Oracle SCM
CELESTINE SALOME TAABU
Nairobi
Summary
Dynamic Chief Procurement Officer with over 16 years of global experience driving supply chain excellence and digital transformation across leading organizations. Expertise in procurement strategy, global sourcing, and strategic partnerships consistently delivers significant cost savings and enterprise-wide value. Proven track record in optimizing vendor management, enhancing supplier diversity initiatives, and spearheading innovative sustainability efforts within procurement. Adept at navigating complex negotiations and leveraging emerging technologies to mitigate risks and ensure compliance in an ever-evolving supply chain landscape.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Chief Consultant - Supply Chain & Logistics
Cybelle Dynamics Limited
01.2025 - Current
- As Chief Procurement specialist Consultant, I design strategic plan for Enterprise Supply chain, Logistics, demand management and execution of company procurement needs for local and global clientele to drive efficiency, manage risks and derive stakeholder value.
- Liaised with customers, management, and sales team to better understand customer needs and recommend appropriate solutions.
- Collaborated with teams to define, strategize, and implement marketing and web strategies.
- Optimized customer experience by delivering superior services and effectively troubleshooting issues.
- Evaluated customer needs and feedback to drive product and service improvements.
Senior Business Partner - Sourcing & Logistics
Safaricom PLC
01.2024 - 12.2024
- Managed strategic partnership initiatives to drive measurable outcomes and deeper relationships with cross-functional teams.
- Monitored accounts, ledgers and reporting systems to comply with regulatory requirements and corporate policy standards.
- Maintained internal control safeguards for receipt of revenue, costs and organizational budgets and actual expenditures
- Oversaw firm's day-to-day administrative operations, provided guidance to support staff and enforced compliance with state, federal, and local regulations across organization.
- Recruited, hired, and trained initial personnel, working to establish key internal functions and outline scope of positions for new organization.
Category Sourcing Manager
Safaricom PLC and Safaricom Ethiopia
05.2014 - 11.2024
- Responsible for providing leadership in strategic Category Sourcing and SRM for a spend portfolio of over KES 5 Billion annually.
- Conduct thorough analysis of contracts for risk identification and cost reduction opportunities.
- Evaluate and mitigate potential risks associated with contracts in various service categories.
- Develop sourcing strategies for different service categories.
- Implement supply base rationalization to optimize the supplier pool.
- Lead and supervise a team of category managers, providing coaching and mentoring.
- Build capacity within the team, for newly hired category managers.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to understand their needs and align procurement strategies.
- Conduct international/global market benchmarks in partner markets.
- Build catalogues to streamline the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process.
- Analyze pricing structures and negotiate cost-effective agreements.
- Develop and implement Purchasing Service Level Agreements.
- Facilitate partnerships with Corporate and Commercial Services.
- Maintain a knowledge database of supplier markets, sub-categories, and key performance indicators.
- Ensure timely initiation of contract renewal/tendering processes within set timelines 3 months prior.
Supply Analyst-Local Expediting
Safaricom PLC
02.2014 - 04.2014
- Extracted open purchase orders and identified overdue orders based on the cost charter policy.
- Coordinated with internal stakeholders to ensure timely receipt of delivered orders.
Senior Officer- Tenders & Contracts
Safaricom PLC
02.2009 - 02.2014
- Seamless Coordination of all procurement activities leading to a high performing department
- Career development in procurement (6 years work experience in delivery of projects from tender to contracts execution, order processing, prequalification of suppliers and expediting)
- Hands on negotiation and delivery of small and medium procurement items (Kitchen equipment, retail shops refurbishments, OSH signage and activations)
Job Rotation (EBU-ESD)-Contract & SLA Officer
Safaricom PLC
03.2012 - 06.2012
- Collaborated with end users and the supply chain to prepare technical sections of tender and RFQ documents.
- Worked closely with end users, legal, and the supply chain to draft technical sections of contracts.
- Prepared weekly reports on bids and tenders.
- Tracked contracts and initiated renewal processes before expiry.
- Compiled and reviewed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) for customers and service providers in collaboration with technical teams.
- Managed the performance of SLAs by monitoring and ensuring adherence.
Education
Master of Business Administration - Strategic Management
Kenyatta University
01.2020
Bachelors of Education - Home Economics
Kenyatta University
01.2007
Skills
- Procurement Strategy Development
- Ethics and Compliance
- Tender Analysis & Negotiation Skills
- Project Management
- Stakeholder Engagement and Management
- Cost Benefit Analysis
- Creativity and Innovation
- Supply Chain Performance & Development
- Collaborative Delivery
- New Markets Risk Analysis
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Leadership and Conflict Management
- Agility and Excellent Relatability in Multi-Cultural Environments
- Business Partnering
- Supply chain & International Trade
- Enterprise Resource System on SCM
- Organizational development
- Business presentation
- Go-to-market strategies
- Staff management
Accomplishments
- Design Strategic Procurement plan for Safaricom Ethiopia that resulted USD 4 Million cost saving against USD 22 Million budget.
