Meet Chris Gunn – International Public Sector Expert!

What project has been the most fun / the meatiest to work on at ArcBlue?

One of the most interesting projects I’ve worked on at ArcBlue has been supporting the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the development and roll-out of its procurement reform program. We had a team of consultants based in the ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines, helping ADB to shift from a “lowest price” approach to project procurement, to a strategic “value for money” approach.

The engagement then moved into change-management-mode, with our team developing and then implementing a change management strategy for the roll-out of the reform.

Working so closely with team members from Australia, Singapore and the UK on a high-intensity project overseas forged a bond between us that continues today!

How do you spend most of your days?

My day is divided between hands-on delivery work, managing consulting teams, client management and business development.

I enjoy the interaction with other consultants and with clients, but I also find satisfaction in getting down into the detail and delivering quality products.

What are you working on at the moment?

I have several projects on the go at the moment, mostly with different government agencies, and a project for ADB.

The projects range from procurement strategy development, through the development of tender documentation, to contract management and development of a category management framework.

For ADB, I’m conducting risk assessments of public procurement systems in three countries in the Pacific Islands. It’s interesting to see the different levels of procurement capacity in these countries and challenging to identify reforms that are both implementable and that will bring real sustainable change.

What trends do you see in your work?

A trend I see is the increasing role of stand-alone technologies in procurement. In the “old days” if a technology was not incorporated into the ERP, it was disallowed. These days, lots of useful plug-and-play tools are available for procurement professionals to leverage that can turn ERP and other data into valuable information.

What’s the one thing you wish everyone would understand about procurement?

That strategic procurement is business improvement by another name.

Early in my career, I was fortunate to have roles with some global corporates in strategic sourcing and in business improvement. The skills used in process improvement apply equally to strategic procurement, because strategic procurement (when done most effectively) is business improvement applied to the supply side.

What are you currently trying to upskill in?

I’m currently undertaking a course looking at responses to project complexity.

Some large projects can be viewed as “complex adaptive systems” where all the elements within and outside project boundaries act on each other causing the “system” (that is, the project) to behave in unpredictable ways. The course provides insights and tools that can help manage complex projects that may not respond to traditional project management methodologies.

What’s the reason you love to work at ArcBlue?

I love the culture at ArcBlue. It is informal, collaborative, and supportive, but at the same time the standards of professionalism and quality are extremely high, and delivery is valued.