“What I love most about procurement is the negotiation phase. I love meeting the challenge of creating a sustainable and value for money outcome…”
Get to know Justin Sara, Director for South Australia and our Public Sector Lead
What project has been the most rewarding to work on at ArcBlue?
It would be the Bid Advisory project we completed for an ICT supplier. Fantastic local family run business that was looking to supply to a major Government client and after a detailed procurement process, they were successful and thrilled with the support we provided.
How do you spend most of your days?
My days are highly mobile, sometimes working at four or five different client locations on the same day. I enjoy being out and about interacting with different procurement teams here in South Australia.
What are you working on at the moment?
We have just finished a series of Procurement Frameworks for a range of Government clients. I am also working with our Project Contracting resources who are working on-site with clients delivering a range of procurement projects. I am also gearing up to deliver category management training for a resource company in Perth in the next few weeks. I am also working on several Probity Advisor projects. No two months are the same so there is always an interesting problem to solve for our ArcBlue clients.
What trends do you see in your work?
Capability, finding capable resources and developing capability within procurement teams are topical right now. I also see the growth in the use of technology and a focus on supply chain resilience (post COVID-19) as key areas of focus for many procurement leaders and teams.
What do you love best about procurement?
Negotiation – the challenge of creating a sustainable and value for money outcome.
What is the one thing you wish everyone would understand about procurement?
What it is! It still surprises me the lack of awareness about what procurement is and more importantly, the value it can deliver.
What are you currently trying to upskill in?
I am spending more time on where procurement technology is headed and the role that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play in automating the classification of spend data.
What’s the reason you love to work at ArcBlue?
I really enjoy the opportunity to deliver advisory projects – working collaboratively with clients to solve problems and realise new opportunities.
What’s something not many people know about you?
I started my working career in Defence as a Commissioned Officer within the Royal Australian Air Force.
Want to know more? Reach out to Justin
Keep Reading!
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Procurement’s Vital Role in Shaping the Energy Transition
For the longest time in Australia, Energy has been a story of state or natural monopolies, regulated tariffs and minimal choice. The fundamental of the energy transition is now being turned on its head. ArcBlue spoke with ecogeneration magazine about how procurement and supply chain is key to overcoming these challenges.
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TOP 10: Tips for Successful Procurement Transformations
Successful procurement transformation programs are pivotal for organisations aiming to optimise costs, enhance efficiency, and drive innovation. However, that success relies on strategic planning and effective execution, the use of data and digital technologies, and adaptability to evolving market dynamics. Read our top 10 tips to help you navigate the intricate landscape of procurement transformation and ensure success.
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ArcBlue Hong Kong in Top 10 Business Consulting Companies by CEO Insights Asia
ArcBlue Hong Kong Director, Keith Gauntlett, was recognised in CEO Insights Asia’s Top 10 Business Consulting Companies in Hong Kong for 2024. Read Keith's interview on 'Navigating industries & driving transformative impact through strategic excellence'.
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Building Inclusive Economies through Social Procurement
Inclusive workplaces are not just a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage for businesses and has broader positive impact on economic growth. Embracing inclusivity within teams fosters a diversity of perspectives, innovative solutions, and a breadth of thinking that can drive organizational success. This article explains the importance of Inclusive Employment principles within social procurement, and guidance on how to being to be more inclusive in your organisation.
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Resilience as a Competitive Advantage: The role of Finance in Supply Chain Management
CFOs and Finance Leaders play a vital role in ensuring resilience across the entire company. In today’s dynamic and unpredictable business environment, supply chain resilience is essential for navigating disruptions ranging from inflation and geopolitical tensions to natural resource shortages and technological advancements. This whitepaper explores the role of Finance in supply chain resilience.
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Asia CPO Insights: Procurement Maturity Report 2024
ArcBlue surveyed Chief Procurement Officers across Asia to understand how they perceive the maturity, strengths and weaknesses of their procurement operating model. We have now released the Asia CPO Insights: Procurement Maturity Report 2024, which details the survey results and provides readers with an understanding of the self-perceived maturity of procurement functions across Asia.
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The Critical Role of Social Procurement to deliver our renewable projects pipeline
Establishing and maintaining ‘social licence’ is critical for Australia’s ability to deliver our massive renewable energy project pipeline. Chris Newman spoke with Ecogeneration Magazine on how to achieve social licence in regional communities and the importance of social procurement.
