Craig White joined the EBIT Team as a Procurement Operations Partner, bringing with him a wealth of experience across indirect procurement and a broad industry base.
Having most recently worked within manufacturing as a Head of Procurement, Craig has a wealth of knowledge and practical experience that he is bringing to bear for EBIT’s clients, driving process improvements and delivering savings across a range of indirect categories and projects
What does your role encompass?
C: My role is to support our clients strategically with all their procurement needs including spend analysis and cost savings, risk and supplier management, contract review/management and process efficiencies
What do you enjoy most about working at Ebit?
C: Since joining the business there has been a real variety of projects to get involved in with a number of clients, both large and small. I’ve really enjoyed working with those clients, drawing out where we can add value to their operation and then delivering these projects.
What does your average workday look like?
C: I’m working currently with a financial services client and EBIT are fully embedded into their procurement team so an average day for me is supporting their sourcing activities to add value and reviewing their ways of working to improve business performance. I’m working with their team and EBIT’s support network, analysing their supplier base and spend profile to identify saving opportunities.
What would your advice be to someone who is considering procurement as a career?
C: Most of the procurement professionals I talk to have “fallen into” procurement by chance. The same is true for myself when I started my career.
I would advocate for anyone to consider procurement as a career if you are driven to make change and enjoy working with all levels and departments across an organisation. A desire to add value has to be a non-negotiable in skill set and personality.
What is something people in procurement have to deal with that you want to help fix?
C: There are many challenges faced by procurement, one key challenge traditionally related to indirect spend is control and visibility. One thing I’ve seen many times are businesses with little to control of indirect spend and a real lack of data and reporting to help make informed decisions. This challenge can be addressed but needs direct attention and resource.
Do you have a favourite book / podcast? Why is it your favourite?
C: I really got into Mo Gawdat’s podcast “Slo Mo” which really gets me challenging my thought processes. For something a little lighter I often listen to “Wolf & Owl” with Romesh Ranganathan and Tom David.
When you are not at work what do you enjoy doing?
C: I love my sports and getting out in the countryside. So non-work time for me is either playing cricket or taking the dog for long walks in the countryside. I have a Patterdale Terrier who is always on the go….never a dull moment with her!
