Arm: Unleashing SPORT to power procurement transformation
This month’s cover story features Sean Park, Vice President, Procurement, AP and Transformation at Arm, who reveals how an accelerated procurement transformation journey is redefining his organisation’s function.
When it comes to driving rapid procurement transformation, few are better equipped than Sean Park. Today, Park serves as Vice President, Procurement, AP and Transformation, at Arm and has reinvented the organisation’s procurement function since he joined the company in August 2023.
But the path to Arm has been an interesting and varied one for Park who has enjoyed a storied career. Having grown up in New York City, Park’s education led him to Arizona State University where he took part in a semester abroad to Germany. This move marked the beginning of a lifelong drive to experience life and work abroad, and he later spent significant time in Czechia, the Netherlands, Germany, Brazil and Japan.
It was only after returning to the United States after his first few international stints that Park first got involved with procurement and was even nicknamed ‘the procurement guy’ at a consulting firm…
Read the full story of Park’s incredible career inside!
Napco Trading: Procurement’s evolution into a front-line growth function
George Jreige, procurement manager of traded goods at Napco Trading, shares how procurement has become a strategic enabler of growth as the business expands across categories, partnerships, and markets…
The organisations willing to adapt are those that succeed. This is especially true at Napco Trading, which grew from foundations laid by its parent company in 1956 and has expanded from manufacturing into trading and
distribution. That growth required moving procurement closer to market entry, regulatory readiness, and supply continuity.
George Jreige, procurement manager of traded goods at Napco Trading, explains: “Procurement is no longer a function of ‘get me three quotes, and we’ll go with the best price’. It is a strategic function that creates value through realising the five rights of procurement.
Legacy scale with entrepreneurial agility This year marks the 70th anniversary of the wider organisation. “Napco National started as a small paper factory in the eastern province in Saudi Arabia in 1956, and it has witnessed exponential growth since then,” says Jreige. “We now boast a network of more than 19 factories distributed between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with a solid global export network.”
That legacy now sits alongside a more entrepreneurial model inside the organisation. “When I joined in 2021, Napco Trading was three years old,” explains Jreige. “Back then, our core was selling our own manufactured products and our private label. The biggest transformation was in 2024 when we stepped out of our comfort zone. This is when we introduced our cereals and pet food categories and started doing distribution agreements. From this came new partnerships — with Diageo, Panasonic, and Moet Hennessy , for example.”
For Jreige, partnerships like these are about more than adding well-known names. They also add operational complexity, exposing the procurement team to new categories and route-to-market demands… Read the full story inside!
Elsewhere, we also feature insightful interviews with Malcolm Dare, Executive Director, Commercial at Sizewell C, who reveals all on building a lasting legacy in Suffolk, plus, Brian Steward, Director of Operations at Amazon Business, discusses how Amazon Business leverages Amazon’s world-class delivery and fulfillment network while addressing unique challenges that distinguish business customers from traditional consume. And we have revealing reports from the Manifest conference in Las Vegas… and lots, lots more!
Enjoy!