HOLCIM ( Australia ) PTY LIMITED ( Holcim Australia )
Holcim Australia is a leading supplier of aggregates , concrete and precast concrete products to support projects from residential and commercial developments to major infrastructure . When management identified the opportunity to improve procurement processes in the business , it handed the job of turning things around to Kelly Irwin – Head of Procurement for Holcim Australia and New Zealand .
Irwin ’ s success saw her recently awarded the CIPS Procurement and Supply Chain Management Professional of the Year , while her procurement team has been awarded the Holcim Australia Internal Customer Excellence award three years in a row .
“ Previously there was no real engagement with the business , the procurement team just handled
Year Founded
2009
( dates back to 1901 in Australia previously operating under the well known ReadyMix and Humes brands )
contracts and rarely left the office ,” Irwin says . “ The business didn ’ t leverage the potential strengths of the procurement department – if there was any interaction with the procurement team it was only to complain about something .
“ Today we ’ ve turned that around and procurement has gone from a complaints department to an effective unit which is really aligned with the business and adds value . I ’ ve implemented what I call the ‘ the bums off seats ’ policy – you can ’ t be a good procurement person if you ’ re sitting at your desk all day , every day : you need to get out there in the thick of it .” Irwin believes firmly in the importance of spending time building strong and strategic internal and external relationships . She adds : “ A successful procurement function must clearly understand the needs of their stakeholders , both internal customers and external suppliers
94 December 2016