60 seconds with...Antònia Solà, Ecolab

We had the pleasure of chatting to Antònia Solà, Procurement PMO EMEA Lead at Ecolab, about the lessons learned from the pandemic, the importance of risk management and what the future holds for procurement.

What is your top priority currently?

Supply assurance. We are focused on supporting our Ecolab customers to keep their businesses safe and clean for the economic reopening. We are playing a key role in creating a more resilient Supply Chain by unleashing our creativity and innovation to rethink processes and develop digital tools adjusted to the post-Covid era.

What do you see as the main opportunities for procurement in the post-Covid world?

The Supply Chain world has turned upside down with Covid by highlighting the importance of risk management. We needed to quickly shift gears to create a more resilient Supply Chain. In this new environment, we must look at "beyond cost" Procurement aspects that would enable stronger supplier partnerships. This is making sure that procurement is impacting value not only on the bottom line but most importantly on the top line.

Where are you able to add the most value to your organisation right now?

Developing and designing resilient processes by empowering our Procurement capabilities: digitalization, artificial intelligence, and big data. Our key driver is to minimize risk and maximize value for the organization through an entrepreneurial mindset, creativity, innovation, and continuous improvement.

What pre-Covid procurement practices do you not want to see return?

Covid makes evident the risk attached to solo cost sourcing decisions. Risk management requires courage and should be a core aspect in product innovation and Sourcing strategies. Data transparency and predictive tools will make the change in those areas.

What do you want to see from your procurement team in 2022 and beyond?

Procurement should have a key role to play in strategic areas for our organization (ambidextrous) such as product innovation, diversity, and sustainability. I foresee that Procurement will be there to design, standardize, and deploy the predictive process and digital tools that will make this possible.