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Empowering Tomorrow’s Procurement – 7 Trends to Prepare for in 2024
In 2024 we're experiencing a shifting procurement landscape marked by complex challenges calling for strategic adaptation. In this report, we address 7 key trends to watch in 2024 with advice and tips from the experts on how organisations and procurement teams can prepare themselves to take action.
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Supporting economic transition through collaborative, place-based social procurement
This whitepaper discusses how a collaborative, place-based program such as GROW supports social procurement when supported through buy-in from Contract Managers. A systematic approach is described for relationships where Contract Managers have opportunities to work with GROW.
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Beating inflation against the odds: How procurement can win in a downturn
This whitepaper explores how inflation is impacting supply chains, steps that organisations can take to generate procurement savings, a design-to-cost approach, when (and how) to consider supplier price increases, strategies to manage the talent shortage and the road to transformation.
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Top 10 things that have changed in 10 Years
As ArcBlue celebrates it’s 10 Year anniversary operating across Asia Pacific in 2023, we took some time to reflect on the changes we’ve seen to the procurement function over the last decade. From our beginnings with a small team in Melbourne to now with offices across Asia Pacific, so much has changed for ArcBlue, in procurement & supply chain and the world as we know it!
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Making the Business Case for Supplier Diversity
Supplier diversity’s potential social and economic impact is far-reaching and increased spending on diverse suppliers can generate life-changing access and possibilities for people within underrepresented groups. This whitepaper encourages organisations to take an ambitious approach to supplier diversity to maximise meaningful change.
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The value of listening to your suppliers: Maximising supply chain resilience and managing risk
Effective SRM can enhance supply chain resilience and improve the organisation’s ability to respond to unexpected events. Our whitepaper explores how conducting a “voice of the suppliers” (VOS) online survey is a key step to set up or improve on an organisation’s SRM programme.
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Building Resilient Procurement Teams: the skills needed to shape the future
This whitepaper explores the demand for talent, the appeal of a career in procurement, and the responsibility for organisations to build the right blend of capabilities and skills required to succeed in our changing and often volatile procurement landscape.
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10 Traps and Tips: Digital Procurement Implementation
~70% of digital transformations fail because of a focus on technology and not on the needs of the organisation and people. In order to successfully implement digital procurement technology, businesses need to focus on the people and processes involved in such a transformation. Technology Implementation lead, Kerrie Anson offers her Top 10 Traps & Tips for Digital Procurement Implementation.
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10 Traps & Tips – Challenges Organisations Face When Implementing Sustainable Procurement
Increasing regulatory requirements around issues such as modern slavery and carbon emissions mean that companies can no longer afford to ignore what is happening in their supply chains. Chris Hampden offers his Top 10 Traps & Tips of the biggest challenges organisations face and what to do to address them.
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Are win-win negotiations really possible?
Procurement teams with highly developed negotiation skills deliver savings and improvements in efficiency and value. Managing Director Dan Fielding explores the concept of 'win-win'.
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The Case For Sustainable Procurement: Generating value for people, planet and the bottom line
Read our whitepaper, produced in partnership with Supply Management Insider: The Case For Sustainable Procurement: generating value for people, planet and the bottom line - the risks, opportunities and challenges relating to sustainability, and why a collaborative supply chain is vital for the future.
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Understanding Social Procurement
Many organisations have implemented social statements into their vision & values and are asking procurement to align the sourcing process to meet the organisation’s objectives.
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Spotlight on Modern Slavery
More than 40 million people worldwide are subject to modern slavery including 25 million victims hidden within global supply chains. Therefore, it is vital that businesses understand modern slavery risks and their procurers take action to combat this within their supply chains.
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Top 10 Traps & Tips: Why Infrastructure Projects Fail
Time delays and millions of dollars can be wasted on infrastructure projects due to poor project planning, management and delivery practices. Read our Top 10 Traps & Tips for why Infrastructure projects fail.
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How can procurement support Australia’s growing infrastructure needs?
In this article we explore 3 key ways to rethink procurement in order to help deliver Australia’s growing infrastructure needs.
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International Development Procurement: The Need for a Strategic Approach
Why is strategic procurement so important for International Development? Chris Gunn explores the current dynamics in this space.
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Emerging Hiring Trends in the Singapore Market
The COVID-19 'Circuit Breaker' in Singapore started in April 2020 and last for almost two months before it was lifted on 1st June. Here are our observations on the trends in the Singapore job market post the circuit breaker period...
