2021

The Advance SC Solutions consultancy division of Advance has recently concluded another major project.

A leading company in the pharmaceuticals area recently requested our consultancy in the Procurement area.

The goal was to perform a strategic mapping of the procurement portfolio, study the positioning of their supplier base and understand how to develop a new procurement strategy.

The activity was structured into three different steps.

Strategic mapping of procurement portfolio. Through the use of quantitative methodologies, such as Pareto Analysis, and qualitative methodologies, such as the Kralijc matrix, the level of criticality of supplies and suppliers was analysed. In this way it was possible to classify suppliers according to importance and availability.

Risk analysis. The second step was to carry out an assessment to identify the most impactful elements/components at income statement level and, at the same time, understand the nature and degree of procurement risk in order to guarantee business continuity and the levels of profit expected. This activity served to outline the supply risk profile.

Implementation of procurement strategy. The final phase was the development of a procurement strategy diversified on the basis of the analyses performed. This analysis highlighted the appropriateness of seeking an alternative supplier rather than seeking alternative supply sources, or where necessary involving the technical office and other departments to create viable alternatives, assessing eventual standardisations or double "homogenisation". In addition to this, a pipeline of possible savings and “quick wins” was created and assessed where the risk profiles were not critical or the importance/availability profiles demonstrated a suitable opportunity for competitive approaches on the various supply markets.

The consultancy project was developed over the course of 2 and-a-half months for a total of 9 days of on-the-job training.

Advance’s on-the-job training enabled the personnel involved to acquire the basics of the methodology and approach and made them independent as regards analysing the procurement portfolio and the future creation of new procurement strategies.