Procurement Transformation at Swedbank
Swedbank · 14 months · 2022
The Challenge
Swedbank operated a decentralised procurement model across Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania — with each country managing its own vendor relationships independently. This led to significant duplication, inconsistent contract terms, and limited leverage in supplier negotiations.
The bank's finance leadership identified procurement as a key lever for cost reduction ahead of a wider efficiency programme, and engaged P.A. Ltd to assess and transform the function.
Our Approach
We began with a three-week diagnostic covering 100% of addressable indirect spend. This identified the highest-priority categories by savings potential and contract risk, and mapped the existing supplier landscape across all four countries.
From there we developed a category-by-category sourcing strategy, running structured competitive tenders for 14 categories simultaneously. Our team managed supplier negotiations, drafted framework agreements, and worked directly with Swedbank's legal and finance stakeholders to gain sign-off.
Alongside the sourcing work, we designed a new procurement operating model — defining roles, governance, and a shared policy framework that gave the centre visibility and control while preserving local flexibility.
Results
- 18% reduction in total indirect category spend
- 480 → 210 preferred suppliers after consolidation programme
- 14 new framework agreements put in place across priority categories
- Procurement governance policy adopted and live across Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
- Ongoing savings of approximately €4.2M per year
"P.A. Ltd gave us the analytical depth and execution capacity to move quickly. The results exceeded our initial targets." — CPO, Swedbank Baltic
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