As Deloitte’s global senior leader of procurement for professional services, Renee Doolittle ran a $1.2 billion CW program with over 1,000 suppliers and a contingent headcount that was roughly 30% of its 300,000-plus workforce.

Having global reach, various employment laws to navigate, and a large dynamic contingent workforce made for a challenging job. Although savings is always key for a procurement leader, Doolittle is particularly proud of leading collaboration across global business units that significantly improved processes while gleaning savings.

She met her steep savings objectives at Deloitte by moving work to India and centralizing globally to leverage streamlined processes, speeding onboarding to one week from six. The India team was leveraged as subject-matter experts in processes; the UK  associates were redeployed to more strategic, on-the-ground support.

Her success came from building partnerships with suppliers. “Developing partnerships with suppliers is THE KEY in building successful programs,” Doolittle says.  “The real work is developing your suppliers through two way communication, open feedback and  being accountable for the good and the ugly. That’s that is what drives the business forward.”

Though she is not currently involved in contingent workforce or professional services — Doolittle in October 2019 moved to Walmart as director of strategy for global procurement — she believes that talent pools and working remotely have opened doors for corporations, including Walmart, to maintain a diverse and talented workforce.