CNCo’s Group Procurement Manager Clara Ng explains why mindset, pragmatism and a strong team ethic yield the best results
Clara Ng is Group Procurement Manager and report to Finance Director at China Navigation Company (CNCo) based in Singapore, the Marine division of Swire Group. She joined CNCo in 2014 to lead a strategic procurement transformation, which entailed redefining policies and procedures across multiple sub-divisions as well as at corporate level. Her current role builds on a distinguished 17-year career with Cathay Pacific (CX) Hong Kong, another company that is part of the Swire family. At Cathay she rose through the ranks of procurement to her final position as a key member of their Strategic Procurement Development team. This experience has given her in-depth understanding of engineering, airline, and maritime procurement in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as strategic procurement skills such as category management, contract management, continuous improvement, and supplier management. She helped to achieve US$ 550 million saving, managed US$ 5 billion in assets and US$ 2 billion contract spend in various priority projects for Cathay Pacific. Currently, she focuses on continuous improvement through the Procurement Change Program in CNCo. We spoke to Clara about her experiences in the profession, and to get an insight into how she works and what wisdom she could impart to current and future procurement leaders.
What attracted you to the profession and to the maritime industry?
I find the profession interesting. My upbringing meant that I was always conscious of how to spend money and use resources. I was also taught to think about the opportunity cost – what do we get in return for what we spend? I have a very conscious mindset when it comes to handling resources. When I was younger, I gradually recognised that this was an art. What most attracted me to the profession is that, through the core function of the strategic procurement role, I can bring significant value to the business, which is sustainable. My passion is not limited to one industry and my strengths can fit into transportation and other supply chain aspects. I am modest about the benefits and value I can deliver to the end user. Ultimately, what we do is all about people.
There’s a perception that women are under-represented in the procurement profession. What is your experience of this throughout your career?
That’s very interesting - I don’t believe there is such discrimination. I began my career in aviation, which is a male dominated environment. That was 20 years ago. I have always found that using rational analysis from facts and data was the best way to solve problems; I always have a growth mindset. I provide options because every issue has the opportunity to be better. My experience is that, as long as I am doing the right thing, the success will follow. Honesty and integrity have to come first. I also keep in mind that this success is not personal, it’s about the group and your team.
What’s been the biggest challenge in your current role to date? How did you manage that challenge?
The biggest challenge in my current role is the stakeholders. They are not aware of the value of strategic procurement at the beginning. To transform from the traditional purchasing model to strategic procurement takes longer than they expect. I manage this through engagement, and a clear alignment top down and bottom up approach. I drive quick win solutions to realise procurement value from projects. I also strive for continuous improvement. –Never, never, never give up, even if you are turned down once, twice or more. Keep doing it and present the progress to all stakeholders. Gain the confidence and support.
You had to build the team from scratch in Singapore. How did you do that?
I grew a lot of white hair during the process! Initially I developed the procurement documents, templates and guidelines. I had little support. To establish the team, I had to give them knowledge, guidance and vision. I had to prioritise my top three goals that I wanted to achieve. If you don't prioritise, every day is miserable because you don’t know what to do first. We prioritised high value tasks and some of the tasks that had a high impact – those that affected a lot of people. We also evaluated the effort. If it’s low value and high effort, then it might not succeed because there is no interest in doing it. It has taken two years to reach this point and the team keeps growing! We conduct internal capability review and sharing to make sure the team is progressing and upskilling.
How do you develop talent in your department?
Overall competence and capability of the team is so important. Some people are good at talking to others – so their soft skills are well developed. Some people have excellent technical skill and aren’t as confident talking to others. I tend to observe newcomers for six months. After that I reallocate some of their work to give them things that they are good at. They should be happier doing that. The approach I take with the things they are not good at. They should be happier doing that. The approach I take with the things they are not good at depends on their level of competence with that discipline. If it’s core function, then we try to get them to upskill a little. We always encourage people. Some people have great technical knowledge – they know the products really well – but know little about the procurement process. These subject matter experts receive procurement training. For those that are good at process but lacking in technical knowledge, we give them opportunities to run projects to improve that knowledge – a quick win tender project for example. That helps them to pick up product knowledge directly. I have a member of staff who had little experience in Strategic Procurement and the product; he followed procurement constructive approach with my guidance in three months to complete supplier evaluation and contracting process. After the exercise we saved 30% year-on-year. The business experience is vital. I am confident with my team to take ownership of projects and to feel empowered. I like to achieve goals together.
What tips would you give to someone just starting out in procurement?
Develop your skills – your soft skills and your technical skills. You also need to extend your network because the market and businesses keep changing. If you don’t change, people will bypass you. You can’t stay in one position for long. Develop your attention to detail. There’s a lot of negotiation and contractual work in procurement. This in particular needs to be at a good level because contract negotiation can affect the whole company. Understand your company at the strategic level and know your own strengths; are you good at building costs models for example? If so, there will be a chance for you to drive the business and make your role more significant. You should also look to pro-actively drive procurement value by embedding the procurement strategy into the corporate strategy. Create standards, measure and achieve targets together with the business. You cannot work in a silo - make your work transparent. Be open-minded. Most of the time you have a fixed mindset to deal with something day-to-day. The role of strategic procurement is to drive change behaviour. Accept change. If you don't have this mindset you will not be able to excel further. Do your best, even if it’s tedious. Take your work seriously. The way I cope with the ups and downs is to keep the big picture in mind. What are you going to achieve in your career? What’s your vision? What can you compromise and what can’t you compromise? Never underestimate your effort and always know your vision.
This article was originally published in the Marine Trader, IMPA’s official journal for maritime procurement and supply chain management, in issue 02 of 2017. Head over to www.impa.net to find out more or simply read new issues on the go with the MT Journal app.
