Supply Chain
Our aim is always to find the right partners, at the right price, at the right place, at the right time – every time
The world is ever more connected and finding the right supply chain partners every time makes the difference between delay and success. Reliable and innovative supply chains are critical to deliver our complex project solutions which is why we drive total value through our Target Operating Model, to maximise opportunities for innovation that enable our projects to grow.
With years of global experience, our in-house supply chain management team works relentlessly to ensure we have the optimal people, processes and tools in place for successful missions.
Register to work with KBR Supply Chain here
A high performing team acting with integrity.
In our drive to deliver agile market expertise and generate real value for our shareholders, at KBR deliver industry leading decision making, strategic relationships, added value and social responsibility through our strategically focused, market and commercially aware Supply Chain function. We aim always to find the right partners, at the right price, at the right place, at the right time – every time.
Our Government Solutions International Supply Chain team sources, manages and delivers complex supply chain solutions all around the world. This team is the nucleus of our existing and future projects, through which we interact with all critical project areas and ensure we deliver and maintain value throughout the project lifecycle. With multi-industry experts overseeing all our GSI supply chain activities and over 1000 contractual relationships supporting more than 50 projects across 40 countries, we consistently achieve practical and cost-effective solutions for our clients.
Our highly skilled and experienced team deliver public and private sector procurements of all sizes, complexities and scales, both for KBR and on behalf of you, our customers. This team benefits from the individual specialisms and skills of its members - such as risk mitigation and performance management - at the same time providing the resilience of a single, agile and high performing team.
With CIPS-qualified team members, we frequently engage in external forums to share knowledge and bring the latest supply chain thinking into all that we do. Our Supply Chain Director represents KBR as our SME Champion with the Ministry of Defence and our Contract Management team regularly contributes to the Business Service Association policies and research papers.
Our GSI Supply Chain team deliver excellence, as individuals and as an integrated, high-performing team. Through our tailored Supply Chain operating model we deliver all aspects of world-class supply chain management consistently, effectively and dependably.
This includes our interconnected teams delivering strategic category management, comprehensive contract and performance management, insightful data analytics, and efficient process and governance management.
These four areas work in tandem to provide a single integrated, proactive and strategic solution to drive industry-leading supply chain success across all our projects.
Category Management
Our Category Management team has a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of our supply chain markets, and leverage volume and competitive procurements to deliver excellent value for money in all our solutions. By delivering in-depth market knowledge and expertise with our category management approach to procurements, and by analysing the true capacity and capability of our suppliers continuously, we collaborate with the right partners for the right projects around the world. Our global 'Hub & Spoke' long-term relationships drive our collaborations across regions, sectors and industries. We examine all available technologies to understand the benefits of innovating throughout the supply chain.
Contract Management
Our Contract Management team drives intelligent relationships with suppliers that mitigate risk and generate added value through the contract lifecycle. We achieve this by maintaining healthy, strategic relationships with a reciprocal, reiterative, inclusive and outward-looking approach. By establishing mutually valuable relationships with key suppliers, we achieve long-term cost savings by reducing issues with availability, quality and delays, and by driving innovation and opportunities across projects.
Supply Chain Operations
Our Supply Chain Operations team deliver efficiencies across all KBR’s procurement activities and ensure full compliance to internal and external governance requirements. Acting as the engine room of KBR’s Supply Chain team, their purpose is to deliver the structures and processes needed by our suppliers and the business units to operationally execute their jobs at site level. It is critical that internal operations are based on solid foundations and this team delivers the transactional activities in our Supply Chain function efficiently and effectively.
Systems & Data Analytics
Our Systems & Data Analytics team own and manage all supply chain data, highlighting meaningful trends and provide timely, accurate and comprehensive data to support any supply chain activities. By extracting supply chain data and translating it into meaningful and actionable information, we can suggest areas of synergy and create dashboards that both drive and monitor performance. In today’s technology-driven world every team needs good insight through data analytics underpinned by well configured systems.
Our supply chain team utilises our Seven Step Procurement Strategy.
With this framework we deliver a proven approach for public and private sector procurements—a solution which is flexible to volumes, values, locations and urgencies. It integrates seamlessly with Supply Chain’s Contract Management, Operations & Data Management functions, using our whole lifecycle approach to drive value. Over time, the framework develops organically with the maturity of our supply chain.
We ensure that our clients and suppliers are not exposed to undue risk at any time with our robust and tested processes and governance procedures. We focus in particular on Modern Slavery, Codes of Business Conduct and United Nations Development Goals.
We have developed our Category & Contract Management approach to align with public sector best practices, latest government publications (such as the Outsourcing Playbook, the Social Value Act 2016 and the SME Agenda 2020), and all applicable ISO accreditations (such as 9001 Processes, Procedures and Work Instructions, and 44001 Collaborative Business Relationships). This means that the significant breadth and depth of our supply chain capability is rooted in strong foundations of high-quality processes and governance, delivering repeatable and dependable results anywhere in the world.
Register to work with KBR Supply Chain here
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Bespoke solutions under Best Athlete principals.
Our Supply Chain develops and executes tailor-made supply chain solutions, from strategic sourcing through to competitive tendering and award and all the way to full contract lifecycle management.
