Simmi Chandra

Procurement Manager at NOS Telecommunication

Speaker

Simmi Chandra works as Procurement Manager at NOS Telecommunication, S.A. based in Lisbon, Portugal. In her functions she is directly associated with all facets of procurement and contract management, and specializes in IT/IS negotiation and licensing.

Previously, Simmi worked as Account Manager and Project Manager for IT departments, where planning and Development of Requests for Proposals (RFP´s) were the main responsibility.

She is graduated in Business Administration and Management by Universidade Católica of Lisbon.

To summarize, during her 10 years of professional experience, she has developed a wide range of skills, such as business strategy, communication, interactions with stakeholders, change management and negotiation

SPEAKER INTERVIEW

We've had a chance to speak with Simmi in the lead up to the event and here's what she shared with us:

What would you say has changed most about procurement strategies in the last 5 years?

"During the last 5 years, procurement evolved with the changing needs of business and changed from rarity, to necessity, to part of a larger spend management strategy for a company. Procurement had to be reinvented in order to create value and to contribute to the overall performance of the organization ( EBITDA, working capital, earnings per share, and other lines on financial statements).Contrary to the past years where the procurement meant simply a negotiation process, Procurement became a Strategy for the company and cannot be done without a clear risk analysis and supplier relationship management."

You will be making a presentation at the congress this year. Could you share with us a few details about the topic of your presentation, as a preview?

"The scope of my presentation is the evolution of licensing models and the impact it has on the operators. As the competitions increases the software vendors have to find new models to fulfill customer needs and enhance the customer-vendor relationship. Issues such as balancing productivity, estimating software needs, adjusting to changing needs and dealing with new requirements forced the creation of new licensing models. The topics that I will be presenting are:·

Why licensing models for network and IT are changing very fast

What are the hurdles that operators should take care of?

How to protect your long-term investment and business model

What are the realistic negotiation approaches to succeed?"

What are you most looking forward to with regards to participating at this year's Managed Services World Congress in London on 19th September?

"I am looking forward to discuss, listen and learn about the latest trends in telco IT for the operators who are going through digital transformation."