There is nothing like chatting to a procurement leader with a 30-year career under his belt who still gets infectiously excited by the industry . That ’ s Ninian Wilson , Group Procurement Director of Vodafone and CEO of its subsidiary , the Vodafone Procurement Company , who visibly lights up when talking about procurement being in the spotlight and the technology that is shaping its ongoing transformation . Or , maybe , he ’ s in a particularly good mood because his beloved Scotland just beat old rivals England at rugby – the first time that has happened in England for 38 years .

Of Scottish origin , Wilson is speaking to us from his home office in Luxembourg . Home working is just one aspect of the Covid-19 pandemic that has impacted Vodafone , from both a business and customer perspective . And where there is disruption , there is opportunity . And when you ’ re Ninian Wilson with € 24 billion to spend on behalf of Vodafone , and also responsible for all supply chain operations , opportunity is around every corner .

“ I ' m overall responsible for our procurement activity across four categories of spend ,” says Wilson . “ The total spend is about € 24 billion euros and that ' s split across networks , indirect spend , content , and obviously devices .

“ We always think about the cost savings we ' ve made and , and the spend value coming down as we do more and more work with our internal clients , but also we ' ve made a number of acquisitions . So that spend base has been broadly stable over the last few years , even with buying and selling of companies .”

supplychaindigital . com 41

SupplyChain Magazine April 2021 | Page 41

Ninian Wilson , Group Procurement Director of Vodafone and CEO of the Vodafone Procurement Company , prepares for an exciting future fuelled by AI , ML and predictive analytics

Ninian Wilson , Group Procurement Director of Vodafone and CEO of the Vodafone Procurement Company , prepares for an exciting future fuelled by AI , ML and predictive analytics