Once, procurement was all about procuring for cost, with other objectives of secondary importance, subject to meeting acceptable levels of quality and performance. And single-sourcing often resulted from an attempt to consolidate demand to drive economies of scale. But increasingly, the focus is moving to procure for resilience— dual-sourcing or multiple-sourcing, and near-shoring and re-shoring to shorten and de-risk supply chains. For Defence, agility and collaborative ability are now what they’re looking for in partners and suppliers.

Since 2015, the Logistics Commodities Services Transformation (LCST) Programme has delivered over £1bn products to UK Military over 600 locations worldwide using cutting-edge procurement techniques and strong governance. Getting everything from food rations to boots, exactly where they need to be, at the right price and at the right time.

To deliver a smarter and more efficient defence supply chain this session explores the recognition that resilience is a strategic requirement. Discussing:

• Understanding existing capabilities and perspectives in how leverage skills, processes, infrastructure and information systems to improve capability
• What about limits: Partnering up to complement abilities and strengthen weaknesses