Driving Global Procurement Transformation: Ozan Sam on Reinventing Tail-Spend, Compliance and Supplier Governance at Medtronic
In a company as vast and regulated as Medtronic, even small inefficiencies can ripple across continents. For nearly 20 years, Ozan Sam has navigated the complexities of global sourcing, evolving from a procurement specialist into the programme leader behind one of Medtronic’s most significant sourcing transformations. Today, he oversees a pan-regional initiative focused on re-engineering tail-spend, strengthening supplier compliance, enhancing global consistency and embedding responsible sourcing through technology-enabled solutions.
In this Q&A, he shares the strategy, challenges, and lessons behind Medtronic’s sourcing-programme overhaul, the partnership with Candex, and the future of procurement innovation across a global healthcare ecosystem.
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Professional Journey and Programme Scope: You’ve spent nearly two decades in sourcing, and more recently stepped into a programme management role at Medtronic. Can you share an overview of the pan Medtronic sourcing programme you lead, and how your experience has shaped the objectives and scope of this initiative?
Sourcing comes with a wide spectrum of complexities, and as you progress in the role you develop the ability to shape the objectives and scope of programmes with greater precision. Medtronic is a very dynamic organisation, and I am responsible for ensuring that global sourcing programmes such as the Candex implementation are executed with a strong focus on compliance, stakeholder engagement, and continuous improvement.
For a programme like Candex, it is essential to anticipate how internal stakeholders will respond and to configure the tool accordingly. What inefficiency are we trying to solve? Is the issue perceived across all functions, or is it primarily a sourcing or finance challenge? In many cases, stakeholders are comfortable with the status quo, even when the process is inefficient for procurement.
This is where experience matters. The more time you spend in the organisation and the more you understand your stakeholders, the better equipped you are to communicate effectively, address concerns, and reduce resistance. My background as a procurement expert has been critical in helping tailor both the programme and the messaging to drive adoption and long-term value.
Identifying Challenges and Transformation Needs: What were the primary challenges or inefficiencies this programme aimed to solve, whether around vendor onboarding, compliance, process consistency, or internal alignment across regions?
We had a very large tail. The first and most significant challenge we faced at Medtronic was the sheer size of our tail supplier pool. This vast number of low spend and infrequently used suppliers created operational complexity and inefficiency across the organisation.
One of the major inefficiencies we aimed to address through this programme was the cumbersome supplier onboarding process. Bringing a new supplier into our system was often a lengthy and resource heavy exercise, and maintaining these suppliers created additional administrative and compliance burdens. Each onboarding required its own set of checks, documentation, and internal approvals, and in many instances the actual spend with these suppliers did not justify the effort or cost of onboarding and ongoing maintenance.
We therefore recognised the need to streamline the process, reduce unnecessary complexity, and align sourcing practices more consistently across regions. By doing so, we aimed to create a more efficient, strategic, and value driven approach to managing our supplier base.
Partnership with Candex and Tail-Spend Impact: Candex plays a central role in managing tail spend and one-off suppliers for Medtronic. How has this partnership helped simplify vendor onboarding, reduce supplier fragmentation, or support compliance across the organisation?
Candex has significantly strengthened Medtronic’s ability to manage tail spend and one-off suppliers by acting as an intermediary and streamlining the entire vendor engagement process. For selected categories, we no longer need to onboard new suppliers directly, which reduces administrative workload, supports compliance, and prevents unnecessary supplier proliferation within our systems.
Additionally, infrequently used suppliers that were onboarded in our ERP system in the past are now being reviewed and deactivated on a quarterly basis, with those needs redirected to the Candex platform. This approach not only simplifies administration but also enhances control, reduces fragmentation, and ensures stronger alignment with regulatory and internal compliance standards.
Strengthening Operational Efficiency: From your perspective, how has introducing a streamlined vendor-management and payment model improved day-to-day sourcing operations, especially in terms of cycle time, administrative workload, or error reduction?
Introducing Candex as a streamlined vendor-management and payment model has delivered transformative benefits across the entire value stream, far beyond sourcing alone. Requestors now have access to an efficient, user-friendly tool that enables them to quickly purchase what they need without unnecessary delays or procedural complexity. This allows the sourcing team to redirect its efforts toward more strategic initiatives rather than being tied down by the administrative workload of onboarding and managing tail suppliers.
