James Cunningham

James delivered client programs from strategic sourcing through to complex transformations across a wide range of sectors. He has led some of Efficio’s largest client projects in the utility industry and financial services. As director of client delivery, he is responsible for improving the efficiency and quality of Efficio’s client delivery through more effective deployment of the company’s technology, intellectual assets and expertise, ultimately enhancing the benefits for clients.

Main areas of practice

James specialises in Procurement Transformation, Opportunity Assessments, Strategic and Tactical Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Organizational Redesign, Upskilling and Training. He is also a category expert in strategic sourcing for professional services, HR services and all elements within facilities management including outsourcing (mechanical and electrical, cleaning, catering) and energy (gas, electricity, coal) within Europe and the US.

Career

James holds a BSc in Social Science, Economics and Marketing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Prior to joining Efficio he was a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers focused on supply chain and procurement across South Africa and the UK. James started his career as a graduate trainee at North Safety Products Africa, a manufacturer and distributor of personal protective equipment.

Clients

James’ clients cover financial services, utilities, infrastructure and the public sectors, in the main.

Significant experience

• Managed Procurement Service – UK Water Utility: Head of Procurement. Led a team of over 40 people managing more than £1.8 billion in operational expenditure and £2 billion in capital spend. This was part of a five-year transformation project to upskill and develop a procurement function into a strategic partner to the business. The project delivered significant savings while creating a more dynamic and progressive procurement function.
• Organization design – public sector councils: Three London councils made a strategic decision to create a central procurement function by merging their procurement teams. The program included understanding the current processes and engaging with executives to determine their requirements from the new procurement organization.
• Program management – UK’s largest gas and electricity supplier: worked with an organization that had acquired operations in the US to build a single way of working across the two countries, renegotiated contracts and implemented strategic sourcing to achieve savings of $300 million.
• Strategic sourcing – Global chemical producer: Category lead for sourcing energy (gas, electricity and coal) across five western European countries and the US. Delivered savings of 4% in both European electricity and gas and US coal and developed risk management hedging programs.