Amanda Winterflood

What was the catalyst for your career in procurement?

I grew up in the US where rather than select a handful of A-Levels we got to choose a range of modules. In my last 2 years of school I chose Principles of Industrial Purchasing. I was then fortunate to land a place at Michigan State University which has one of the best courses for Supply Chain Management. A standout internship was at John Deere in Iowa where my project was to look at Supplier Diversity - the US Government measures how many suppliers are owned by Women, Minorities, Veterans etc.

Being bought up in the US, how did you come to work in the UK?

After college I opted for consulting, starting as a Sourcing Analyst for Kearney in Chicago. One of my favourite projects was maximising value for a US defence supplier through the maxim that costs should decrease the further the supplier progresses along the learning curve. Being a global business, Kearney gave me the opportunity to work in Sydney. I met my (English) partner whilst working there and in time this led us relocating to the UK.

Tell us about your current role...

Seven months ago, I started an exciting role at Hotel Chocolat as Head of Great Procurement Experience and Indirects. Previously, Hotel Chocolat never had a formal Indirect Procurement Function.

As I've shaped my new role, I've majored on getting two things right with my stakeholders: approachability and competence. As an example, we've transformed the way we buy energy with a new hedging mechanism. With the wider group, I help them utilise tools & techniques for their budgets so that we can professionalise how we procure things.

What is the best skill you are currently utilising?

One of my favourite skills is how to tell a story and structure a presentation. What good is a robust proposal if it doesn't engage the audience? Start on paper, not PowerPoint - know what you want to say first. Utilise Einstein's quote: 'If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.' It's your job to help the audience understand your content - if they can't understand it, it's down to you for not making it clear.

How do you contrast direct vs indirect procurement?

The biggest difference about indirect spend is that there's an even greater focus on demand management and challenging the spec. For energy, we work hard to reduce consumption. For facilities, getting the right frequency of cleaning is key. And for travel, having a robust policy makes all the difference.

Which areas of sustainable procurement most matter at Hotel Chocolat?

Currently our main area of focus is our Gentle Farming Cocoa initiative where we pay our growers a premium for their cocoa and pay for their trees to be pruned, generating a better crop. Additionally, working towards 100% recyclable packaging is another focus area for us.

What can the UK learn from how procurement is studied in the US?

In the US the collaboration between universities and business is much closer. Companies help shape the university courses so they're really in tune with the needs of the workplace. Businesses are also much better at promoting what they do and what opportunities there are for graduates - so I already had a good sense of what Procurement was before graduating.

My crystal ball for procurement in 20 years...

I feel there will be an ever-widening gap between the leaders and the laggers. Leaders will spend more time with their suppliers. A typical procurement professional might spend the equivalent of four days internally focused and one day with suppliers. We should be out and about at least two to three times this ratio.

Rapid Fire

White, milk or dark chocolate?

All three!

Hot chocolate or espresso coffee?

Espresso

Australian Bush or African Savanna?

Australian Bush - I had a great trip to Uluru