1. Building the profession of
the future
In association with:
Gerry Walsh
Procurement Director, LOCOG
Delivering gold at the London 2012
Olympics and Paralympics

2. Building the profession of
the future
Singapore,
July 2005

3. the future

4. Delivering the Games
Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)
• £9.3bn for permanent infrastructure,
government funded
Organising Committee (LOCOG)
• £2bn+ for staging the Games, privately
funded
Other delivery partners
• TfL, MoD, Home Office, Met Police,
Host Boroughs, DCMS, IOC and IPC
Sponsors and suppliers

5. LOCOG Procurement faced a unique
mix of challenges
1. Unprecedented set of requirements
2. The immovable deadline
3. Commercial pressure
4. Temporary organisation
5. Supporting wider aims of London 2012
All under significant public scrutiny

6. Mission statement
LOCOG Procurement will become respected as a world class
procurement function and support the delivery of successful
Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012

7. To be successful, LOCOG Procurement needed to:
1. Take on a leadership role within the business
2. Actively focus on risk management
3. Innovate to deliver commercial outcomes
4. Embed value for money principles
5. Maximise benefit from stakeholder relations
London
2012

8. Artists,
Performance
& Events
Sports
Security Technology
Services
Transport
& Logistics
Facilities
Management
& Catering
Venues
& Infrastructure
1. Leadership: Adoption of a
pro-active approach from the start
• Initiation and delivery of a detailed
spend planning exercise
• Aggregation of common
requirements into 8 categories
• Strong relationships established with
key internal functions
• Targets set and communicated with
CEO and Chairman

9. 2. Risk management: Acting with the highest standards
of professionalism
• Keen focus on programme management
• Operation of a CIPS-certified, robust procurement process
• Alignment with PR team for consistent messaging
• Zero tolerance on gifts and gratuities

10. 3. Commercial: Using the power of the Games
to secure unprecedented deals

11. 4. Value for money: Taking a prominent role in areas such
as sustainability, supplier diversity and inclusion

12. 5. Stakeholder relations: Setting clear expectations in
order to maximise benefits from third parties

13. LOCOG Procurement delivered
significant benefit to the Games
• c890 contracts signed over three year
period from 2009
• Combined value £1.18bn, with
savings at +15% versus budget
• c£40m in revenue from sponsorship
• 70% of suppliers were SMEs, from all
corners of the UK
• External recognition for our work
around sustainability

14. LOCOG Procurement’s operating
model has been commended
by the IOC
• We are helping the IOC move
Procurement to another level in future
Organising Committees
• The PGM has already been shared
with Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016
• CIPS have held further meetings with
the IOC to enhance their knowledge of
best-in-class procurement practices

15. Lessons learned from Procurement at LOCOG can be
applied in a wider business context
• Set a clear vision for your team and communicate both
within and outside of your organisation
• Adopt a leadership approach, taking calculated risks when
the time is right
• Hard work and tenacity can secure exceptional results