Sustainable transport innovation triumphs at National Procurement Awards 2024

Belfast public transport operator Translink has been crowned the winner of the overall excellence award at the fourteenth annual National Procurement Awards 2024, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Santry in Dublin.

The prestigious ceremony saw fierce competition, with 75 entries from 36 companies vying for honours across 18 award categories, bringing together 250 procurement professionals for this landmark industry event.

Translink’s victory recognises their groundbreaking introduction of a zero-emission bus fleet in Derry, establishing one of the first fully zero-emission urban bus services in Ireland and the UK.

The 38-vehicle Foyle Metro fleet, comprising GB Kite Electroliner BEV and StreetDeck Electroliner BEV vehicles, was supplied by Northern Ireland manufacturer Wrightbus and assembled at their Ballymena factory.

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The judges praised Translink’s comprehensive approach, stating: “Translink blew away our judging panel. They were struck by just how much attention is given to each aspect of their operations. Nothing was left to chance by this entrant and everything from strategy, sustainability, and customer satisfaction, right through to staff development, was carefully considered and delivered. A very hard finalist to beat and so deserving of this recognition.”

Translink’s winning project forms part of their broader strategy to support transport decarbonisation in Northern Ireland, which includes the introduction of zero-emission minibuses at The Giant’s Causeway visitor centre and zero-emissions buses across Coleraine town service routes.

The awards ceremony, hosted by Eric Lalor, showcased the evolution of procurement practices across the sector. Judging coordinator Gary Mander highlighted several key trends emerging from this year’s submissions.

“Procurement departments are now working more closely with internal business functions to drive value, manage risk, and optimise procurement outcomes,” he stated. “I was very impressed with the levels of innovation presented in the awards submissions, and how teaming with other departments has become a core component of procurement delivery.”

Mr Mander noted a significant shift in procurement strategies, adding: “Innovation was another key theme across all the submissions, with procurement departments now focusing on different ways of working, alternative sourcing strategies, and approaching their procurement from the perspective of the end user.

“The procurement function continues to evolve at pace. The submissions highlighted that traditional cost focused outcomes are being replaced by a more value orientated process which looks at whole life cycle costing.”

The National Procurement Awards recognise procurement’s crucial role in building robust supply chains and shaping overall business strategy. The awards are judged by leading procurement professionals, ensuring a rigorous and expert evaluation process.

Award winner Cathal Walsh of Gas Networks Ireland said the awards evening was a great event for networking and meeting colleagues. Ceara McBride at Bus Eireann, also an award winner, stated: “When you are preparing the award submission it really comes together, and you can see how much the team has done. It’s brilliant.”

An Post’s Dara O’Sullivan, who was named sustainable procurement champion of the year, remarked: “It was a tough competition, and I’m absolutely delighted. It’s a great process to go through and the awards event is a great way to network with other companies.”

Robert Cullen, associate vice president, Global Strategic Sourcing at awards platinum sponsor Verizon, said the National Procurement Awards are very important to the company.

“We’re not a brand name in Ireland, but yet we have 1,000 employees here and we want to get people to know who we are by networking and attending events like this,” said Mr Cullen. “You never know where your next lead or next employee might come from, so the event is very important.”

JC Abella, alliances director for Northern Europe at gold sponsor Ivalua, commented: “Ireland is a major digital hub, with complexity and challenges that procurement can address to improve cost control and help drive the Irish economy forward. The awards enabled Ivalua to connect with the Irish procurement community and recognise the organisations leading the way through innovation across different industries”.

Ingrid De Doncker, co-founder and ESG ambassador of Procurement Transformation Institute powered by Future Planet also stated: “We were very proud to support the National Procurement Awards 2024. These awards shine a spotlight on the procurement teams that are game-changers, inspiring us all to reach higher; they’re fuelling innovation, collaboration and sustainable growth. It was a celebration of procurement’s power that shapes our future!”

Kevin O’Driscoll, director partnership programmes at awards organiser BusinessRiver, commented: “Events like this are made possible through the support of sponsors. We are thankful to our 2024 platinum sponsor Verizon, gold sponsor Ivalua and professional partners Procurement Transformation Institute, powered by Future Planet, and Amárach Research and The Irish Times. Their investment in the awards underlines their commitment and support of this key business area.”

Award judges

Gary Mander (judging coordinator) – senior manager, EY
Michael Burnett – director, Michael Burnett Ltd
Yvonne Delaney – associate professor supply chain management, University of Limerick
Edward Fagan – head of procurement, Compass Group Ireland
Paul Farrelly – head of procurement, Transport Infrastructure Ireland
Colum Foley – assistant professor, DCU
Paul Higgins – global procurement manager, PepsiCo
Mike Hogan – strategic industry solutions manager, Enterprise Ireland
Fran Kehoe – associate director, KPMG
Barry McGoldrick – VP, chief procurement officer, Molex LLC
Michael O’Callaghan – director, IPICS The Supply Chain Management Institute
Catherine O’Malley – director of global supply chain - neuro, Natus Medical Inc