Profile: Ingredients and Non-Production Spend Buyer - Rachel Cooke (Buyer)
“My placement in PBS was structured to give me a broad procurement experience including operational procurement, developing procurement strategy and implementation of new ways of working. I was responsible for approximately £4 m annual spend across three different categories:
- Fruit, nuts and seeds operational procurement for the Great Britain and Ireland region - typical tasks included negotiating contracts, approving new suppliers and forecasting purchase price variances.
- Category review of the reprographics category - following the 8 step sourcing process and using e-sourcing to select new suppliers.
- Implementation of a print management agency - agreeing the contract and establishing the use of the agency within Cadbury.
"In order to successfully complete my role I had to work with a broad range of departments including logistics, science and technology, the design studio, factory operations, quality and regulatory affairs, legal and finance. As a result of my time in PBS I greatly improved many skills due to the high quality and quantity of training I received, such as: 8-step sourcing, negotiation skills, contract law, financial analysis and e-sourcing. The best aspects of this placement were the amount of responsibility and the opportunities to add value to the business, including the freedom to improve processes and implement change.”