Trusted Partner and Value Creator: Two Sides of the Procurement Coin

In this episode of Procurement Reimagined, brought to you by Gatekeeper, your host, Daniel Barnes, is joined by Milind Deepak Tailor, Global Head, Services Procurement & Vendor Management at Diebold Nixdorf. 

 Join Daniel and Milind as they discuss what it means to be a trusted partner and value creator, the key characteristics of a trusted partner, as well as why value cannot be considered in isolation.

Milind Deepak Tailor is a Global Supply Chain, Procurement, and Operations Leader with a proven track record in program management, optimising supply chains, and delivering significant cost savings. He is the current Global Head of Services Procurement and Vendor Management at Diebold Nixdorf, a world leader in connected commerce producers of cutting-edge product technology, multi-vendor software, and service for financial and retail customers. There, he is responsible for providing influence and guidance to ensure best-in-class procurement across the global organisation. 

Key Highlights:

• 02:21 - 11:18 - Trusted Partners and Value Generation  - To Milind, value creation and being a trusted partner are two sides of the same coin, the procurement coin, if you will. The worth of the coin is determined by how well the procurement function carries out both roles. A good trusted partner is highly reliable and has functional expertise (credibility). They also should be able to build an emotional connection with their stakeholders and  understand what it is stakeholders need, whilst still being authentic. According to Milind, value is utility divided by cost. Cost is always measurable but utility is subjective, so value, and value creation, can only be discussed within the wider context of an organisation, their business objectives, and their environment.

• 12:01 - 15:21 - Building Subject Matter Expertise  - To build credibility as a trusted partner, procurement professionals should build their subject matter expertise. In order to do this, Milind advises widening your horizon. Procurement professionals have been traditionally focused on a narrow scope, but if they span across functions, break silos, and get everyone together they will automatically improve their understanding of procurement and the overall business and how they can impact it. It’s also important to keep on top of the industry evolution. Read journals,  talk to other procurement professionals, and talk to suppliers; find out what is going on and what the best-in-class practices are so you can implement them. 
• 17:30 - 22:24 - The Journey of Value Creation as a Trusted Partner  - According to Milind, being a trusted partner and value creator is a journey; it’s not a light you switch on and off. He approaches it by assessing where the organisation stands in the procurement curve so he can see the steps he needs to take to progress them through the curve. Then he can define the goals to accomplish and align them with the company’s objectives as no two people will look at value the same. Reliability and credibility are not built overnight, you need to keep bringing ideas to the table with appropriate justifications to allow the internal stakeholders to view you as a trusted partner. It all comes down to a continuous process of learning and relearning to be able to continuously add value to the business.

Quotes:

• “So for me, value creation and being a trusted partner are two sides of the same coin. The coin, which I call procurement, right? And the worth of the coin is determined by how well the procurement function carries out these two roles of being a trusted partner and a value creator”.

• “The way I learn it is by talking to a lot of my suppliers. I ensure that I talk to them to continuously understand what's going on in their part of the world. What is it that they see coming in? What are the challenges that they are facing? And learn from them and try and see if we can bring it back into my world, or learn from it and ensure that the learnings from them are shared with their team and we, as a team, then become more learned about the overall external environment?” 

• “Being a trusted partner and a value creator is a journey, and it’s not like you switch on and off”