From Supplier to Strategic Partner

The journey of Telia Company AB (a Swedish-listed telecommunications company and mobile network operator) is a perfect example of the dynamics of the Vested learning and implementation process. Telia began its Vested journey like most organizations: wanting to understand if making the shift to a highly collaborative Vested relationship is worth the effort. Telia thought the perfect pilot would be to see if the Vested model could work to streamline the maintenance of its 16,000...
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The journey of Telia Company AB (a Swedish-listed telecommunications company and mobile network operator) is a perfect example of the dynamics of the Vested learning and implementation process. Telia began its Vested journey like most organizations: wanting to understand if making the shift to a highly collaborative Vested relationship is worth the effort. Telia thought the perfect pilot would be to see if the Vested model could work to streamline the maintenance of its 16,000 technical sites across Sweden. Telia was like many companies in that it had a fragmented network of suppliers; it had over 20 suppliers operating under more than 60 contracts. Due to the historical organization at Telia, the company had a complex facilities management structure that featured limited coordination between the management of the four site types: mobile networks, fixed networks, rock shelters and tunnels. In addition, there was limited coordination between the management of buildings and the management of cooling/heating and energy. After researching the Vested business model, Telia conducted market research to determine whether there were possible supplier partners in the Nordics that would be viable candidates for a Vested model. But the question was how to get started, especially without the experience in-house. The company did not have to look too far for help and guidance and turned to two Vested Centers of Excellence in Sweden: CIRIO Law Firm and the EY advisory group. Rather than just pick one Center of Excellence, Telia decided a combined team that leveraged the core competencies of both EY and CIRIO would be the best idea. EY would provide expertise in facilities and project management, while CIRIO Law Firm would support Telia's first Vested initiative by providing expert legal advice on how to write the actual contract.Instead of the standard, transactional Request for Proposals procedure, CIRIO and EY shepherded Telia through the collaborative Request for Partner process all the way through the contract signing with Veolia. The result? The first RFPartner-process ever performed in the Nordics. This case study explores the successful journey to Vested of Telia and Veolia, a Nordic-based environmental services company.