GEP’s partnership with a global life sciences leader aimed to tackle pressing challenges within the organisation’s procurement function, which faced the formidable tasks of enhancing value delivery, optimising third-party costs, improving working capital management and maintaining high service standards in a complex global supply environment. Additionally, the project targeted significant savings in procurement operating costs.

The transformation centred on redesigning the procurement operating model from a fragmented, decentralised to a centralised one; introducing a tri-pillar structure, and leveraging expertise and best practices to cut costs and maximize efficiency.

The project’s uniqueness was in its innovative structure and partnership approach, fostering a high level of collaboration and shared goals between GEP and the client. The solution was a combination of strategic consulting and large-scale managed services.

The outcome was transformative for the life sciences company. It established a centralised procurement model that harnessed its global buying power to achieve substantial cost optimisation, resulting in forecasted savings of nearly €500M across all business units. Notable achievements included improved supply security, consolidation of suppliers, enhanced cash position through payment term optimisation, transparency gains, significant automation enhancements and substantial improvements in sustainability.

GEP’s commitment to customer satisfaction was evident through high scores, and the project not only met but exceeded its goal of reducing procurement operating costs while delivering outstanding service to the business. This partnership exemplified a successful collaboration that redefined procurement operations and delivered immense value, making it a benchmark for similar projects in the industry.