P&SC LIVE London: Keynote – Ninian Wilson, Vodafone
Ninian Wilson, CEO of Vodafone Procurement, offered a compelling look into the world of procurement and supply chain management at Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit.
Throughout his keynote presentation - 'Surfing the S Curves' - Ninian detailed the sector’s journey through waves of technological change, sharing experiences from his career and the evolving digital landscape.
Navigating transformational change in procurement
Ninian’s career spans nearly three decades, beginning as a process manager at Cable & Wireless, a major telecom player in the late-1990s.
Recalling his early days, he highlighted how Cable & Wireless was once a giant, only to vanish from the market in subsequent years – a stark reminder of the rapid pace of change.
Ninian reflected on the “huge amount of change there’s been for all of us in procurement and supply chain and the world in general".
First wave: The era of e-procurement
Ninian pointed to the first wave of technological change in procurement, driven by early e-procurement platforms such as Ariba and Commerce One.
Recalling his role in pitching e-procurement technology in 2000, he described it as the first major transformation for procurement functions, allowing companies to move from manual processes to automated purchase orders.
This period, Ninian explained, was a time of “absolute explosion” in the use of technology to streamline procurement operations, marking a shift towards enhanced efficiency. Cable & Wireless was among those to invest heavily in e-procurement technology.
Ninian stressed how this technology-led transformation laid a vital foundation, explaining: "We use technology to transform not just how end users interacted with procurement [...] but we also used the money to start to transform the people, the skills and the capability technology.”
This wave focused on embedding technology in procurement processes and using it to enhance the function.
Second wave: Digitalisation of procurement
Ninian continued to address the second significant wave: the shift towards fully-digitised procurement and supply chain management.
This phase focused on integrating data, metrics and KPIs from digital dashboards.
Ninian explained how Vodafone eliminated PowerPoint from KPI reviews and moved to a system of real-time dashboards. This offered a “one version of the truth” for Vodafone’s 950 supply chain team members and provided transparent and data-driven insights across regions.
With digital dashboards, Ninian explained how Vodafone tracks everything from savings metrics to category strategies, creating a concise view of operational performance.
He spotlighted the accountability this transparency created: “If it’s green, it’s brilliant. If it’s amber, it’s an improvement area. If it’s red, you’re dead.”
Ninian shared how digitalisation has allowed procurement to become more efficient, driving down the cost of transactional processes and enhancing compliance.
He also underscored the importance of human talent in making digital transformation successful, saying "It’s always about the people.”
The next wave: AI and the future of procurement
Ninian then shifted to the next transformative wave: AI and its potential to reshape procurement.
Referring to Gartner's well-respected Hype Cycle, he explained that, while AI is currently at the 'peak of inflated expectations', real and impactful use cases are emerging.
Vodafone, for example, has already begun deploying AI solutions in procurement, with a particular focus on generative AI’s ability to analyse procurement strategies and even create draft strategies based on historical data.
Ninian highlighted Vodafone’s rollout of an AI-powered co-pilot for procurement, allowing teams to analyse spend analytics and procurement strategies more effectively.
Because of this, the AI can easily provide insights by analysing strategic decisions and past communications to answer complex questions.
Ninian acknowledged the duality of AI, admitting it is “amazingly exciting and amazingly scary at the same time.”
Towards the closing stages end of his speech, he pointed to three key principles for successfully implementing technology-driven transformations: “start small”, “think big” and “scale fast.”
Ninian went on to assert that the future of procurement is both promising and uncertain.
By riding the “S-curve” of new technologies, such as AI and digitalisation, companies can discover new opportunities and thrive in the future of our evolving industries.
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