Procurement – Page 10
-
Suppliers & SCM
VPC’s Schultz sets cat managers among procurement pigeons
Manifesto that value chain orchestration is the new procurement norm ruffles some feathers. VPC Chairman upgrades procurement to ‘primary provider of business insight and foresight’.
-
Strategy & Change
BT seeks to electrify procurement with Faraday subsidiary
Managers for strategic procurement categories being recruited, including network, connectivity, and marketing. Data science remains prominent. New subsidiary’s standalone status emphasised, evidencing detachment and perhaps also ambition.
-
-
Network & Infrastructure
Safaricom puts 5G on ice
Kenyan operator plans to focus on building its 4G business for now. Safaricom’s previous reliance on Huawei comes under spotlight amid ongoing US trade talks.
-
Innovation (R&D)
BT’s Pelipod stashes smart-locker growth
2016 logistics acquisition reports strong top-line increase but remains loss-making. Investment continuing to focus on development of its IoT-enabled boxes. Report follows mid-2020 takeover by BT’s Procurement department.
-
Vendor Voice
Nutanix: Silicon Valley oblivious to emerging telco renaissance
Nutanix’s Tarkan Maner discusses with Vodafonewatch his take on the evolution of the cloud services sector, and the way in which digital transformation efforts demand a fundamental re-think of the misbalanced relationship between telecoms and technology players. Sector veteran Maner predicts telco fightback in the hyperscaler blind spot of ...
-
Premium
Spend: Della Valle dials it up on COVID cost-cutting
CFO flags acceleration of savings push during H1, and possibility of a further expansion of ambitions for the post-COVID era. Planned developments at Vodafone Procurement Company briefly mooted. Stark Retail and Shared Services cutbacks detailed.
-
Premium
Vodafone people moves: Group SCM “succession planning” underway
Tolga Tomruk takes SCM Networks Director role, leading relationships with established equipment vendors and the ‘open’ challenger set. Safaricom follows up consumer-centric shift with new CTIO. VodafoneZiggo taps rival KPN for mobile networks lead. Musical chairs on Vodacom Group’s Board of Directors.
-
Network & Infrastructure
UK plots 5G future sans Huawei
BT suggests Adastral Park would be a natural home for parts of the proposed National Telecoms Lab.
-
Suppliers & SCM
BT seeks instant purchasing power with Suplari
Procurement function seeking “relevance” by addressing “huge legacy” of aging IT, and reliance on Excel. Calculating spend with individual suppliers was long-winded. Quick-fire info seen as increasingly important amid COVID-19 and Brexit disruption.
-
Network & Infrastructure
Vodafone hits open RAN trail in rural Ireland
Modest rollout of 30 sites planned initially, supporting 4G. Supplier partners include Comba Telecom, HP, Parallel Wireless, Supermicro, and VMware. Operator keen to include automation vendors in the open RAN ecosystem.
-
People
Deutsche Telekom moves: Pekovic takes Romania top spot; Affirmed’s Ahmed joins DTCP
Vladan Pekovic named Telekom Romania CEO in wake of OTE exit. Affirmed Networks’ Hassan Ahmed takes DTCP advisory role. DT Europe CEO Dominique Leroy moves into another NatCo Board seat, this time in Greece.
-
Venturing & Investments
Seed investment planted in BT procurement partner Paid
Multi-source investment boosts fintech solutions provider. Clear upward trajectory since its infancy, as Group CPO waxes lyrical about Paid solutions, amid recent macroeconomic turmoil.
-
Suppliers & SCM
BT procurement relocating to Dublin
Group CPO Pourrat energising procurement transformation with a new standalone business. Move to Dublin officially linked to city’s Big Tech hub, but Brexit bridge may also prove useful. White-collar union Prospect “dismayed” by the plans.
-
Venturing & Investments
Tomorrow Street opens door to Block Gemini
Vodafone Procurement Company hoping to reap rewards after Block Gemini’s incubation and initial pilot. Third startup added to the innovation hot-house in just over a month, joining Quantexa and GeoSpock.
-
Suppliers & SCM
Vodafone Supplier Awards 2020: winners
VPC dished out eight awards in its first digital edition. Accenture the standout: ‘Supplier of the Year’ and outstanding technology performance recognised.
-
Suppliers & SCM
Deutsche Telekom to harness machine learning-based buying
DT’s finance and human resources shared services unit builds process mining expertise with Celonis. By 2025, DTSE aims to have machine learning-based recommendations for “Procure-to-Pay” process.
-
Financial & Performance
BT cash to take a hit on Brexit and Huexit stockpiling
An improved earnings forecast at BT is not expected to generate more cash as the operator buys up Huawei gear ahead of the 5G ban. Ericsson highlights its own efforts to ensure it can meet BT’s needs in uncertain times ahead.
-
Venturing & Investments
GeoSpock takes up residence in Vodafone’s Tomorrow Street
Luxembourg venture makes second addition in a month, with one more expected to follow.
-
People
BuyIn’s Pyrtek heads into consulting
Joint venture’s former CEO moves on quickly and secures advisory roles at Oliver Wyman and INKEF. Procurement know-how leveraged alongside telco experience.