Episode show notes
“As a consultant I had direct access to the chief executive. As a secondee, to go anywhere near the chief executive wasn’t going to happen.”
The procurement consultancy world has its draws, from intense and varied experiences to, at times, greater access within the business.
That said, Daniel Abda has worked on both consultancy and in-house teams, currently with Efficio and previously leading an Asset Management programme for the London Olympic Games.
This week on Talent Talks, Daniel takes us through the distinctions between consultancy and in-house, how to handle intense & strict external deadlines, and whether AI could have procurement functions cutting jobs to make new savings…
This episode of Talent Talks covers:
- Daniel’s work on the procurement organisation strategy for the London 2012 Olympic Games
- How to respond to being given unrealistic targets
- Consultancy procurement experience, and how it stacks up against being part of an in-house team
- Managing rising energy costs and sustainability goals
- AI tools, and whether it could cut jobs in the industry
This episode of Talent Talks is sponsored by 4C Associates – a leading European procurement and supply chain consultancy, who work collaboratively with forward-thinking clients to deliver real business value across a wide range of transformation and cost optimisation service offerings. Visit https://www.4cassociates.com/ for more information.
Episode highlights
“They hired Jerry Bosch as the Chief Procurement Officer. He turned around and he said, ‘Daniel, you seem to be enjoying this. You seem to be good at this. Would you stay on, and take on the remit of sourcing the technology for the Olympic Games?’” – 4:35 – Daniel Abda
“What was really difficult was not only were we given numbers, but we were told that this is when they were going to be delivered on a month by month basis. We said maybe we can deliver these numbers, but not necessarily on those exact dates that you predicted. You can imagine the friction.” – 9:55 – Daniel Abda
“I think that what makes a successful leader is selling.” – 19:00 – Daniel Abda
“As a consultant I had direct access to the chief executive. That was on a Friday, on a Monday I came in as a secondee. To go anywhere near the chief executive, that wasn’t going to happen.” – 27:10 – Daniel Abda
“There’s only so much you can get the price of the commodity down. Where the real saving is, is first of all to bring your consumption down, and also trying to self-generate, so that you’re not reliant on a grid.” – 33:20 – Daniel Abda
“If you’ve got to the point where you’ve got a stable supply chain, your savings are in hand, and there’s no big savings, is the obvious cost opportunity to get rid of the people?” – 40:10 – Daniel Abda
Links & references
Daniel Abda, Procurement Consultant with Efficio – https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-abda/
Efficio – https://www.linkedin.com/company/efficio/
Martin Smith, Founder & Director of Talent Drive – https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinsmith2009/
