Case Robeco

It is of essential importance to asset managers to manage risks appropriately and to keep control of costs as much as possible. They, after all, manage and invest the assets of third parties. This emphasises operational management. It must be as efficient as possible to avoid unexpected surprises and to achieve a competitive advantage. In relation to Robeco this means that it keeps a sharp eye on its internal processes and professionalises where necessary. 

Robeco. A pure-play asset manager with an active investment style. With a wide range of products and expert investment teams in Europe, Asia and the USA, it always has a suitable investment solution for its customers. More than 1600 employees manage assets worth approximately 150 billion euros (as on 31 December 2010) on a worldwide scale. Robeco is part of the Rabobank Group; the only non-public bank worldwide with the highest creditworthiness assessment of private banks.

The challenge: streamlining procurement
Robeco procures ICT and facility products on a large scale and also very often works with external staff. Quite some issues could be improved a few years ago within the context of more efficient operational management with regard to procurement. The procurement process could not really be called streamlined because line managers could conclude contracts themselves with suppliers. Many contracts were in circulation that were all managed by different employees and departments: a time-consuming and costly process. Procurement costs were also unnecessarily high because not everybody within Robeco worked with the best possible contracts.

Central procurement department
The requirement arose and grew to draw up the procurement policy in a more professional manner and to reduce procurement costs. An important condition within this context was setting up a sound contract management system. Jochem Gottmers, Vice President Procurement & Facilities: “We wanted to work our way to a situation where everybody within Robeco used the same supplier and contract information as much as possible. All important procurement decisions had to run through one central procurement department from now on.” Now, this has become a reality: Gottmers manages a team of 3 procurement experts and 2 administrative employees. The central procurement strategy has already borne fruit. Procurement expenditure, for example, has dropped by 20% since 2008, the number of suppliers has been brought down from 1800 to 1200 and the number of invoices has been reduced by 50%. ICT has played a supportive role within this context. 

Management of suppliers and contracts
“When we started to investigate which ICT solution would best support our central procurement function, we arrived at Esize,” says Gottmers. “The beauty of this solution is that you work with different modules but that it is a full system nevertheless. The solution, for example, helps us manage suppliers and contracts. All relevant information about suppliers and contracts is now always and everywhere available to everyone in a central database. This ensures that the most recent version of a contract is always used and orders are placed in accordance with the correct terms and conditions. The solution also helps us assess our suppliers on their performance based on Key Performance Indicators. Another benefit is that the system alerts us automatically and in a timely manner about important data, for example, when a contract is coming to an end. This guarantees that we are never too late in terminating contracts and that they are not extended when this is not required.”

Online solution
“A great benefit of the solution is that it is accessible online so that its management and maintenance is not our concern. The solution runs fully at Esize and, therefore, does not have much impact on our ICT infrastructure.

Digital hiring process
Hiring external staff is also being streamlined at Robeco with Esize. Gottmers: “We hire many external employees and, therefore, there are many contracts, timesheets and invoices in circulation. Because the full hiring process, ranging from selecting staff to paying them for their worked hours, runs fully automatically now, this saves us much time and administrative operations. We also save with regard to indirect costs because the physical signing of contracts and timesheets is no longer required. This is all done digitally through predefined workflows.”

Delivering added value
Gottmers believes that it is important that his procurement team delivers added value each and every day to the internal organisation by selecting the best suppliers for the most favourable terms and conditions. And that continuity continues to be safeguarded. Since Robeco sets high requirements with regard to risk management, it also sets high requirements when it comes to its suppliers. “When you manage to have your procurement process run efficiently and the continuity has been safeguarded, your procurement organisation is in control. Only then will this process contribute towards effective operational management.”