STRAUMANN GROUP
and other professionals in the medical industry. So I was excited to take on the challenge and do something different.”
The nuances of the oral healthcare industry – which is notoriously competitive and regulated – is not the only challenge Sandra has embraced in her role.
As Head of Procurement for Straumann’ s NAM division, she has become an agent of profound change – driving a complete rebranding and reinvention of the company’ s procurement function across its North America operations.
“To be competitive and successful, a procurement leader in 2025 needs to think strategically”
SANDRA ACQUAAH, HEAD OF PROCUREMENT, NAM STRAUMANN GROUP
Rebranding procurement as a value-driven service to the organisation Procurement in the past has been frequently overlooked by many companies – part of why it’ s often regarded as a‘ hidden gem’ profession, a rewarding arena that professionals fall into as opposed to actively seeking out.
Historically seen as a back-office function routing purchasing requests, orders and payments, procurement’ s capacity to provide value to organisations has gone from being questioned to being actively promoted.
This change in mindset amongst business leaders is thanks to pioneering procurement transformations like the one being pursued at the Straumann Group.
“ The transformation has primarily been about changing the perception of procurement – from a traditional back-office function to an integrated business partner,” Sandra explains.
“ We’ ve focused on becoming a trusted function within the company.
“ To achieve this, we needed to understand the business beyond the world of procurement and to anticipate the needs of the business that procurement has previously not met, crafting solutions to elevate cross-engagement.
“ Transformation isn’ t just about refining processes; it’ s about making them better, clearer, simpler and compliant while supporting the company’ s goals.”
This understanding has informed Sandra’ s alignment of procurement with wider business needs, shifting the organisation’ s approach to purchasing.
“ We’ ve built procurement strategies and processes that align with business needs, ensuring full visibility into company spend. This allows us to optimise spending while strengthening supplier partnerships as well as internal stakeholder engagement,” she adds.
78 May 2025