Thomas Littleworth

At Heineken UK, I have worked within two indirect procurement roles. Firstly in the Professional & Business Services team, following strong performance and seeking opportunities to further my professional development I have more recently been working in the Supply Chain team:

European Fleet Tender: As the category specialist managing Heineken UK's fleet I put myself forward to work with Heineken's Global procurement team to tender the 5000+ vehicle leasing contracts within the Europe region. I worked as a subject matter expert and lead procurement representative from local procurement throughout this process (in conjunction with a member of the global procurement team). This tender has yielded the following benefits:

• 4+ million euros in leasing and cost of change bonuses
• Harmonisation in fleet procurement practises across the region
• Optimised contract terms across participating European countries (i.e. moving to longer contract terms due to preferential rates)

Corporate Cards & Expense Management: Following price increases from our long term incumbent credit card provider I launched a review and tender process for our credit card programme. This was a complex piece of work given the length of our incumbents tenure (10+ years) and the high volume nature of our credit card usage (1000+ users, £7 million + in annual spend). Through diligent stakeholder engagement & competitive dialogue with suppliers, I achieved:

• Mitigation of supplier price increases (notably out competing the commercial arrangement put together by Heineken Global procurement)
• Payment term extension
• Improved customer experience for our users (i.e. supplier switch has lead to the availability of a mobile expense tool)
• Worked with business stakeholders to identify issues with our use of corporate cards and develop a new card policy accordingly.

Total Waste Management: In anticipation of the expiry of our long-standing waste management contract I led a procurement process to tender our nationwide contract (two office sites and three breweries). Key outcomes from this tender were:

• The removal of unnecessary cost elements which means this contract now provides a small profit for Heineken
• Significant payment term extensions
• Service level improvements
• Implementation of a new contracting approach for Heineken where we have partnered with our pub estate (Star Pubs) to jointly contract manage this supplier

HR Procurement Partner: I have been an active procurement partner for the Heineken UK HR function, focusing specifically on Recruitment, Fleet, Reward, Global Mobility & Occupational Health. Key achievements in this time have included:

• Tendering Heineken recruitment contracts, for the first time creating a preferred supplier list for our support functions. This has formalised our commercial discounts and created the structures to measure supplier performance.
• In collaboration with the Heineken Fleet team, I have delivered multiple commercial and technical improvements across our fleet of 340+ vehicles. Achievements included negotiating enhanced manufacturer discounts, rationalising the vehicle list to consolidate volumes with preferred providers, and implementing cost-saving measures in partnership with our fleet management provider.
• Identified and delivered a strategic opportunity through the tendering of a nationwide, multi-site occupational health contract. Secured an improved contract with a new partner offering improved service levels and extended payment terms, while maintaining cost neutrality compared to the previous agreement.

Engineering Parts Procurement & In-sourcing: Heineken UK has taken the decision to in-source the management & procurement of it's engineering spare parts from an outsourced provider. My role has been to understanding our purchasing profile, tender relevant segments of our spend and design a purchasing process that can be used in our new structure. This has required quick and agile engagement to understand the requirements of our three distinct brewery sites. Whilst this project is on-going it is on track to deliver the following:

• 15% cost saving on procured spare parts
• Improved services levels to Heineken Stores (i.e. shortened lead times for critical spare parts, reduced stock inventory)
• Continual pricing bench marking
• Cost Reduction pipeline

My functional role was to conduct complex procurement activities for Edinburgh Napier University & Edinburgh College. Within this role, I completed activities at all stages of the procurement life cycle, including a strong focus on early market engagement. I have listed several projects that I have led in my time with APUC:

Edinburgh Napier University: Property & Facilities (P&F): I provided procurement support for the P&F department at Edinburgh Napier, the University's highest spending department. Notably leading activities within several departmental categories, including maintenance, catering and construction works. I have completed several procurement activities, including open-market regulated tenders. The recent award of the Reactive Maintenance tender was of noted success. Through considered drafting of specifications and a stringent evaluation process, we appointed four high-performing suppliers across five Lots. All suppliers were contracted on competitive commercial rates and will be contract-managed to achieve sustainability benefits. Including works towards the University's net-zero target.

Edinburgh Napier University: Professional Services: In the spirit of working flexibly and in support of my colleagues. I have completed several procurements in the professional services sector. Notably covering Internal Audit & Academic Consultancy. In both tenders, I engaged in early communication with the supplier market to test our specifications and align realistic industry standards with the aspirations of the tender.

Edinburgh Napier University: Procurement Consultancy: A key part of my role is to guide departments that have relative inexperience with procurement and/or contract management, this has been a major part of my delivered value to the University. I have worked with various teams to understand their upcoming procurement spend, various procurement methods and how to approach effective contract management.

Edinburgh College: Internal Audits & Summer School Catering: Edinburgh College operates with different procurement goals to the University. Operating within a relatively constrained commercial environment requires tailoring procurement activity to deliver favourable commercial outcomes without compromising on quality. Recently I have completed tenders for Internal Audit and Catering for the Summer School facilities across multiple sites in Edinburgh. Through constructive dialogue and options discussions with suppliers, we have identified feasible contract options and delivered what the College has sought in its specifications for both tenders.

• Immediately following my undergraduate degree I was employed by MBIE as a Procurement Graduate. This is a highly competitive opportunity among those wanting to work in the public service. As part of the programme, I completed four six-month rotations through some of the largest and most consequential agencies in the New Zealand public sector. In these rotations, my functional role was as a Procurement Specialist. I spent time with the following agencies:
• Ministry of Defence
• Department of Corrections
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment