Bob Thompson - Procurement Director

Strategic Procurement

I started my career in Procurement soon after leaving the Military in 1991. My career has taken me to companies as diverse as Chubb, Unipart, Ryder, Fujitsu Services and latterly SunGard where I was EMEA Procurement Director.

I passionately believe, that modern procurement has got to be an amalgam of all areas of Procurement; spanning the entire Corporate environment, Suppliers and indeed the wider World. To be fully effective it must focus on strategy as well as undertake tactical activity using every available asset both offline and online.

It's true, many useful e-Procurement Tools are lacking in many corporate organisations or they've been poorly implemented. If procurement is ever going to achieve lasting value within Business it needs to be adequately resourced and professionally led; and of course it needs to be able to deliver lasting value...

I'm a CIPS qualified Director Level individual who has developed e-Procurement Solutions, undertaken Cost Down, implement e-Sourcing...

I can also negotiate with and develop Suppliers to add value to your organisation...

My belief is that effective Procurement can only come about from the true alignment of People, Processes, Systems, Supplier Strategy AND Business Strategy... anything less minimises the potential of Procurement to add significant value to your Business!

Some of the commodities I have worked with are IT Hardware, IT Software, IT Services, Automotive, Commercial Vehicle Aftermarket, Oil, Medical, Fire, Hydraulics with some exposure to Health across the Manufacturing, Services and Public Sectors...

I'm also privileged to have worked with some great Procurement Service providers such as Etesius (Spend Analytics) and Iasta (e-Sourcing); both of which have helped him develop and create real value from Procurement Transformation across EMEA.

In addition i have some ties with some great new innovative companies such as Green2020 (Sustainability Solutions, Energy Waste management, Carbon and Environmental Management).

I think that EMEA Consolidation from a Procurement perspective has barely scratched the surface... and that there is still an awful long way to go before the majority of Organisations are able to truly say they have a fully integrated Company wide procurement organisation and strategy!

Some feedback given to me, courtesy LinkedIn:

“Bob is an outstanding individual who always thinks outside the box and comes up with some great ideas.”

November 15, 2008

Top qualities of Bob: Expert, High Integrity, Creative

Mathew Harrowing, Co-Founder Etesius

“Bob is a knowledgeable procurement professional. He has a pragmatic approach with a detailed understanding of processes which work effectively and can prioritise when these should be best deployed. I would have no hesitation in recommending Bob to an employer.”

October 15, 2008

John Lyle, Senior Procurement Manager, Fujitsu Services

“Bob is very forward-looking procurement specialist with an enthuasistic drive and innovative mind.”

September 22, 2008

Paul Roevens, Delivery Director Belux, Fujitsu Services

“Bob has deep procurement knowledge and practical solutions to business challenges. He will confidently approach new solutions if it means creating value. Bob is well connected to great people and is happy to recommend people from his network.”

September 19, 2008

Jenny Saward, Owner, e-Three

“Bob had the vision to both understand the procurement issues and deliver the benefits to a world class organisation. Great job Bob!”

September 18, 2008

Sean Delaney, MD Iasta UK, Iasta

Have a Procurement or e-Procurement challenge that you can't solve? Then contact me to see if I can help...