Technology - USA (2021-03)

60 March 2021

NTT GLOBAL SOURCING INC.

Arvind Kumar, Global

VP of Indirects

at NTT Global

Sourcing, on partner

ecosystems and how

a novel approach

to indirect sourcing

delivers true value

WRITTEN BY:

RHYS THOMAS

PRODUCED BY:

GLEN WHITE

& CAITLYN COLE

It is 4 am in Houston, Texas, when Arvind

Kumar checks his emails and preps for the

day ahead. The Global Vice President of

Indirects at NTT Global Sourcing has an

important call with a team in India, 11 hours

ahead, and will be working right through to

the early evening. It is a demanding role, but

one that Kumar relishes. He is an executive

energised by the prospect of big picture

programmes and an emphatic champion

of bringing businesses together to achieve

through collaboration that which would be

impossible alone.

Kumar’s values very much align with

the shared philosophy of the NTT Global

Sourcing team, a 60-strong global outfit that

was assembled two and a half years ago

by CEO Mark LeNeve to advance the role

of sourcing within NTT and centralise the

group’s buying power. Commanding upwards

of $30bn in annual spend, it is a powerhouse

of procurement.

From the outset, the startup identified

three core areas that would need to be

modernised and reformed to excel in the

modern landscape, and to realise the vision

of the group’s top executives. NTT GS’s

primary directive is to leverage the group’s

combined influence and unify the hundreds

of companies and entities that operate under

its banner. “Our whole focus has been to

NTT Global Sourcing:

The Power of One

Arvind Kumar