Jabil: Procurement Resilience Through Supplier Collaboration
In the current climate of global volatility, the strategic importance of procurement as a driver of business resilience has never been more apparent. Throughout 2025, significant trade disruptions highlighted the necessity for C-suite leaders to prioritise robust supplier relationships.
Jabil, a specialist in engineering and manufacturing solutions, provides a framework for businesses to undergo the transformations required for sustainable operations. They help firms maintain commercial success despite ongoing market turbulence.
By leveraging close collaboration with its supply chain, a business sees improvements in efficiency and communication that impact the bottom line. Jabil acts as a partner to major brands, applying decades of experience to offer integrated solutions.
These solutions are tailored to meet specific industrial needs, ensuring that procurement strategies remain a competitive advantage. As volatility increases, firms understand that resilience must be embedded across the entire supply chain.
Building procurement resilience
Jabil assists brands in staying ahead of potential disruptions through tailored management solutions. The company provides a combination of logistics processes and talent investment to create real-time visibility across global networks.
According to Jabil, data-driven insights allow for transparent relationships with suppliers. This enables more informed decision-making and better risk management for executive teams navigating complex markets.
Jabil manages a network of more than 38,000 suppliers and handles more than US$25bn in annual procurement spend. This scale provides significant resources that are shared with clients to help them mitigate risk.
Customers gain access to AI-driven forecasting and transparent data, which lead to more reliable sourcing strategies. Jabil also offers a suite of services designed to streamline processes and drive cost leadership.
Strategic procurement services
The core components of these services include cost optimisation, where businesses reduce expenditure through Jabil programmes. Supplier management ensures quality, reliability and compliance across the board.
Jabil also focuses on risk mitigation by proactively addressing procurement risks to enhance resilience. They use analytics and technology to improve decision-making and scalability as global markets shift.
Focusing on procurement excellence is essential for creating value beyond direct material costs. Kurt Shafer, who serves as the Senior Director of Global Procurement at Jabil, will be sharing his expertise at Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: The US Summit on April 22nd.
Kurt has more than ten years of experience in strategic sourcing and operations planning. His professional focus involves leading transformative strategies that lead to operational efficiencies and cost savings for Jabil.
Optimising indirect spend strategies
The discussion on The Indirect Procurement Playbook panel will explore how leaders can optimise indirect spend. This session aims to show how improved supplier relationships drive profit gains.
Reflecting on the importance of sharing these strategies, Kurt says: "I'm looking forward to speaking at P&SC Live Chicago because The Indirect Procurement Playbook panel offers the perfect platform to share practical, experience-led insights with leaders who are shaping the future of procurement."
By focusing on process efficiency and cost control, procurement leaders transform their supply chains into engines for success. This approach ensures that companies remain agile and competitive in a complex marketplace.
Through these sessions, Jabil continues to demonstrate its commitment to industry leadership. They remain dedicated to the development of sophisticated procurement frameworks that support long-term commercial growth.
Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: The US Summit
Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: The US Summit takes place April 21-22, bringing together senior procurement and supply chain leaders focused on innovation, strategy and transformation in their organisations. Co-located with Sustainability LIVE: The US Summit, the event provides a comprehensive view of procurement and supply chain’s evolving role in driving business value and sustainability.
It will also feature the inaugural US awards, which will be presented during a black-tie gala dinner at Navy Pier, uniting the leaders driving procurement and supply chain excellence across the US and Canada.
The awards ceremony will take place at following Day 1 of the US Summit.
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Kurt Shafer
Senior Director - Global Procurement
