July 2011 | Steve Bagshaw

The third CIPS Middle East Conference took place in Abu Dhabi on 22 May and attracted 200 delegates.

‘Achieving Excellence in Procurement and Supply Chain’, sponsored by KPMG, attracted buyers from the UAE as well as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Egypt. 

Speakers came from across the region and Europe with the full spectrum of regional industries including telecommunications, heavy industry, defence as well as the oil and gas sector represented.

CIPS CEO David Noble opened the event with an examination of the challenges facing the profession and the opportunities for it in the region in the face of global economic circumstances.

The event, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, reflected the growing influence of the Gulf region and the increased prominence of procurement for organisations in the region.

Messages from a keynote speaker

The key to a successful procurement transformation is the credibility of people leading it and urgency according to, Gerry Tominey, CPO at Associated British Foods.

“Change is built on a solid business case and assembling a group with power to make that change,” he said.

He added that in order to guarantee co-operation and increased effort, qualities of the group leading the change should include: the power to stop internal blocks, credibility and leadership.

“You must have a change vision to describe how the future will be different from the past and a strategy for achieving the vision. And, he added: “This should be repeatable and not contain jargon.” And you “should take every vehicle to communicate the new vision”.

In addition, the team must be empowered to remove obstacles to the implementation of the vision, he said, even if that requires changing systems or structures that undermine it.

“Risk taking and non-traditional ideas should also be encouraged,” he said.

Another key element to sustaining a transformation’s momentum is generating short-term wins that create excitement and recognise improvement. And once that has been achieved you “should not let up as that credibility enables further change”.

Finally he said that in order for the new structure to stick, leaders “must articulate the connections between behaviour and success”. 

Key quotes from the event

“Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude,” Mike Webb, functional head, BAE Systems Saudi Arabia Procurement.

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure,” Anis Tabka, VP supply chain management, Du.

“We have to be masters of post contract,” David Noble, CIPS chief executive.

“Seventy per cent of all major change efforts fail,” Gerry Tominey, CPO, Associated British Foods.

“We have to have the capability to demonstrate that we have the value add, not just save money. We have to demonstrate better that we have it,” Jamal Al-Anbari, business support manager, RasGas.

“We have seen a range of companies at various stages on the journey towards excellence. Not everybody is there, but those who have had made a huge difference to their organisations,” Steve Bagshaw, conference chairman.