In 2019, Justin Sellers was asked to expand Amway’s contingent workforce program, including statement-of-work (SOW) services procurement. A 16-year veteran of the company, his task included providing better visibility of total labor spend to optimize costs within the nonemployee workforce and enable continued expansion. Sellers is the indirect procurement manager for programs in the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
The expansion effort was sizable and involved a commitment to change management and training, including onboarding more than 200 suppliers, training 200 managers, and incorporating more than 350 SOWs. To facilitate implementation, Sellers focused on communication, securing executive buy-in and conducting information sessions to allay hiring-manager concerns.
The results were stellar. In just the first year, invoice-processing time was reduced by 90%, resulting in 98% on-time supplier payment; time spent reviewing contracts was reduced by 30%; and spending in targeted categories was reduced by 20%.
By March 2020, the growing pandemic was creating industrywide difficulties in finding and retaining workers, necessitating a conversion to remote work. Fortunately, the VMS platform that Sellers and his team had selected was up and running before pandemic shutdowns went into effect, enabling Amway to make a smooth transition into remote work.
Although the future is uncertain, Amway is in a good position to adapt thanks to the processes Sellers has put in place. “Once you have a system and process, you can drive savings and enable lots of additional value for your organization.”