Fujitsu, in collaboration with SAP, has recently implemented SAP Ariba to transform its procurement function and enable it to channel spend towards its First Nations suppliers, which has increased from $200,000 to over $5.1m over the last few years.
Before the collaboration, Fujitsu’s procurement process was decentralized, creating limited visibility of its supply chain, which led to challenges with channeling spend to its First Nations partners.
By implementing SAP Ariba, the company sought to allow employees and managers to make more informed decisions and enable staff to drive forward business strategies and initiatives with purpose.
Fujitsu selected SAP Ariba Guided Buying Platform to create a more inclusive and diverse supply chain, collaborating with the Indigenous Defense & Infrastructure Consortium (iDiC), which develops sustainable Indigenous businesses across Australia.
Together, they have been working to create a First Nations Supplier portal which provides a dedicated buying channel for First Nations suppliers.
Nicole Forrester, VP of purpose, people and culture at Fujitsu Asia Pacific, said: “Fujitsu has a long history for championing and driving transformative change across environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion and social impact and our procurement team plays an important role in helping us achieve this.
“The SAP solution has provided a platform for Fujitsu to assist our diverse supply chain strategy, which has enabled the increase of spend with First Nations suppliers. When we’re able to channel spend towards First Nations suppliers, we’re helping to create a prosperous, vibrant and sustainable First Nations engagement.”
Since launching the portal, the company disclosed that it has managed to increase its spend with First Nations suppliers to $5.1m while also increasing spend with SME partners to $12.5m per annum.
Fujitsu added that implementing SAP Ariba has allowed it to automate and streamline its procurement processes, establishing a standardized hub for end-to-end procurement activities. This has resulted in reduced new vendor processing time by over 65 percent, freeing up staff to focus on more strategic tasks.
Additionally, the establishment of a central contract repository has led to over 2,000 active contract workspaces, with 30 percent of contracts operationalized for downstream procure to pay.
Angela Colantuono, president and MD of SAP ANZ, said: “We believe that technology has a critical role in helping the world run better and improving people’s lives.
“We have work to do to better support our First Nations peoples in Australia and New Zealand and Fujitsu’s implementation of SAP Ariba demonstrates the power of technology in helping drive purposeful procurement and the meaningful impact it can have on the communities in which it operates”
