20+ years
of reliable, knowledgeable procurement
support from SoftwareOne
SoftwareOne case study
As a major company with more than 40,000 employees around the globe, Volvo Cars relies on a wide range of software to keep its business running. Its software estate includes everything from large publishers to smaller vendors that publish specialised software for auto designers, engineers and other professionals.
For over 20 years, Volvo Cars has relied on SoftwareOne to manage its “tail spend” software procurement, which covers hundreds of lower-volume yet vital software purchases every year. SoftwareOne’s services ensure that licences are cost-efficient and up to date, minimising compliance risks, missed renewals and other issues.
of reliable, knowledgeable procurement
support from SoftwareOne
licences and renewals managed
by SoftwareOne
for cost-effective and compliant
software procurement
Volvo Cars is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, but has offices and manufacturing facilities around the world. So when it was looking for procurement support to gain control over its tail spend software purchasing in 2002, it turned to SoftwareOne. Volvo Cars software asset management department focuses much of its attention on managing the automaker’s largest software vendors.
Managing hundreds of purchases for software used by specialist teams in different departments and regions requires a lot of work – finding the best suppliers, determining pricing, identifying how many licences are needed, keeping track of renewal dates and much more. These are usually much smaller contracts than the ones Volvo Cars has with large software vendors. But it’s still vital to manage these software agreements properly to control costs, ensure best practices in procurement and comply with licensing requirements.
SoftwareOne has provided much-needed support to Volvo Cars in this area for more than 20 years.
It’s a very well-established
process. If things come up, we
quickly handle them through
close engagement with the
SoftwareOne team. They’re an
important supplier for us and
provide good governance
as well.
Head of Sourcing and Software Asset Management
Volvo Cars can rely on a dedicated SoftwareOne team with expertise in digital supply chain services. Procurement leaders at Volvo Cars have built a strong relationship with that team over the years and can quickly and easily get in touch with the right person whenever they have a question or concern. Those support services are built on best practices for procurement, ensuring that purchases, billing, renewals and other needs are managed promptly and efficiently, with a single service provider handling everything. It’s a factory-like model that provides a proven procurement system with economies of scale, clear cost benefits and deep knowledge of the software vendor and licensing environment.
SoftwareOne supports Volvo Cars across three main areas of digital services. It helps with advice around vendor negotiations, as well as with management services for the many smaller-contract software vendors that Volvo Cars works with.
In addition to the peace of mind that Volvo Cars gains from having a single partner to manage all the details of its tail end software procurement, the automaker also benefits from the structured data and reports that SoftwareOne provides. This helps Volvo Cars maintain the right number of licences and avoid compliance issues and penalties for unlicensed usage. It also helps to prepare well in advance for licence renewals, renegotiations or decisions around discontinuing certain software
A software asset manager shares that Volvo Cars has regular monthly meetings with the SoftwareOne support team based in India. This is in addition to conversations that happen almost daily due to the volume of software that SoftwareOne assists Volvo Cars with. By managing procurement details for so much software, SoftwareOne frees Volvo Cars from having to manage buying relationships with hundreds of different vendors around the world, she notes.
As software needs and capabilities change, Volvo Cars expects that it will continue to rely on SoftwareOne for up-to-date and knowledgeable procurement support and advisory services for tail spend software.