Groupe ADP Digitally Transforms its Procurement Operations
Groupe ADP develops and operates the three main Paris airports under the Paris Aéroport banner: Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly and Paris-Le Bourget, as well as ten civil aviation aerodromes in the Paris region.
It is one of the few airport operators to oversee every aspect of the airport supply chain, being involved in everything from engineering, planning and design, to the commissioning and operation of complex airport infrastructure, including terminals, runways, and baggage sorting.
Its end-to-end involvement in the construction of airports spans from the feasibility study stage to the completion of construction, whether this is for greenfield projects or challenging extensions and refurbishments.
It offers expertise in architecture and design, as well as in project and construction management. Its aim is to help airport operators develop smart infrastructures and sustainable growth.
Groupe ADP, founded in 1945, is also a property owner and developer in Ile-de-France, the most populous of the 18 regions of France, with a population of 12 million residents. It focuses on cargo and logistics activities, as well as airport-related office buildings and hotels.
Globally, Groupe ADP is active in 120 airports in 50 countries, and operates directly or indirectly a network of 26 airports worldwide.
With its global network of airports, and such a wide range of specialties, Groupe ADP – like so many other multinational businesses – is embracing digital change, as it strives to continuously improve existing operations and planned developments.
The digital transformation of its procurement operations was always going to be a challenge, because of constrained resources and a strict regulatory environment.
The challenge, ultimately, was to achieve more with the same procurement headcount by transforming administrative resources into procurement professionals and maintaining operational efficiency while adhering to a strict and ever-changing regulatory environment.
Renauld Rebitz is Manager of the Project Management Office at Groupe ADP, and is in charge of information system and data management for procurement and logistics.
Groupe ADP decided to digitally transform its procurement function for compliance and transparency reasons. Previously, the company “had an old tool with many flows and we really needed something better for the purposes of compliance and also to ensure we were complying with regulatory constraints”.
He says the company chose iValua because it needed a platform “where we can drive the business process assets” and that “the same people, using the same tool with the same data” ensures all procurement stakeholders are aligned.
Groupe ADP took a phased approach to full procure-to-pay (P2P) digitisation. (P2P is the process of integrating purchasing and accounts payable systems to create greater efficiencies.)
“That's the key point for me,” he adds. “ We started with business process management, then launched modules for suppliers, before going further, to add the P2P modules.”
The next stage was a suite of solutions for invoice analytics.
Rebitz says that the biggest lessons the company learned from the project was how key it was “to listen to users after implementing the system”.
He adds: “The support team is a key asset here, plus you have to build a stable project team that has expertise because implementing a digitalised procurement system takes time and you need everyone together on this long journey.”
Dominique Etourneau, Groupe ADP Chief Procurement Officer, agrees that the human factor is key.
“Procurement teams need to feel that time invested upfront will pay off in the short or medium term,” he says. “Today, my procurement teams are proud of their tools and processes, and internal and external professionals seek them out to share their experiences.”
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