Collaboration
By operating as an aligned, collaborative team, we saved around £8m over the last 4 years (2017-2021) across our procurements and supply chain management by effective negotiation, mitigation and risk management. We use our ability to provide deep-dive market knowledge to internal and external stakeholders to support informed, objective decision-making.
Knowledge and Relationship Management
Our knowledge and relationship management expertise has avoided post-award commercial claims, which in turn drives better contractual compliance and greater value for money. Many of our supply chain team hold professional qualifications, such as CIPS and CPSM, providing additional expertise to the team.
Continuous Improvement
We assess our approaches, documentation and processes continuously. This allows us to align closely with industry best practices, client requirements and market conditions. For example, our strategic procurement approach under the FM Integrator for the Metropolitan Police Service resulted in a supply chain built of over 45% SMEs.
Social Value
Supply Chain is a key vehicle for - and a core enabler of - Social Value. Our supply chain is diverse; it is made up of local, regional and global players - from large multi-national organisations, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and sole traders. Social value plays an increasing role in all our relationships and we aim to have a clear and positive impact on the communities in which we operate. We work collaboratively with external bodies including the Business Services Association (BSA), and act as an SME Champion with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), to enact meaningful change at all levels of the public and private sectors. In the UK we have specifically created the Alliance Programme to support both our own and our clients Social Value aspirations.
Best Athlete Principals
Our strategic sourcing approach follows the Best Athlete principles to bring the best of the marketplace to an evergreen, solution-agnostic supply chain ecosystem. This allows us to present facilities, technology, resources, capabilities and skills openly in an impartial evaluation process and to deliver our client’s requirements. The result is a true fit-for-purpose solution for every scenario that removes unconscious supply chain bias and focuses on how we consider value for each project.
Toolkit
Our market-leading supply chain management toolkit includes KBRSupplier.com, our in-house e-procurement and contract management portal; and Supplier Performance Evaluation, our in-house ‘single source of truth’ which tracks our suppliers’ performance. Using our toolkit, we make informed decisions to ensure we deliver the optimal supply chain solution every time.
Sustainable Supply Partner
At KBR, we are passionate about our people, sustainability and our Zero Harm culture. This includes our suppliers, contractors, licensees, affiliates and partners. Compliance and fair competition are a must in KBR supply chain organizations worldwide and are defined in the KBR Supplier Code of Conduct.
Sustainability in the supply chain goes far beyond than this. These commitments should guide our teams and every KBR employee to deliver a sustainable supply chain for our customers, communities, families and a better future.
Our Sustainable Supply Chain Charter sets out the standards and goals to be adopted in the procurement of all goods, services, and materials across all KBR activities.
Delivery focused innovation captured wherever it lies.
Nuclear
We are an industry leader in delivering highly technical and large-scale global projects across a range of highly regulated industries. We are one of the delivery partners on a major infrastructure programme at Sellafield Ltd – owned by the UK Government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority – to manage the safe and secure decommissioning of the Sellafield nuclear site. The programme has a total value of up to £7bn and will be performed over 20 years. We use our far-reaching and comprehensive supply chain experience in the nuclear industry and the collaborative services of our integrated approach, to provide tailored solutions for any environment.
Facilities Management & Construction
We are a recognised industry leader in procuring complex FM and construction services around the world, supporting our clients’ strategic objectives and maximising value for money. This underpins our supply chain approach for FM and construction projects. Collaborating at all levels of the supply chain, we continuously review performance to drive savings and innovate to work smarter and improve efficiencies. Part of our “know-how” is the creation of effective Procurement Plans that ensure detailed measurement of our functional performance across the entire lifetime of a project.
Advisory
From studies and planning to execution, ongoing maintenance and monitoring, we are an industry-leading consultant for aerospace and defence, energy, intelligence, and civil services markets. Our Supply Chain team works closely with our Advisory team to create bespoke solutions often in time-critical scenarios, working with organisations of all sizes – from large multinationals through to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and voluntary, community social enterprises (VCSEs) all of which drive collaboration and innovation across sectors.
PFI & P3M
Our global mega-projects rely on detailed and carefully managed supply chain solutions that are adaptable to long-term requirements. Allenby/Connaught is one of the largest 35-year PFI infrastructure contracts ever awarded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the design, construction and base support services to the British Army in the Salisbury Plain Training Area and Aldershot Army garrisons. We used 3 million nails, 37,000 sheets of steel and 192,000 sheets of plasterboard in the modular accommodation. By managing the supply chain strategically, we reduced the planned construction phase time by 20% and completed 95% of buildings ahead of, or on time.
Space
KBR employs recognised industry leaders performing highly technical and large-scale, global projects. We have supported over 700 spacecraft missions and have developed, deployed and maintained mission-essential supply chain networks. We deliver unrivalled subject matter experience and are the satellite and spacecraft industry’s best partners to create the end-to-end, full lifecycle solutions with the comprehensive and specialist supply chain solutions they need.
Disaster Response & Recovery
KBR is experienced in delivering critical, rapid, and agile solutions to local, regional and national disasters through our long-standing and experienced partner networks with niche suppliers. Our global footprint, subject matter expertise and team of tried, tested and proven suppliers and subcontractors ensures efficiency and minimises transition risk in any project. We can identify and address potential challenges before they become issues and quickly apply global resources.
