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We speak exclusively to Kathy Golding, Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited, to see how a range of transformative initiatives have evolved the functions at the Big Four organization, in a bid to benefit its operational excellence, its people experience, and the wider global community.
Procurement’s evolution into becoming a true strategic, business enabler requires a function that is both intelligent and technologically agile, and which can seamlessly align itself with the overarching aims of the enterprise. Of course, the larger the enterprise, the more essential it is that procurement smoothly embeds itself at the heart of a company’s operations, so it can adapt to growth and change during a time of unprecedented change.
The global EY organization has over 350,000 employees across many countries, providing consultancy, assurance, tax and transactional services that “help solve EY clients’ toughest challenges and build a better working world for all.”
Kathy Golding is the Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services Leader at EY Global Services Limited and has been with the company for over 10 years, having spent her entire EY career in Supply Chain Services.
Working under the guidance and leadership of Larry Phelan, Chief Supply Chain Officer at EY Global Services Limited and recognized by Procurement Magazine at no. 7 in the Top 100 Leaders in Procurement 2022, Golding helps manage the procurement and supplier relationship management of the Talent, Technology, and Brand, Marketing & Communications (BMC) categories across EY Global, with approximately US$5 billion annual spend. Golding is a highly experienced force at EY, and we were delighted to meet her at the company’s Canary Wharf office to discuss how procurement is evolving at one of the biggest enterprises on earth.
Change is good
There have been major changes to the procurement function at EY as it seeks to establish synergy between itself, supply chain and the business. A recent reconfiguration this July saw Procurement & Supplier Ecosystem Services brought together as one team, under EY Supply Chain Services for a complete, broad lifecycle with a tangible focus on the power of people. “Previous to our organizational transformation, Technology Sourcing, Talent Procurement, BMC Procurement and Supplier Ecosystem Services, which is the supply relationship management focus of the EY organization, operated under different pillars,” Golding explains. “And by bringing these different teams together as one in July, we’ve been able to consolidate and optimize the opportunities with a broad lens. From the point that a sourcing request is raised, or a procurement project is completed, right through to the management of the supplier contract and throughout its lifecycle.”
Golding reveals that for procurement to be considered a truly strategic partner going forward, EY had to look at how to advance operational excellence and find additional synergies. “By bringing the teams together, we have been able to find opportunities to consolidate and rationalize suppliers, build faster buying channels including preferred supplier programs, and not just stop at the point where we say, ‘OK, we’ve signed a contract and our role is complete’. Instead, we can allow the Supplier Ecosystem Services team to bring in the supplier innovation, D&I, resilience and to hold our suppliers accountable for performance and services through the contract lifecycle.”