For Finance, the shift to a standardised invoice format has significantly reduced invoice errors, enabling more touchless processing and minimising the need for manual intervention. Likewise, the vendor-master team now receives far fewer new-supplier requests, reducing their workload and preventing backlog.
Collectively, these improvements have dramatically shortened cycle times, reduced administrative burden, and lowered error rates across the board, making day-to-day sourcing operations more efficient, agile, and reliable.
Change Management & Internal Adoption: With your background in change management, what strategies have proven most effective in gaining buy-in and driving adoption of new processes across multiple teams, functions, and geographies?
Change management was undoubtedly the most critical component of this initiative. From my experience, no programme that introduces significant change can succeed without a clear, well-executed communication strategy. For this project, we adopted a two-pronged approach to drive buy-in and encourage adoption across teams, functions, and geographies.
First, we implemented a top-down strategy by embedding Candex as a designated buying channel within our global procurement policy. This ensured strong executive sponsorship and immediate alignment from leadership. Second, we applied a bottom-up approach by addressing pushback on a case-by-case basis, taking the time to explain the rationale behind the changes and highlighting the benefits for stakeholders. This personalised engagement proved highly effective, and the number of questions and issues decreased significantly week by week.
To support operational queries, we launched a comprehensive internal page accessible to all requestors, featuring step-by-step training materials, updates, and category information. This empowered users to resolve concerns quickly and independently.
As teams became familiar with the streamlined process and saw the practical efficiencies it delivered, resistance faded, and many stakeholders began advocating for further expansion, even suggesting additional categories to include. Ultimately, transparent communication, strong leadership endorsement, and hands-on support were the key strategies that ensured sustained adoption and organisational alignment.
Global Programme Deployment: Medtronic’s footprint spans many regions, each with its own regulatory and operational nuances. What has been key to ensuring this sourcing model scales globally while remaining flexible enough for regional needs?
Medtronic’s extensive global footprint means every region brings its own regulatory requirements, compliance expectations, and operational complexities. One of the biggest enablers of scaling our sourcing model globally, while still allowing for regional flexibility, has been Candex’s unique business structure.
Candex operates through local entities in each geography they support. This means every Candex entity is directly subject to the regulations, tax frameworks, e-invoicing mandates, and documentation standards of that country or region. Their local presence mirrors our own approach to understanding and managing regional nuances, giving us confidence that operational and regulatory requirements are fully met.
For example, several countries require specific e-invoicing formats or impose strict tax and statutory documentation rules. Candex’s ability to address these through local expertise ensures seamless alignment with local laws while maintaining the global consistency we need for programme success.
This combination of global governance with local execution has been instrumental in enabling a sourcing model that is standardised at the top, compliant at every level, and flexible enough to accommodate the unique demands of each market we operate in.
Why Candex? Partner Selection & Fit: When evaluating potential partners for this programme, what criteria mattered most, and what made Candex the right fit to support Medtronic’s supplier-management transformation?
Back in 2022, our VP (then Senior Director) launched a programme called “Pin the Tail”, aimed at significantly reducing the size and complexity of our tail-supplier pool. As part of this initiative, we evaluated four different industry solutions to determine which partner could best address our operational pain points and support our long-term sourcing strategy.
Candex stood out immediately. It addressed all the critical challenges we were targeting within selected categories, offering a solution that was flexible, easy to implement, fast, and highly efficient. The platform’s ability to simplify vendor onboarding, streamline payments, and reduce supplier fragmentation aligned perfectly with the programme’s objectives.
Following a short but successful pilot phase, Candex demonstrated clear value in resolving the issues we had identified. This gave us the confidence to proceed with a global rollout. Ultimately, Candex proved to be the right strategic fit because it delivered precisely what we needed: a scalable, compliant, and user-friendly model that supports Medtronic’s transformation of supplier management and tail-spend control.
Measurable Value & Early Outcomes: Are there any early metrics, success indicators, or qualitative improvements you can share that demonstrate the impact of this programme so far?
To demonstrate the early impact of Candex in reducing complexity and improving efficiency, we compiled several key metrics for senior leadership. One of the clearest indicators of success has been the reduction in the number of unique suppliers used within the programme’s scope.
