Introduce yourself with Aileen Wilkins

Aileen is our new Head of Procurement within the Specialist Services team…

 

So what is procurement?

In simple terms, procurement is the purchasing of goods and services across the business and looking after contract management with suppliers. Procurement is essential in any business to make sure that we are getting the best value from our contractors and suppliers, meaning that we save money for the rest of the business to put to good use!

I look after goods not for resale which is any services we purchased that are not resold onto the customers. This can be services such as cleaning, stationery, repairs and maintenance, flooring etc. Last year we purchased from over 1900 suppliers and spent over £300 million. My aim is to try and reduce these numbers so we are improving efficiencies when managing suppliers 

I would like to see more communication between trading groups going forward. I often find that two different trading groups have worked separately on projects that would have benefitted both if they had joined forces.

 

Why did you decide to join Midcounties?

Co-operatives are well-known for supporting ethical trading and supporting local suppliers. When I first heard about the role I did not know about Midcounties Co-operative specifically but after doing a bit of research, the role at Midcounties sounded even more exciting and was going to be a challenge which is what I enjoy.

 

Tell us a little bit about your career journey up to joining Midcounties

I started my career as a contract manager for an American HVAC company called Lennox Industries which I thoroughly enjoyed. After taking a short time away from work, I took an a role as an Assistant Manager at Live at Home which is a charity in Northampton that tackles isolation and promotes independence and wellbeing with the older generation.

Following this, I stayed working with the vulnerable & elderly at South Northampton Homes ensuring their properties complied with housing and safety regulations. This included arranging repairs and maintenance and health & safety testing.

I then moved from the charity sector to retail, working as the Procurement & Facilities Manager for five years for 99p stores. This role then opened the door for an opportunity as Procurement Manager at Derby Football Club! Working at a football club was so varied, I could be purchasing grass seed one day and looking at kits and hotels the next day.

My final role before joining Midcounties was at Ashfield Healthcare, a global pharmaceutical company, as their Divisional Procurement Manager. This role was non-stop as we had to deal with suppliers and contractors in different time zones, working with businesses with different cultures and the language barriers were also a challenge.

As you can see I have worked in a number of industries from retail to charity, it was for this reason that I thought Midcounties would be a great fit!

 

What’s the biggest challenge you have faced since joining Midcounties?

As we have so many trading groups, it is quite difficult to have complete visibility of all our suppliers and contracts. The challenge in my role is to work with the other businesses together to see where we can share suppliers and best practices to ensure as a Society we are working as efficiently as we can be. The other area is to teach people that we don’t have to accept suppliers’ terms, we can ask for these to be amended so they are more favourable to Midcounties and not all in the suppliers favour.

 

Quick Fire Questions:

 

What’s top of your bucket list?

I’d love to travel around Asia – Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Japan are right up there!

 

What 3 celebrities would you invite to a dinner party?

David Tennant, Christian Slater and Colin Farrell – no hesitation

 

What’s one of the scariest things you’ve ever done?

I actually abseiled off Newport transporter bridge for St. David’s Hospice, Wales, absolutely terrifying!

 

What’s your favourite place you’ve ever visited?

Dubrovnik, Croatia was pretty special, but St. Kitts in the Caribbean is a close second.

 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

A winner is a loser who tried one last time.