The role of procurement has changed. Today, the function has become a driver of so much more than cost reduction and business continuity. In the past few years—especially since the pandemic—procurement’s potential to not only support sustainable practice, digital transformation, and supply chain resilience, but to champion the values of the business as a whole has become increasingly evident.
Coventry Building Society
Coventry Building Society touches the lives of millions of people across the UK, helping them save and borrow to support their goals and livelihoods. As a mutual organisation, Coventry Building Society places people at the heart of everything it does. In addition to their B Corp Certification, Coventry Building Society has sent zero waste to landfill since 2017. The organisaitons is a key partner to Centrepoint (the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity), and in 2023 received double Gold Ribbons by Fairer Finance for Customer Experience for both Savings and Mortgages. The focus on Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals persists throughout Coventry Building Society’s value chain, from the customer all the way back to the procurement process.
“We’re owned by our members and our core belief is that we put our members first,” says Rebecca Howard, Coventry Building Society’s Head of Supplier Relationship Management. “Our members want us to keep their money safe and have an impact on people’s lives. That’s why our purpose is making people better off through life.”
Since joining Coventry Building Society in 2020, Howard has transformed the Society’s supplier management function to not only drive business outcomes, but also to embody and empower its mission, championing diversity and inclusion, social value, and community engagement through supplier partnerships. Today, in concert with a network of trusted partners, Coventry Building Society’s Supplier Management function is an outspoken champion of the values that define the Society as an organisation and advocate for the West Midlands.
Procurement Transformation at the Society
With a multi-decade career in procurement, as both an in-house procurement professional and consultant, Howard explains that the move to Coventry Building Society in November of 2020 felt like a natural step. “Financial services and regulated industries weren’t new to me,” she explains. “I’d consulted for organisations like JP Morgan before and, while I was a consultant, Coventry Building Society had actually been one of my clients for a while.”
Nevertheless, she admits the role came with “a steep learning curve” due to the fact that, when she arrived, “the supplier relationship management function didn’t really exist yet”. She recalls: “There was an operation already in place focused on third party risk. But it wasn’t relationship management as we know it today.”
Today, Coventry Building Society has one of the most strategic procurement functions in the UK.
Claire Webber leads the overall Procurement function and has responsibility for Sourcing, Third Party Risk and Supplier Management. Webber says: “In Financial Services, there is so much focus on pre-contract activity, sourcing and risk management, but in 2020 there was little focus on what happens after the contract is signed. Rebecca has built a team that delivers continuous improvement and collaboration with our supply base, creating valuable relationships to leverage our mutual strengths.”
As someone whose role sits “facing both inside and outside of the organisation,” Howard is an all-important bridge between the Society’s stakeholders and its external partners—which range in scale from multinationals to small and medium sized enterprises businesses throughout the West Midlands and beyond.
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