Collaboration Delivers Innovation … And Savings
By: Tim Cummins, IACCM
It’s almost 3 years since McGraw Hill embarked on an environmental program …. and now, the results are really visible. So when Director of Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management, Kevin Giblin, saw the chance to compete in the ProcureCon/IACCM ‘Collaborate to Innovate’ Awards , he jumped at it! His decision was a good one, because McGraw Hill emerged as this year’s winner in the category ‘Best External Collaboration’. “There’s lots of talk about collaboration,” explains Kevin. “This was an opportunity to show we don’t just talk, we have taken action and are really getting something from it. I wanted to share our excitement.” | |
The McGraw Hill project was designed to help promote sustainable, measureable value to the organization, suppliers, and shareholders, through a collaborative sustainability program. Supplier goals were outlined for Diversity, Environment, Health and Safety, Ethics, Corporate Citizenship, Sustainability, and Financial Responsibility. And three years on, there is an impressive list of achievements, which include:
- diversity spend increased by 44% from 2009 to 2010
- a full line of green office products
- 17% of all office supplies purchases are now recycled products
- converted over 50% of company vehicles to alternative fuel
- reduced carbon footprint by 16%
- achieved over $1m in accumulated savings
Kevin acknowledges that his team’s efforts have been helped by the strong Corporate focus on collaboration (which has itself resulted in McGraw Hill steadily climbing the ranks of the Newsweek ‘Top 500 Green Companies’ to reach number 39 in 2010) and the extent to which this has allowed Sourcing and Procurement to ‘challenge the status-quo’. He is proud of the function’s reputation as the place to go when you want ‘thoughtful solutions, people who will help you understand needs and define the best way to achieve results’. “We don’t buy anything,” he observed, “We help rationalize needs and deliver the best solution for them.”
A select group of key suppliers quickly engaged in the sustainability program , which involved supplier summits, new goals, online scorecards, formal recognition and the sharing of ideas across all participants. Companies that include Canon, ARI, Staples, Display Works and Kelly Services were among those that spearheaded the effort. Kevin comments that it is important to engage suppliers with a similar philosophy or culture – and ensure that Procurement behavior is then consistent with those values. “We wanted to be seen as an organization that was not just dedicated to saving money. After a while, how much more can you save without compromising quality or value? We wanted to be viewed as key to corporate responsibility, sustainability and the public perception of our company.”
Kevin has no doubt that collaboration and innovation go hand-in-hand and that they are fundamental attributes for the future of Procurement. “The function will look entirely different from the way it does today – it will no longer be about buying, but will increasingly be about challenging the status quo, delivering shareholder value and helping instill change.”
It’s an exciting vision – and this award clearly shows that McGraw Hill is on the journey to success!