Operationalizing Category Management Across Global Supply Chains

Summary:

SourcingHaus supported the organization in designing and delivering a strategic Category Management initiative to strengthen procurement performance across global missions. The project included an in-depth diagnostic and global stakeholder engagement and culminated in six actionable outputs to guide the next phase of reform. These outputs cover procurement data management, eCommerce, risk management, sustainable procurement integration, training, and organizational designing the groundwork for more consistent, efficient, and accountable procurement in humanitarian operations.

The Challenge:

With procurement playing a critical role in delivering assistance worldwide, the organization saw an opportunity to further strengthen how it organizes, manages, and delivers procurement support across its global operations. As the organization’s activities expand in both volume and complexity, it initiated this project to explore how a Category Management approach could improve procurement planning, drive efficiencies, enhance visibility, and align procurement practices with sustainability and risk management priorities.

This forward-looking initiative aimed not only to enhance internal capacity but also to build a more integrated, strategic procurement model to meet the evolving needs of the organizations operations and partners.

What We Did:

SourcingHaus led the design and delivery of a multi-phase Category Management project that included a global procurement diagnostic, stakeholder interviews and workshops, and a forward-looking roadmap to inform the next phase of reform. Key outputs included:

• Spend Categorization & Data Management - Developed a risk-informed spend categorization model and provided templates and dashboards to improve procurement visibility and support category-specific analysis.
• Effective LTA Management via eCommerce - Developed recommendations for using the system to manage global LTAs more strategically and transparently.
• Business Case for a Global Procurement Support Architecture - Proposed a structural model to consolidate procurement oversight functions, improve category coordination, and strengthen the procurement function’s alignment with its global mandate.
• Sustainable Procurement Integration Strategy - Delivered a roadmap and practical guidance to mainstream sustainability into procurement processes - focused on “walking the talk” through both environmental and social criteria.
• Procurement Risk Management Tool - Designed a fit-for-purpose procurement risk tool to support country offices in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks during the procurement cycle.

The Impact:

• Delivered a clear, sequenced roadmap f to transition toward a more strategic and risk-informed procurement function
• Encouraged cross-functional dialogue on procurement transformation, strengthening internal alignment across HQ and field operations
• Positioned the organization to pilot and scale a tailored Category Management model suited to humanitarian and development contexts
• Supported alignment with broader UN procurement reform initiatives focused on performance, transparency, and sustainability