Strategic Procurement in Healthcare Services
In a sector defined by regulation, complexity, and purpose, procurement in healthcare services is transforming fast. Beyond cost and compliance, it now plays a pivotal role in driving resilience, sustainability, and strategic impact across the organization.
Turning Procurement power into boardroom impact
This interview is part of our Inside the CPO Agenda series, drawn from the Inverto’s CPO Study, which combines survey insights from over 330 procurement leaders with in-depth qualitative interviews.
In healthcare services, transforming procurement is uniquely challenging — shaped by strict regulations, complex stakeholder structures, and a relentless focus on service quality.
In this anonymized interview, a CPO shares how they established a centralized procurement function within a global healthcare group, laying the foundation for strategic impact in less than two years.
Key Takeaways
When I joined, there was no centralized procurement function—it was entirely decentralized and highly varied across business units. We started by creating a headquarters-based procurement team and building a roadmap aligned to the company’s wider transformation plan. Today, that team includes almost 20 people and is fully embedded in our enterprise strategy.
We spent the first months aligning on definitions and creating a joint sign-off process for all savings, cost avoidance, and working capital improvements. Nothing is claimed unless it is agreed with finance and reflected in business unit budgets. This disciplined approach gave us a seat at the table early and avoided the classic “procurement vs. finance” misalignment.
We are one of the top strategic initiatives reporting into the executive committee. Our progress is regularly reviewed by a steering group that includes both finance and commercial leadership. Procurement has direct visibility to board-level stakeholders and is seen as essential to the company’s forward-looking transformation.
One of our main challenges is data and system fragmentation. Like many companies that have grown through acquisitions, we face significant ERP complexity that makes transparency difficult. Another issue is innovation maturity—supplier-driven innovation is still limited, and much of the supplier dialogue still happens outside procurement. Lastly, we are focusing on talent and change management. Procurement today needs people who can drive transformation, manage stakeholders, and lead cross-functional initiatives—not just execute tenders. That’s where we are investing heavily.
Our function is built around three pillars:
The first phase focused heavily on financial value to build credibility. Now, we are broadening our scope to include more long-term levers like supplier partnerships, compliance structures, and emissions transparency.
We’ve launched a supplier decarbonization program with clear targets, milestones, and reporting. It’s not just a compliance tick-box; in TMT, it’s a differentiator. Suppliers that can move fast on sustainability will be our long-term partners.
Success means that all sourcing decisions are fact-based, strategically aligned, and professionally executed. We want to be seen as a true business partner that delivers consistent, high-quality support—not just savings, but compliance, ESG progress, and long-term resilience. And we want that to be recognized by the business because they experience the impact.
For the complete analysis of survey results, strategic implications, and a roadmap for impact-driven procurement leadership, explore our CPO White Paper.
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