Signify is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers, and the Internet of Things. With sales of EUR 7.5 bn in 2022, approximately 35,000 employees and a presence in more than 70 countries, Signify is unlocking the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world.
A forward-thinking enterprise constantly reevaluating and adapting its operations against an ever-changing landscape, Signify has recently transformed the procurement function. We join Luc Broussaud, Global Head of Procurement/CPO and Arnold Chatelain, Transformation Program Director for Signify’s Procurement Organization to see why, and how, they have evolved procurement at the company.
Signify is a global organization spread over all continents and Luc heads up the procurement function. Speaking from his Amsterdam office he details the scale of his role: “My responsibilities cover the performance of between $3-4bn spend working with roughly 400-500 people across the world focusing only around four key objectives. 1) Securing the most favorable prices. 2) Ensuring timely procurement of the parts. 3) Getting the best quality. 4) Optimizing the balance between price, quality, innovation and time.
According to Luc, he and his team no longer engage in traditional transactional procurement, but instead leverage digitalization to deliver competitive prices as well as what they call ‘concept saving’, “Which is how we redesign or improve our product; leveraging the knowledge of our suppliers to make it cheaper, more efficient, easier to manufacture and install, and more sustainable for the planet.”
An exciting opportunity
Luc Broussaud joined Signify in 2018, after being the CPO of Nokia and had always been working within procurement. He joined Signify with a broad skillset and a wealth of experience. “I joined because the people I talked to were all incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about procurement,” he reveals. “The excitement stemmed from the visibility and the knowledge they had which is not always present at every company. And the objective was to maintain a highly competitive edge, establish a robust and diverse supplier network worldwide, minimize risk, achieve cost benefits annually, and surpass the competition. The digital transformation naturally aligned with these goals, paving the way for their accomplishments.”
In any digital transformation journey, the first focus has to be on the people; capable enough to lead the change. Luc promptly assembled a procurement team that could deliver a successful execution of the digital program. “I needed to strategically position the right individuals in key roles to gain a comprehensive understanding of my organization. My aim was to be involved with the business, establishing a close connection, while elevating procurement to a global level.”
