EP 30 - JLL's Brent Kellett on Elevating Procurement Through Trust and Early Engagement

Cost avoidance delivers the same strategic value as cost savings, but CFOs often miss this reality when evaluating procurement performance. At JLL, Sr. Director, Group Sourcing Lead Brent Kellett has cracked the code on demonstrating total cost of ownership value through cross-functional partnerships that quantify operational efficiencies, energy savings, and service reliability improvements that don't show up in traditional savings calculations.

Brent's approach transforms procurement from order-taking to strategic advisory by focusing early stakeholder involvement and building trusted partnerships with internal teams. His systematic integration methodology turns potential resistance into collaboration when outsourced procurement integrates with existing functions, starting with empathy to understand career drivers and making internal stakeholders look good rather than replaced. JLL's initiative trains procurement professionals to deliver compelling five-minute client pitches, reflecting the C-level presentation skills needed to secure strategic involvement rather than last-stage procurement calls.

Topics discussed:

• Treating cost avoidance as equally valuable to cost savings when demonstrating total cost of ownership to CFOs.
• Building trusted partnerships with internal stakeholders by understanding their career drivers and making them look successful.
• Implementing early stakeholder involvement strategies to transform procurement from last-stage participation to strategic front-end engagement.
• Integrating outsourced procurement teams with existing client functions through empathy-driven relationship management and collaboration approaches.
• Deploying unified technology platforms that connect contract lifecycle management, spend analytics, and work order systems globally.
• Rolling out Azara business intelligence tool for real-time predictive analysis and facility management operational efficiency.
• Training procurement professionals to deliver compelling 5-minute client pitches requiring C-level presentation and sales skills.
• Managing global supplier performance through standardized cost, quality, delivery, and innovation metrics across all JLL verticals.