Behind the Gold Standard: The team powering Aberdeen’s supply chain

The award, and hard work that goes into achieving this, has helped build supplier trust with stronger relationships, helped reduce risk, and deliver better outcomes across the business. 

What is procurement at Aberdeen? 

So, what does the day of a procurement specialist look like? Michael Hodgson breaks it down: “When someone comes to us with a request, we ask a number of key things such as: what do you need, what’s your budget, when do you need it, and who’s going to manage it once it’s in place? Then we make sure it fits with what the business is trying to achieve, we essentially become their professional personal shopper.”

Michael goes on to explain using a simple analogy – he puts it like this: “Take the shirt you’re wearing. Do you know what it’s made of? Where the cotton came from? Who made it? How long it’ll last? Where it’ll go when you’re done with it? Most people don’t think about those things – but in procurement, we must. It’s our job to ask those questions about everything we buy, because what we choose to source has real impact.”

The long list of what the procurement team source for the company includes IT, insurance, hardware, network, legal services, all the way to the coffee machines that power the team at Aberdeen, and more. 

Sustainability and strategy 

Collaborating with the sustainability team ensures that purchasing decisions are fully aligned with the company’s environmental and ethical goals.

Just recently, Aberdeen announced all its top 50% of suppliers (by spend) have now set emissions reduction targets – meeting the company’s 2025 procurement sustainability target. 

This was a result of working with Supplier Relationship Management and Third Party Risk Management teams to consistently capture supplier data. 

Another important part of the business is in real estate – and another opportunity to maximise efficiency and help deliver on the key ESG goals. 

Andrew Murray, Global Estates Manager, working with the Workplace team, assesses everything from occupancy to the nature of the ownership of buildings, which not only helps reduce costs, but helps deliver meaningful environmental outcomes.  It also reduces carbon footprints and supports long-term sustainability, helping Aberdeen towards its net zero ambitions.

The team’s values are summarised by Michael, explaining the pride that the team takes in its role at the company: “Procurement is a professional service. It acts like a consultant in some cases. We’ve got lots of experience and we’re very good at what we do.”

Looking to the future

As the business looks to harness the latest technology to streamline performance and enhance services, so too is the Procurement department. 

Automated systems and processes have already resulted in the Gold Award status that ensures suppliers are paid on time. 

AI is helping Aberdeen on many fronts including utilising deep research with the latest tooling, allowing Michael’s team to do their diligent research in a fraction of the time it used to take. “What AI can do in 15 minutes would take me hours if I were manually researching each company’s offering for something like a new software system. It saves a huge amount of time and gives us a solid starting point.” Michael says. 

Once again, the detail isn’t lost in the bigger picture of what Aberdeen is trying to achieve, says Michael: “There are values we take to heart as a company, and those values influence the decisions we make. You won’t always go with the cheapest supplier – sometimes the preferred supplier offers something more. They might have attributes that align better with our business, and that’s important, especially when it comes to technology.”

Michael says this includes looking at the environmental impact of working with a supplier, for example if they offset carbon or how and where they cool data centres: “There are lots of geopolitical changes, so we have to be conscious of where we buy things from and who we’re buying from – and make sure it’s done in an ethical way.”

Playing their part

This work often goes unseen in Aberdeen’s business – ensuring suppliers are paid on time to making smart, ethical decisions, the procurement function supports the business in ways that benefit colleagues, clients and the wider supply chain.

As Michael puts it, procurement isn’t just about buying: “It’s about building trust, enabling innovation, and shaping a more sustainable future.”