- Tasked and led the implementation of thorough benchmarking practices across all spend categories, resulting in the rationalization of costs across the marketing category. This initiative led to substantial savings of over 50% (2 Million ETB)
- Led a team of SCM specialists in creating working catalogues to enhance efficiency in the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process resulting into 45% on value benefit.
- In the resource-constrained startup environment, I established structures that reduced costs while managing sensitive multicultural stakeholders sourcing need that led to the launch of Safaricom Ethiopia Telco in 25 towns and cities of Ethiopia within 90 days.
- Using technology, I led the travel automation process from manual booking to SAP Concur booking tool, that resulted in 89% efficiency on logistics, price intelligence, reduced lag time by 50%.
- During Covid-19 I was recognized as an exceptional performer, consistently exceeding expectations in Safaricom Supply Chain Management for 3 three years, with procurement savings exceeding KES 2 Billion.
- Provided a template for detailed spend analysis companywide that resulted into 50% risk management across all procurement processes, mitigating risks of non-supply, fraudulent vendors, poor service quality, and inferred reputational risks.
- Initiated and conducted sensitization sessions for all stakeholders on ERP change processes and governance changes, ensuring 100% stakeholder alignment with new systems and processes.
- In 2020, I led a dedicated team to Safaricom's recognition with the SPIRIT HEROES VODACOM CEO AWARD FY 2020 in the Volunteer category, underscoring our commitment to Customer Obsession, Purpose, Innovation, and Collaboration.
- Delivered unified communications project, Bespoke, Ruckus Wi-Fi and E1 Voice, together with the Enterprise Service Delivery team by compiling the SOW and SLAs for the legal and sourcing team, that resulted into 70% Market share.
Affiliations
Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Chain Management (CIPS)
Certification
- Category Management Paragon 21, UK. 2017 - 2023
- Breakthrough Leadership Circle -BLT & Rise School Patricia Murugami -2021
- Business Partnering Strathmore University - 2018
CERTIFICATIONS
- Agile Foundations
- Transformational Leadership Training
- Cultivating Mental Agility
- Learning Agility
- Strategic Agility
- MCIPS -005454978
- KISM Purchasing licensed practitioner. -82270
- Accredited supply chain professional - American Academy of Project Management
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
- Travel Management
- Strategic Business Consultancy
- Market Research and Logistics
- Corporate and Commercial Sevices
- Leadership in Strategic Category Sourcing
- Category Sourcing Strategy Development
- Supply Chain Management
- Coaching, Mentoring, and Capacity Building
- ERP Change Process and Governance
- Catalog Development for Procurement Efficiency
- International/Global Market Benchmarks
PROFESSIONAL STRENGTHS
- Procurement Expertise Extensive experience in procurement strategy development, execution, tendering processes, and negotiation skills.
- Leadership Skills Strong leadership qualities with the ability to manage and lead complex negotiations and teams, including coaching and mentoring newly hired category managers.
- Supply Chain Expertise Comprehensive understanding of supply chain strategy and planning, capacity strengthening, and performance development
- Stakeholder Engagement Effective engagement and management of internal and external stakeholders, fostering strong relationships for successful procurement outcomes.
- Strategic Business Consulting Experience in providing strategic business consultancy, contributing to organizational effectiveness and success
- Category Management Proven expertise in the entire category management cycle, from strategic planning to supplier management, ensuring optimal cost and value delivery
- Ethics and Compliance A commitment to ethics and compliance in procurement processes, ensuring adherence to policies, procedures, and governance
Additional Information
CIPS - MCIPS
CSCP - Certified Supply Chain profession from ASCM
MKISM - Purchasing practitioner
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Safaricom Spirit Heroes Vodacom CEO Award 2020 Importance embodying the Spirit of Safaricom, which calls on us to embrace Customer Obsession, Purpose, Innovation and Collaboration., Led the strategic procurement for COVID-19 response and other related critical services within travel service. - 2020, Exceptional Performer who Exceeds Expectations in Safaricom SCM for the last 3 years
Software
I-sourcing
Oracle Contract Management
Microsoft Office Suite
PUBLICATIONS
Strategy Implementation and Service Delivery in Siaya County Government 2019 - 2020
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Swahili
Native or Bilingual
Timeline
Chief Consultant - Supply Chain & Logistics
Cybelle Dynamics Limited
01.2025 - Current
Senior Business Partner - Sourcing & Logistics
Safaricom PLC
01.2024 - 12.2024
Category Sourcing Manager
Safaricom PLC and Safaricom Ethiopia
05.2014 - 11.2024
Supply Analyst-Local Expediting
Safaricom PLC
02.2014 - 04.2014
Job Rotation (EBU-ESD)-Contract & SLA Officer
Safaricom PLC
03.2012 - 06.2012
Senior Officer- Tenders & Contracts
Safaricom PLC
02.2009 - 02.2014
Bachelors of Education - Home Economics
Kenyatta University
Master of Business Administration - Strategic Management
Kenyatta University