Priceless experience to boost S&W’s supply chain expertise

Before working in consultancy, Julie Latta led procurement and supply chain functions for some of the UK’s most recognised and complex organisations. Starting her career at Marks & Spencer, she went on to hold senior supply chain and procurement roles across Hilton International, Sodexo, Aramark and Burberry. 

Latta has seen firsthand how organisations manage complexity, disruption and transformation. Now working in consulting, she helps businesses apply that operational insight to build more data-driven resilience and ultimately unlock greater value from their supply chains. 

Yes, procurement and supply chain have been the consistent thread throughout my career, across not only a wide range of businesses and sectors, but also when I moved into consultancy. 

I joined Marks & Spencer as a management trainee and had the opportunity to work across several departments. That gave me a strong grounding in how a large, complex retail organisation operates. I then moved to Hilton International, where I worked across a diverse portfolio of businesses, sourcing everything from fresh produce to large capital projects for new openings or refurbishments. 

Sodexho, too, was a complicated, diverse business, as was Aramark. At the latter I ran companies providing services to everyone from Barclays Bank to Gordon Ramsay Restaurants. I used to get a call from them at 6.00 am every morning to tell me how good or bad the products delivered to the restaurants were. It was very prompt and clear customer feedback. 

At Burberry, as a global luxury brand, it was very much about innovation and quality but ensuring that it was delivered in the most cost-effective way possible delivering shareholder value. 

Those years before I went into consultancy gave me a strong understanding of the operational side and the challenges businesses face. Wherever you go, it’s the same skill: understanding what the C-suite is looking to achieve and balancing that operationally with what people need to do their jobs.   

For many businesses it was an opportunity as much as a challenge.  

Everything moved online very quickly, so a lot of businesses were looking at new operating models. It created a lot of interesting projects and opportunities to look at productivity and take costs out.  

That technological change is ongoing, and we’re now seeing the impact of AI on sourcing products and ensuring they meet business requirements. These technologies can help organisations evaluate sourcing options more effectively, analyse cost structures and support value engineering. 

But one of the biggest opportunities for many organisations lies in making better use of the data they already have. Businesses often hold significant volumes of information, but do not always have the systems or processes in place to translate it into meaningful insights. When used effectively, that information can drive stronger commercial decisions and improve overall operational performance. 

From a procurement perspective, this also reinforces the need for agility. Teams need to continually look for opportunities to optimise the cost base, while ensuring procurement supports both operational requirements and customer expectations. The organisations that perform best are those able to adopt best practices quickly and respond effectively to changing external environments or business needs. 

No, quality is at the heart of everything. While cost efficiency is important, it always has to be balanced with ensuring the product or service is fit for purpose.  

You can almost always buy something cheaper, but the key question is whether it’s the right product or service for the intended use. Procurement should consider a range of factors including demand management, specifications, how products or services are used and supplier capability – not simply the purchase price.  

The technology also opens new possibilities for increased personalisation and tailoring to specific needs, while maintaining a centralised process and controlling costs. Organisations can tailor products and services more closely to specific operational needs while continuing to manage cost effectively. 

From a consulting perspective, these insights can also be applied across the whole value chain, helping organisations better understand how their products are used and where improvements or efficiencies can be achieved. This, ultimately, delivers better value for shareholders. 

Two major themes stand out. 

The first is technology, particularly how organisations respond to the rapid development of AI and advanced analytics. These tools have the potential to significantly enhance sourcing decisions, supplier management, cost transformation and ultimately business performance. 

The second is supply chain resilience. We are operating in a far more turbulent and unpredictable environment, and businesses increasingly recognise that disruptions are inevitable. 

In many ways it mirrors the shift we have seen with cyber security which has moved from focusing on security to resilience. Businesses need to build resilience across their supply chains, because disruptions are inevitable. Even if you’re not directly exposed, businesses see the impact in their energy prices and costs of raw materials, as S&W found in its BOSS survey.   

Technology and data will be key to addressing this challenge. When organisations combine strong data capabilities with modern analytical tools, they can create supply chains that are far more flexible and responsive. 

Importantly, this doesn’t always require a large transformation programme. Many organisations can begin with smaller, practical improvements that deliver quick wins, and then build a longer-term roadmap from there. 

Helping organisations identify those opportunities and start that journey is something I’m very much looking forward to continuing to do.