CASE STUDY

Agile Procurement in the Aviation Sector

A leading airline in Asia was experiencing rapid digital transformation, which led to a significant increase in IT-related purchases.

Their procurement department was facing resource constraints, resulting in extended sourcing lead times.

To address this, the organisation sought a more agile, business unit-led sourcing approach that would reduce delays and allow the procurement team to focus on strategic activities.

ArcBlue partnered with the client to standardise and streamline their strategic sourcing processes. The engagement began with the development of a simplified “lean sourcing” model applicable across all procurement categories. For the IT category specifically, ArcBlue introduced a tiered sourcing approach based on a predefined threshold, enabling the IT business unit to lead sourcing below this value.

Three distinct sourcing pathways were designed for the IT BU, each tailored to different monetary thresholds. These pathways prioritised speed and agility while maintaining governance and risk controls. To support this shift, ArcBlue developed a comprehensive suite of resources including a Source-to-Contract (S2C) handbook, tools, templates, and training materials.

Following the design phase, ArcBlue led a six-week pilot preparation and a three-month pilot rollout, working closely with the IT BU to drive change, build capability, and ensure successful implementation.

Challenges

The client’s procurement team was stretched thin, struggling to keep up with the volume of IT-related sourcing requests. Traditional processes were too slow and resource-intensive for the fast-paced demands of digital procurement. The challenge was to create a model that empowered the IT BU to take ownership of lower-value sourcing while ensuring that commercial risk and governance were not compromised.

Another key challenge was change management—ensuring that IT personnel were equipped and confident to lead sourcing activities. This required not only process redesign but also cultural and capability shifts within the organisation.

Results

ArcBlue’s engagement delivered measurable improvements:

Strategic sourcing processes were consolidated from 29 separate workflows into a single standardised process across all direct and indirect categories.
Five tiered sourcing pathways were designed to balance speed and value across various monetary thresholds within indirect categories.
A comprehensive end-to-end S2C procurement handbook was developed, including processes, RACI matrices, governance frameworks, templates, key deliverables, and activity steps.

Related Services

Performance Improvement

Sourcing Projects

Supply Chain Optimisation

Related Industries

Aviation & Airlines

Insights

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Procurement, the game is changing

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