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The Cost of Time
Do you know what the cost of running out of time is for your procurement projects? Justin Sara & Fiona Nissen explain the cost of time in this article, and offer tips to avoiding the last minute procurement crunch.
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Have you been swimming naked?
Times are unprecedented these last few months, especially for procurement and supply chain teams. Some organisations are coping better than others to ride the storm. What lessons can be learned?
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How resilient is your supply chain to the COVID-19 crisis?
In this article, we share our Supply Chain Risk, Resilience and Recovery (Supply Chain RRR) roadmap to help guide procurement functions and supply chains through this catastrophic event.
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Top 10: Tips for Preparing Modern Slavery Act Statements
The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 came into force in Australia in 2019 to help organisations combat the serious issues relating to the 40 million victims of modern slavery around the world.
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Top 10: Tips for Successful Procurement Digitalisation
Organisations are embarking on procurement digitalisation journeys to take processes and data online, providing their stakeholders with interactive tools and reports to support buying activities.
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Top 10: Tips for Unlocking The Power Of Your Procurement Data
For great procurement outcomes, organisations need to understand large volumes of spend, financial & operational data. Read our Top 10 tips for unlocking the power of your procurement data.
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Top 10: Questions to Ask When Developing A Category Strategy
Many organisations struggle to develop effective category strategies. Dan Fielding asks these 10 questions to help you ensure your strategy is robust, thorough and positioned for success.
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Top 10: Tips for building procurement capability
Procurement leaders are increasingly asked to deliver more. Executive Manager Jacqui Priestly explains how you can develop your team's capability drive better procurement performance and achieve more.
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Top 10: Tips for Negotiating the Best Possible Deal with your Suppliers
Negotiation is a crucial skill for procurement professionals, and one that can be developed. Managing Director Dan Fielding offers his Top 10 tips for negotiating the best possible deals.
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The Secret to Successful Change Strategies
Between 60% – 70% of change initiatives are reported to fail. Senior Consultant Kerrie Anson discusses how to develop a effective change management strategy and how to measure success.
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Successful Procurement Solution Implementation
Many organisations struggle when it comes to initiating and implementing IT change. Read how you can develop an effective change strategy when implementing procurement tech solutions.
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New Opportunities from the Waste Crisis
There is a waste crisis in Australia at the moment. This article explores what is happening, how you may be able to help, and insight into the potential for the country to benefit from the crisis.
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Compete with competitors, not suppliers
Effective supplier relationship management can enhance supply chain resilience and improve an organisation’s ability to respond to unexpected events. Organisations can benefit from working with their suppliers – rather than viewing them as the competition.
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Create Opportunities with Social Procurement
The definition of "value" in New Zealand has now been extended to include social and sustainable outcomes. Managing Consultant Fiona Nissen discusses how organisations can become social procurement ready.
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Drive business benefits with analytics
We live in a data driven world, to the point where data-based decision making is now mainstream. Read how understanding how your business spends money using analytics can drive business change.
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Enabling positive outcomes in council
Managing Consultant Fiona Nissen explains why having a robust procurement strategy that is aligned to your business strategy is key in enabling your council to deliver high quality community services.
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Top 10: Reasons we love working in Procurement
If you are new to procurement or are looking to begin a career in this field, rest assured, you are stepping into a great profession! Read the ArcBlue Top 10 series list of the top reasons why we love working in procurement.
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Top 10: Questions to Ask When Choosing A New eProcurement System
Often buyers don’t know where to start, there are myriad systems available and IT is not a common purchase for most. Read these tips to help you choose the right eProcurement system.
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Procurement, the game is changing
Managing Director Dan Fielding explores how procurement needs to change to adapt to a new business environment. Do we need to shift the thinking about the way procurement is operating?
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Changing the world one purchase at a time
Managing Director Chris Newman provides background and insight into the fast-emerging field of Social Procurement and outlines ways in which it can be implemented across organisations.
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Top 10: Tips for Effective Procurement Leadership
Leadership in procurement is something we can all aspire to and practice at every level of a procurement function. This article offers our Top 10 tips for developing your leadership skills to optimise productivity.
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What is your blockchain strategy?
"Blockchain is a really interesting technical solution in search of a problem to solve." Senior Consultant Emerson Boyle explores if Procurement leaders need to have a blockchain strategy.
