Procurement efficiency built on shared values procurement 

This article was featured in the official IMPA publication - Supply Chain and Sustainability Magazine, Issue 1 2024

Smarter, more strategic and with a big emphasis on sustainability: Joanne McCulloch, Global Head of Fleet Procurement & Logistics at V.Group, discusses procurement priorities for 2024 – and why data is key to it all. Felicity Landon reports.

Have a conversation with Joanne McCulloch at V.Group, and three core themes emerge. First, nothing ever stands still. Second, we can always improve. Third, listen to the experts.

“Part of V.Group’s strength is that we have areas of expertise, and these experts are vital – we must make sure that we are sharing information up and down at the right times and delivering it in a way that makes it accessible for everyone,” she says. “We are not expecting one superintendent or one procurement officer to know everything. They have access to resources who can support as well as listen – information-sharing must be a two-way street.”

V.Group has a ‘speak-up’ culture that includes the supply chain business, she says. “If there are concerns around a particular supplier, for example – if things are unsafely packed, there are service or compliance concerns or there is a perceived inferior quality of product or lack of professionalism – we have given our people the ability to raise these concerns. In other words, it is not just about whether the products are delivered and the invoice matches. It is about making sure we have a quality product that is fit for purpose, from suppliers who share our principles.”

Recent years have seen significant adjustments in supply chain compliance, she notes. “Across the group, there is a huge focus on sustainability and ESG. We have intensified our focus on modern slavery, sanctions, due diligence and digital security – and are working to ensure that our suppliers align with our values. Acting as ship managers, not only do we have our own reputation to consider, but we are also representing our clients, so we must protect their reputation too.”

V.Group has also focused on flexibility and rapid response. With new legislation or changes to how ship management must operate or work with clients, it is vital to be able to pivot quickly to support that, says Joanne. “My job is to make sure everyone in the procurement process has access to the necessary information and solutions, and understands why things are changing and what’s expected of them to deliver against the overall company strategy.”

A key strategic change, she says, is stepping away from individual transactions to leverage V.Group’s volumes much more. “Every vessel is its own client, so that is challenging. We need to harness technology and take a holistic view of spend data to identify the synergies so we can utilise this benefit for the clients.”

Marcas, V.Group’s in-house and third-party maritime supply chain solution, is central to this mission, helping the procurement team to access products and solutions. “We must consider what and where we buy and how we transport and deliver. Costs continue to increase – to make savings, we must make fundamental changes to the process. Taking such steps on a vessel-by-vessel basis makes a small difference. The focus must be on introducing concepts across fleets by vessel type, trading pattern, etc. – a clear strategic approach to fleet consolidation – using 
data to identify opportunities to achieve results.”

Beyond the day-to-day transactions, all of this helps V.Group to be much smarter in its supply chain, and that’s definitely a focus for 2024, says Joanne. “It’s impossible without data. We have made improvements to our system to access data, and our logistics partners have also taken leaps and bounds with their own data systems. It is a combination of being able to track the vessel via satellite and understand trading patterns for the past year, pinpointing what we and our partners have done, to build a picture: products we bought in the past, who we bought from, pricing, where they were picked up and delivered, and so on. We are also very conscious that however you slice it, the analysis is only as good as the data you put in. We are introducing new controls around data entry and being very careful about what data we use.”

V.Group’s ShipSure digital platform, an operational system across all functions in ship management, onshore and shipside, has been central to collecting and sharing data for more than 15 years. Currently ShipSure 2.0, the platform is continually evolving. When used as intended, says Joanne, it delivers “a single source of truth”.

The global digital evolution adds a new challenge – the expectation of instant results. “Because we have access to everything in a heartbeat today, we must retrain ourselves on what ‘urgent’ means. Marking something ‘urgent’ to get it looked at quickly just adds complexity. Quickly doesn’t mean urgent. Urgent means an emergency, which everyone understands, moving heaven and earth to solve the problem. But if you are going to ask every day for something to be expedited, there must be a clear understanding of the transaction, the consequences and cost implications. It is about managing stakeholders’ expectations.”

Some clients expect to have a delivery in every port, whether urgent or not – and those costs must be managed as effectively as possible. Others plan for three months’ supply and anything else will be the exception or the urgent delivery, says Joanne. “Proper planned delivery of consumables, spares and so on, within an agreed timeframe, allows senior officers onboard to prioritise a particular port call because they know everything will be delivered. Otherwise, they are having to free up hard-pressed crew to take deliveries and unpack them at every port.”

In the sustainability area, V.Group has signed up to IMPA SAVE, focusing on eliminating single-use plastic bottles and other plastics, working with suppliers to reduce packaging and seeking out products that can be recycled as well as having internal sustainability initiatives across the group’s fleets and business units.

Procurement professionals are undoubtedly asking questions that they didn’t ask five years ago, says Joanne. “In vendor management, we no longer just accept a supplier that can do what we need them to do – we also check that they meet our due diligence expectations. Sanctions are a critical part of that, a continually moving and changing field. We work very closely with our legal and compliance teams to make sure everyone at sea and ashore has access to the right information. We have tightened up our vendor management and vetting processes. We have a team and a KYC (Know Your Customer) officer involved when taking on new vendors. We are also addressing our legacy suppliers. Retrospectively, we are vetting them all and that will lead to a reduction in our vendor list, making it easier to manage.”

Joanne joined Acomarit (later part of V.Group) straight from school more than 30 years ago. “When I left school, my counterparts were going into banking, secretarial or nursing. My mother saw an advert in the Glasgow Herald, for an office junior. I had no idea what ship management entailed, but I am forever grateful to have been given the opportunity.”

She rose up through the ranks, with her role expanding from Glasgow-focused to global. “My career has been an evolution, but always supported by great mentors,” she says. “I owe a lot to the people who have supported me – they have been very generous with their time, knowledge and experience.”

Every year, a huge number of people apply for V.Group’s global graduate programme, says Joanne. “In the past, it was mainly engineers and naval architects – but we are broadening this out to consider what maritime is going to look like in the future. Graduates with a background in e-business, procurement, supply chain, insurance or sustainability will help to strengthen the company for the future. Diversity is important; we want to bring in people with different skillsets.”

What lessons would she pass on to new recruits? The ultimate customers are the seafarers, and their health and safety must be paramount, she emphasises. “Toilet paper, soap, a Christmas tree – the difference we can make to someone at sea for months is huge. When the ship sets sail from a port, the food, stores, spares and provisions delivered on board provide personal, practical and functional stability for the seafarers. It helps to bring the process to life if you think that way.”

She adds: “Having the opportunity to travel and be in the same room with people can still make a huge difference, although we now have all the tools to communicate and have access to people wherever they are based. One thing I have learned through my career is how important it is to ask questions and really listen to the answers – take advantage of the opportunity to hear about other people’s experiences. There is so much more to a career in marine procurement than just pressing a button on a laptop. And that’s what people are working for – they want to make a difference.”