How Axon' Cable Modernised Indirect Procurement with Ivalua

In a bid to enhance its indirect procurement, global manufacturer Axon' Cable has implemented Ivalua's eProcurement solution, with expert support from its partner, CYRIAS.

The project is designed to modernise Axon' Cable's procurement processes, streamline complex operations and greatly improve overall efficiency.

A digital approach

Axon' Cable, a French-headquartered company founded in 1965, is a world-leading specialist in designing and manufacturing sophisticated electric connections.

Its products are critical components in high-tech sectors including automotive, aeronautical, medical and industrial applications.

Axon' Cable provides custom-designed solutions and scalable tools, from advanced wiring to specialised connectors.

The decision to adopt a new digital approach forms part of a crucial group-wide initiative. The primary goal is to completely transform its indirect procurement function, which involves sourcing all the goods and services not directly incorporated into a final product, such as office supplies, IT equipment and maintenance services.

Modernising manufacturing procurement

In a landscape of increasing complexity, Axon' Cable identified a clear need to undergo a comprehensive digital transformation aimed at streamlining processes for greater efficiency and maintain a competitive edge. 

The primary objectives were to optimise long-standing processes, introduce a higher degree of automation and increase operational efficiency across the board.

In today's volatile global market, procurement departments face the immense task of balancing supplier risk, transparency and sustainability. For manufacturing firms like Axon’, business agility and the adoption of flexible, forward-thinking solutions are vitally important for building resilient and reliable supply chains that can withstand economic fluctuations and geopolitical changes.

The deployment of Ivalua’s unified, source-to-pay platform was aimed at modernising and consolidating procurement, allowing Axon' Cable to better manage spend and suppliers from a single, centralised system.

This holistic approach directly contributes to lower operational risk by improving supplier vetting and performance tracking.

Furthermore, the new system enhances ESG performance by providing greater visibility into supplier practices, ensuring they align with Axon' Cable's own sustainability goals. It also leads to a marked improvement in employee productivity by automating manual tasks, freeing up teams to focus on more strategic, value-adding activities.

Dan Amzallag, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Ivalua, comments: “This project is a great example of how Ivalua, together with our partners, empowers organisations to transform procurement quickly and effectively.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Cyrias to support Axon’ Cable on its journey to operational excellence.”

Solution implementation

The complete rollout of the eProcurement solution was expertly completed by CYRIAS in just four months.

This rapid implementation was a key success factor, allowing for an exceptionally swift time-to-value and enabling Axon' Cable to realise the benefits of its investment almost immediately.

It included full and seamless integration of Ivalua's solution with Axon' Cable's existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, negating the need to implement an entirely new software system, saving both time and resources while ensuring a single source of truth for financial and operational data.

Crucially, the platform also connects to existing supplier databases. This helps to avoid potential supply chain disruptions during the transition, ensuring business continuity.

According to Axon' Cable, the user experience is also vastly improved through more streamlined and intuitive catalogue management, making it easier for employees to find and order approved items from preferred suppliers.

Brice Thouant, Buyer at Axon’ Cable, explains: "The implementation of Ivalua’s eprocurement solution is seamless, enabling rapid progress towards our transformation goals. The strong support and positive collaboration from CYRIAS and Ivalua are key to the deployment’s success."

"The intuitive nature of Ivalua’s eprocurement solution enables the Axon' Cable team to quickly adopt the solution, leading to great efficiency gains in indirect procurement."

Partnership and collaboration

The successful four-month transformation is the direct result of a close, three-way partnership between Axon' Cable, Ivalua and the consulting and implementation partner, CYRIAS.

This collaborative model proves essential to navigating the complexities of the project.

The project's remarkable success is also noted by the implementation partner, whose expertise is critical to the rapid timeline.

Kevin Bellanger, Project Director at CYRIAS, says: “The expertise of the CYRIAS teams and our experience in implementation projects enables us to support Axon’ Cable in its digital transformation in record time."

"We would like to thank the Axon teams for their trust, commitment and kindness, which enables us to carry out this project in the best possible conditions."