Dr. Marcell Vollmer Partner and Director at BCG works as an advisor to executives on the full range of digital transformation and new business models in procurement, supply chain, and operations globally.
Marcell has also previously help positions of Chief Innovation Officer for Celonis, as well as worked for many years with SAP, most notably as Chief Digital Officer and COO of SAP Ariba.
Listen to the full discussion here:
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Connect with the Guest:
Dr. Marcell Vollmer: LinkedIn
Some of the highlights from the podcast:
- Key elements to successful career transitions: DHL to SAP to start up world to BCG
- Implementing risk monitoring tools
- Companies adopting sustainability pledges
- What keeps CPOs and Chief Supply Chain Officers awake at night
- Procurement as a talent pool
Show notes:
- [00:56] Let’s start by telling us a little bit about yourself. You’ve had an incredible career from many perspectives. You started in DHL, then you went to the consulting world. Then you went to SAP for many years and now you’re with BCG. Maybe tell us a little bit about that.
- [01:59] It was 2011 when I really tapped into procurement. And I have to say, it was not really my career plan, but I got totally excited about procurement it is such an amazing function.
- [03:08] The reason why I got promoted as Chief Procurement Officer is to restructure the procurement function, set up a global management system, implement an end-to-end post to pay process, focus on stakeholder needs, and primarily also select the right IT systems.
- [04:42] What are some of the key elements that you think make such career transitions successful in your experience?
- [06:33] The agility and willingness to new opportunities might be something that works out very well in thinking about also how you can open new horizons and develop yourself.
- [06:45] As an advisor, when you deal with CEOs or Chief Procurement Officers, what are their main problems and challenges today?
- [10:34] What are some of the things that procurement leaders and supply chain leaders need to be thinking about to balance?
- [14:06] In terms of visibility and traceability, do you have some case studies of companies that did well and what did they do, and maybe what were some of the challenges you observed in this process?
- [18:13] Implementing risk monitoring tools is something that helps to make your supply chain more resilient and allows you to define the right risk mitigation strategies for whatever your businesses are in.
- [19:50] Do you see more companies also adapting to this kind of sustainability pledges? Or do you think that COVID-19 kind of put it on the back burner?
- [23:21] It is very important that you have end-to-end transparency about the supply chain every single step, and that you can also factor in and build in sustainability objectives for your own company.
- [23:36] What type of skills does the industry and where do you see the gaps also coming up in the next three to five years?
- [28:01] I think procurement could be a brilliant talent pool for people getting a great education and understanding the company. So think about procurement as a career opportunity.
- [30:03] What are the available tools that you know of that could minimize the impact of sudden changes because this can happen a lot?
- [31:54] Where do you see procurement going in the next three to five years? What’re some of the major shifts that you foresee?
- [34:21] I think innovation, risk management, sustainability, and a resilient supply chain will lead to the success of the future of procurement function. It will be a very impactful value-generating function in the future, leveraging and benefiting from all the automation and technologies.
Quote from the Episode:
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