In our region, the number of unique suppliers used during the same time period before and after Candex implementation dropped by 20%. In the U.S. which is a significantly larger spend region, we saw a 7% reduction over the same period. Globally, across all categories in scope for Candex, we recorded a 14% decrease in unique suppliers.
These results confirm that we are working with fewer, more strategically managed suppliers, directly supporting one of the core objectives of the programme. Reducing supplier fragmentation not only strengthens compliance and governance but also enhances operational efficiency across sourcing, finance, and vendor management.
Sustainability, Risk & Responsible Sourcing: How does this sourcing model, including external partnerships like Candex, support Medtronic’s goals around ESG, supplier risk mitigation, and responsible sourcing?
At Medtronic, responsible sourcing goes far beyond basic compliance; it is about ensuring verifiable ethics and integrity in every transaction, from raw materials to contracted services. Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets clear expectations around human rights, anti-corruption, environmental responsibility, and supplier diversity, standards that every partner must uphold.
During the Candex implementation, we evaluated their supplier controls in detail to ensure alignment with Medtronic’s ESG and compliance requirements. Candex integrates ESG checks directly into its platform, enabling traceable purchasing that validates supplier labour practices, diversity classifications, and even carbon-footprint indicators before invoices are processed. This built-in transparency strengthens governance and ensures our responsible sourcing standards extend into the long tail of suppliers.
In many ways, partnerships with innovative providers like Candex transform long-standing challenges, such as fragmented spend and supplier proliferation, into opportunities for positive impact. By consolidating low-value transactions, reinforcing ethical practices, and enhancing compliance oversight, we reduce risk while accelerating our progress toward Medtronic’s broader ESG commitments.
As medtech continues to evolve, I am confident that these strategic partnerships will play a pivotal role in sustaining Medtronic’s leadership in responsible sourcing, risk mitigation, and ethical supply chain innovation.
Looking Ahead: What is your long-term vision for this programme? Are there future enhancements, new technologies, or expanded partnerships you see playing a role in how Medtronic manages its global supplier ecosystem?
Medtronic operates in one of the most dynamic and regulated industries in the world, which means our long-term vision for any global programme must be built on adaptability, scalability, and continuous improvement. Candex has proven to be a highly flexible and collaborative partner, making it easier for us to evolve the programme as our requirements expand.
We are currently working with Candex on a customised solution to support procurement requests that require down payments, a key enhancement that will extend the platform’s capability to address more complex operational scenarios. In parallel, we continue to analyse spend patterns and category structures globally to identify new areas where the programme can be expanded. This ensures the model remains tightly aligned with our overarching strategic-sourcing objectives.
Looking ahead, we see tremendous potential in leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. AI-driven insights could strengthen compliance monitoring, accelerate decision-making, and unlock deeper efficiencies across our global supplier ecosystem. Exploring these innovations, particularly for the tail-supplier space, will be a joint priority for Medtronic and Candex in the near future.
Ultimately, we view Candex not simply as a tool but as a long-term strategic partner. As our organisation continues to grow and evolve, this partnership will play a crucial role in supporting Medtronic’s mission through scalable, forward-thinking solutions that strengthen how we manage our global supplier landscape.
Featured Partner
Supporting and shaping this feature’s core transformation story.
CANDEX
Candex is a leading platform for simplifying supplier payments and managing tail spend, enabling organisations to streamline procurement processes and gain greater visibility across their supplier base. By acting as an intermediary, Candex removes the need to onboard and manage low-value or one-off suppliers individually, significantly reducing administrative burden while maintaining compliance and control.
In collaboration with Medtronic, Candex has played a key role in transforming supplier onboarding and payment processes, helping to accelerate procurement cycles, improve visibility, and support more efficient management of tail spend across global operations. By enabling faster onboarding and simplifying supplier interactions, the platform has contributed to measurable improvements in efficiency, working capital, and overall procurement performance.
This partnership reflects a broader shift towards more agile, data-driven procurement models, where technology enables organisations to scale operations without increasing complexity. Candex continues to support global enterprises in simplifying procurement workflows, enhancing transparency, and delivering consistent, compliant purchasing processes across their supply chains.
Visit: https://www.candex.com
