Procurement Transformation Real-World Recommendations and Lessons Learned

To gain real-world insights into how procurement leaders can transform their organizations to maximize sustained value, APQC turned to Michael van Keulen, a seasoned executive with more than 20 years of experience in procurement and finance. Currently chief procurement officer at Coupa Software, van Keulen was previously at lululemon athletica, where he led the organization’s procurement transformation. In addition to publishing a case study on lululemon’s practices, APQC hosted van Keulen on a January 2020 webinar.

Drawing from his experiences with procurement transformation, van Keulen shared his maturity model and operating model for transformation; seven-step strategic sourcing process; and advice for how to navigate the technology of transformation. For van Keulen, developing trust-based relationships with internal and external stakeholders is key to driving innovation and value in procurement—but these relationships will not be possible unless organizations are committed to maturing their approach to procurement.