Strengthening category management governance, strategy and ways of working to create clearer accountability and a more executable pipeline of value opportunities.
Context
A new operating model had clarified the direction. The challenge was making category management work consistently across the organisation.
Santos had recently transitioned to a centrally led operating model, with technical functions taking greater accountability for category strategy.
Accountabilities between Procurement and the business needed greater clarity. Category strategies varied in maturity and structure, while visibility of value opportunities across key spend areas remained fragmented.
The priority was not simply to produce better category plans. It was to establish the governance, disciplines and ways of working that would allow category strategies to translate more consistently into action.
What we did
We worked alongside the Procurement Excellence team and category stakeholders to strengthen the category management system from the Centre of Excellence through to individual category strategies.
Partnered with the Head of Procurement Excellence to shape the vision, priorities and work plan for uplifting category management maturity. Developed and embedded a category management RASCI aligned to the centrally led operating model, creating clearer ownership between Procurement and technical functions. Refined templates, governance and core category management artefacts to improve the quality, consistency and usability of outputs.
Reviewed and uplifted strategies spanning drilling, wellsite services, maintenance, engineering, field civils and construction, and logistics, bringing greater consistency and commercial focus to category planning. Worked closely with stakeholders to shape a practical and executable Information Systems category strategy.
Facilitated opportunity identification workshops to translate category strategies into a defined pipeline of initiatives with clear ownership.
Impact
Clearer accountability. Stronger category strategies. A more direct line from strategy to execution.
▪ Clearer accountability across Procurement and the business, with a stronger connection between category strategy, governance and execution.
▪ More consistent category strategies, commercially grounded and supported by a more visible pipeline of initiatives with defined ownership.
▪ A stronger Centre of Excellence foundation from which to continue building category management maturity across the function.