VolkerRail gains control of indirect procurement costs with Proactis
VolkerRail automated indirect procurement with Proactis, achieving 5% savings, reducing admin by four FTEs, and boosting strategic procurement focus.
Sector
Construction & Infrastructure
Employees
Approx. 1,200
Parent Group
VolkerWessels (16,000 employees, 120 operating companies)
Estimated Indirect Spend Saving
5%+
Customer Since
2014
How Proactis Helped
“By setting up a structured process, we got a grip on our direct spend, suppliers and the indirect costs of the purchasing and ordering process.”
Lucas ten Brinke, Procurement Manager, VolkerRail and VolkerWessels
Delivered an estimated 5% saving on total indirect spend through improved control, consolidated purchasing, and better supplier negotiations
Eliminated maverick buying through mandatory authorisation workflows aligned to organisational guidelines
Provided real-time visibility of budget status and available spend for both the Procurement team and individual employees
Enabled the Procurement team to report on spend by product category and supplier at the click of a button
Made discount agreement adoption visible and measurable, encouraging employees to self-direct purchasing towards negotiated deals
Elevated the Procurement function to a more strategic level, enabling supplier negotiations on value, innovation, and sustainability
Delivered clear, reliable dashboards enabling continuous process optimisation and improved contract-to-supplier alignment
Overview
VolkerRail is part of VolkerWessels, an international construction group with 16,000 employees and 120 operating companies. Employing approximately 1,200 people and responsible for Dutch rail, lock, bridge, and airport infrastructure, VolkerRail needed to bring structure, visibility, and control to its indirect (non-product-related) procurement. Following a thorough selection process, Proactis was implemented to automate the ordering process and provide organisation-wide spend insight. The result: an estimated 5% saving on total indirect spend, a reduction in administrative work equivalent to four FTEs, and a Procurement team elevated to a genuinely strategic function.
Challenge
VolkerRail is part of the VolkerWessels group, an international and listed construction group with 16,000 employees operating across 120 local companies in the Netherlands, UK, North America, and Germany. VolkerRail itself employs approximately 1,200 people and is responsible for Dutch infrastructure across rail, locks, bridges, and airports.
Since its stock exchange listing in 2017, the need for greater procurement transparency had grown significantly - particularly to create synergy between operating companies. When Lucas ten Brinke joined as Procurement Manager, he found that spend visibility was limited to what appeared on invoices after the fact. There was no insight into the order request, approval, purchase order, or delivery stages preceding payment. Maverick buying was commonplace, budgets were difficult to monitor in real time, and administrative overhead was significant.
The objective was to automate the entire ordering process through to invoice processing, consolidate all non-product-related (NPR) purchasing through a single system, and create the spend visibility and control information needed to drive strategic procurement decisions across the business.
Solution
Following a thorough selection process, Proactis was selected based on its maturity, its ability to connect to VolkerRail's existing ERP systems, and its fit with the organisation's specific requirements. The platform enables employees to place orders online from any device, from approved catalogues, with orders automatically forwarded to selected suppliers - reducing unnecessary steps in the procurement chain.
An automated authorisation flow enforces approval at the correct level according to organisational guidelines, making maverick buying a thing of the past. Budget status and available spend are visible in real time, helping both the Procurement team and individual employees to manage expenditure against budget. Integration with the HR system for approval authorisation added complexity to the implementation but was successfully delivered, ensuring the authorisation structure aligned with the organisation's workforce data.
Clear dashboards provide the Procurement team with detailed insight into expenditure flows, supplier usage, and discount agreement adoption - giving procurement the data it needs to negotiate master agreements, manage contracts, and drive strategic value from the supply chain.
“The biggest advantage is that the system provides valuable control information to gain detailed insight into the flow of expenditure. We can now measure whether we are compliant in our processes and contracts.”
Lucas ten Brinke, Procurement Manager, VolkerRail and VolkerWessels
About us
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