The situation
MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile network operator, serves more than 291 million customers across 16 markets. Despite its scale and market position, the company's Global Shared Services Centre (GSSC) function faced a significant operational constraint: its procurement process was inefficient, characterised by prolonged cycle times that slowed decision-making and resource allocation.
The GSSC's procurement workflow operated on a linear model, moving sequentially through sourcing stages without the flexibility to respond to changing requirements or accelerate delivery where needed. This structural rigidity meant that procurement activities took longer than necessary, creating bottlenecks that rippled through the organisation's operations.
The approach
In 2023, MTN Group's GSSC function initiated a transformation programme designed to fundamentally reshape how procurement work flowed. Rather than maintain the linear sourcing process, the team redesigned the function around agile methodologies—moving toward a more iterative, outcome-led approach that could adapt and respond more quickly to business needs.
To support this shift, MTN engaged Agility Arabia, a transformation partner that provided training, coaching, and guidance on agile ways of working. The support extended across squads and stakeholders, ensuring that teams understood not only the mechanics of agile practice but also how to embed iterative thinking into procurement decision-making and delivery.
Iterative delivery can work in procurement when ownership and backlogs are clear.
This principle became central to the redesign. By clarifying ownership structures and establishing transparent backlogs of procurement work, the GSSC created conditions in which agile practices could function effectively in an environment traditionally dominated by linear, stage-gate processes.
What happened
The transformation yielded a measurable outcome: MTN Group achieved a 55 per cent reduction in procurement cycle times across the GSSC function. This improvement reflected the effectiveness of the agile redesign, demonstrating that iterative, outcome-focused methodologies could deliver tangible efficiency gains in a procurement context.
The reduction in cycle times translated into faster sourcing decisions, quicker vendor engagement, and accelerated procurement delivery. By moving away from a sequential model and toward concurrent, iterative work streams, the GSSC function was able to compress timelines without sacrificing quality or governance.
The takeaway
The MTN Group case demonstrates that agile methodologies, when applied thoughtfully to procurement, can significantly enhance operational efficiency. The 55 per cent reduction in cycle times shows that the linear sourcing model—long considered standard in procurement—is not the only viable approach. Organisations willing to invest in training, clarify ownership and backlogs, and embrace iterative delivery can unlock substantial performance improvements in procurement operations.
For large, complex organisations managing procurement at scale, the implication is clear: agility is not confined to software development or product teams. When supported by clear governance structures and stakeholder alignment, agile ways of working can reshape how traditional business functions operate, leading to faster decision-making and improved operational performance.
- MTN Group is Africa’s largest mobile network operator, serving more than 291 million customers across 16 markets.
- In 2023, MTN's GSSC function set out to redesign how procurement work flowed, moving from a linear sourcing process to a more iterative, outcome-led approach.
- Agility Arabia supported the programme with training, coaching, and ways-of-working guidance across squads and stakeholders.
