times and there is no denying that the past 20 to 25 years have been exceptionally turbulent. This decade alone has brought tariff pressures, preceded by COVID-19, which disrupted not only supply chains but also markets and demand. Now, with the rise of AI, we’re seeing renewed constraints on critical electronic components – echoing the shortages experienced during the pandemic.”
Reflecting further, Srinivasan sees similarities with the financial crash of 2008 which triggered a recession and forced many businesses to close. “Although the recession began in 2007, its second-order effects lingered well into 2014,” he tells us. “Even before that, we saw the dot-com crash and earlier economic shocks. There is no getting away from the fact the past 20 years have certainly seemed more unpredictable.
“It’s easy to get consumed by geopolitics, macroeconomics, and monetary policy. But from a practitioner’s perspective, the priority is staying anchored to the company’s core mission. That means serving customers first, building products they value, and designing a supply chain that delivers those products at the right cost, quality, and speed. On top of that, you have to be prepared for it. That means figuring out what the edge cases are in your supply chain, anticipating disruptions, and having a plan of action well in advance. If you do a combination of those things, you will be in a very good position.”
One of the best ways to meet challenges head-on is to learn lessons from the past. If COVID-19 and tariffs proved anything it was the importance of diversifying supply chains and introducing greater regionalisation and nearshoring to be closer to end customers and reduce complexity…. Click here to read the full story!
Plus, lots, lots more!