24 April 2019
By
Sarah Jarvis, Category Buyer - Corporate Services
Sarah joined YPO 23 years ago and is now a Category Buyer for Corporate and Financial Services.
Name: Sarah Jarvis
Position: Corporate Services Category Buyer
How long have you been working for YPO? 23 years
What do you like the most about YPO?
I like the value we bring to our customers and the support YPO gives to its employees.
I was 17 when I started at YPO and within 6 weeks I was registered at Wakefield College to study BTEC Business, then HNC Business and CIPS in Purchasing and Supply. I’m very grateful to YPO for letting me have the opportunity and supporting me over the years while I was studying.
What are your main responsibilities?
Procurement is my world and my responsibilities cover all aspects of the procurement cycle. I am defining, developing, procuring and managing frameworks covering a range of corporate and financial services i.e. travel management services (my baby), insurance ( who knew it could be that exciting), enforcement agents (as I’m not scared of any challenge), crematoria solution, removals and confidential IT disposal and cash collection. I manage the customer and marketing engagement activities for each of my frameworks and work in partnership with suppliers to deliver the best outcomes and value for money for my customers.
The next 3 years are going to be exciting as the category develops and grows the range of frameworks.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Creating solutions that are fit for purpose for our customers consists of intense research, customer and supplier pre-engagement, developing risk mitigations plans and eventually choosing the right procurement route. This is the most challenging and the most exciting part of my job.
Describe your role in three words
Enjoyable, exciting, challenging
How did you get involved in procurement?
Once you’re in it, you’re there for life. My first role was working in furniture customer services. My main responsibilities were dealing with customer queries, placing customer orders and speaking to suppliers, which gave me a great understanding of customer requirements.
I started helping the business manager and furniture buyer with tenders, producing the following years catalogue and attending supplier meetings. I loved the supplier management part of the job and got a great sense of achievement and pride when I received the new catalogue. I was over the moon to not only be promoted to furniture assistant buyer, but further down the line to furniture category buyer.
It’s great to be able to use the knowledge and years of experience I’ve gained at YPO to make a difference and provide support and advice to my customers and suppliers.
Tell us a bit about your procurement experience
The majority of my procurement experience has been working in trading. In March 2018, after 22 years working with products, I started my new role in Procurement Services.
It was time for a change and new challenges. My new role keeps me excited as I start building a passion for the service areas I look after.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
On a Sunday afternoon you will see me standing on the terrace at Post Office Road supporting Featherstone Rovers with my mum, dad and sister. I’ve supported them since I was six years old through the good times when we’ve been promoted and the bad times when we’ve been relegated. I also like relaxing with family and friends at the bar at the bottom of my garden.