RBI’s Path to Procurement Excellence Through Plan-to-Strategy Digitalization

About RBI

Raiffeisen Bank International is a leading commercial and investment bank operating in 24 countries across Central and Eastern Europe. Through a network of subsidiary banks and nearly 50 non-banking entities, RBI serves a broad client base in corporate, retail, and private banking. Known for its strong regional presence and focus on innovation, RBI is committed to excellence, compliance, and sustainable financial performance.

“akirolabs enables seamless communication and collaboration among all stakeholders involved in our procurement process. The platform acts as a central hub for knowledge sharing, and its AI capabilities and scenario modelling approach ensure that our strategies are effectively aligned with business goals”

— Edzard Jansen, Head of Group Procurement, Raiffeisen Bank International

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Operating in 24 countries with over 140 internal and external suppliers across 14 key markets, Raiffeisen Bank International’s procurement ecosystem was highly complex. The decentralized nature of the business had led to procurement processes being managed independently within regions, entities, and business units—often using local tools, ad hoc workflows, and varying levels of maturity.

Category management, in particular, suffered from fragmentation. Without a centralized approach, strategies were often isolated to individual regions, stored in disconnected documents, and based on inconsistent data. Stakeholders had no unified place to contribute input, align on goals, or collaborate across borders. This made it nearly impossible to execute procurement in a way that consistently delivered strategic value.

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“We had to digitize the pre-sourcing process and bring it all into one platform. The ambition is that all stakeholders have access to internal, external, and demand data—structured and shared through one system.”

— Petra Posch-Zottl, Head of Group Category & Vendor Management

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The limitations didn’t stop at inefficiencies. RBI operates under one of the most demanding regulatory environments in Europe. Regulatory requirements from bodies like the European Central Bank, local data privacy laws, and cybersecurity frameworks meant procurement had to demonstrate full auditability of decisions, supplier data, and contractual relationships at any moment.

Manual documentation, fragmented platforms, and unlinked contract data left the organization exposed to compliance risk and limited its ability to link internal supply chains with external partners. Cross-functional collaboration between procurement, legal, risk, and business units was inconsistent and reactive.

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“You cannot have sequential stakeholder involvement—you have to run it in parallel. That’s what we managed very well in recent years: bringing in compliance, GDPR, IT, and security to create a true stakeholder community.”

— Armin Balutsch, Head of Group Transformation and Outsourcing

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The final layer of complexity was around people and talent. Procurement teams across different regions lacked a consistent system or framework for developing strategy, sharing intelligence, or learning from one another. Category knowledge was trapped in silos, and staff readiness varied widely across locations.

With growing demands from the business, increasing compliance complexity, and inconsistent operational models, RBI recognized that its procurement function—especially category management—needed a new foundation. One that could unify processes, enforce visibility and accountability, and build a collaborative, data-driven procurement culture.

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To overcome the fragmentation in its procurement organization and bring strategy to the forefront, RBI turned to akirolabs. Rather than implementing another standalone sourcing tool, RBI sought a platform that could connect strategy, execution, data, and people — with category management at its core.

akirolabs provided RBI with a centralized, AI-enabled procurement platform that digitized the entire pre-sourcing process — including stakeholder inputs, market intelligence, risk factors, demand data, and internal objectives. This eliminated reliance on email threads, Excel files, and siloed systems.
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“You bring everybody into the platform and then you work with the survey tools, so all the data is structured already"

— Petra Posch-Zottl, Head of Group Category & Vendor Management

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Now, every strategic sourcing initiative starts within akirolabs. Internal and external stakeholders participate early and consistently through structured workflows. Category managers guide the process using real-time data and market analysis tools built into the platform — like SWOT, PESTLE, Porter’s 5 Forces, and cost driver breakdowns — ensuring that each strategy is fully informed and aligned. akirolabs also houses a centralized strategy cockpit and knowledge repository, giving every team access to historical decisions, templates, strategic frameworks, and compliance-ready documentation. This consistency helps new users ramp up quickly and allows category strategies to evolve with precision rather than guesswork.
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“The central procurement platform and strategy cockpit has helped us create a knowledge repository for all, providing easy access to relevant information and data. That’s integral, because stakeholder management really is the key.”

— Petra Posch-Zottl, Head of Group Category & Vendor Management

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Beyond tooling, the transformation was also about people. To further support capability development, RBI integrated akirolabs into its existing Procurement Academy — an internal initiative launched earlier to upskill teams across the bank. The idea was to give everybody in the procurement organisation the same opportunity to acquire the relevant knowledge regardless of where procurement is sitting. By consolidating procurement into one intelligent, collaborative system, RBI didn’t just fix inefficiencies — it laid the groundwork for scalable, strategic procurement that empowers teams, accelerates results, and ensures regulatory resilience.
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“We are working together, sharing market intelligence through the inbuilt AI tools, and defining the strategy of each subcategory within the platform... By bringing everyone onto the platform and using survey tools, we ensure all data is structured and transparent.”

— Petra Posch-Zottl, Head of Group Category & Vendor Management, Raiffeisen Bank International

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RBI’s adoption of akirolabs marked a turning point in its procurement journey — from fragmented processes and disconnected category strategies to a highly integrated, data-driven, and future-ready function.

The bank now operates with a single source of truth for procurement across all 14 key markets. With category strategies aligned across territories and stakeholder input structured digitally from the outset, sourcing decisions are faster, more transparent, and more strategically aligned. Procurement is no longer a siloed back-office function — it’s a business enabler.

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“We finally have this full transparency, and thus we can manage these relationships. The responsibility for all internal and external supply relationships makes us different compared to other procurement organisations.”

— Edzard Janssen, Head of Group Procurement, Outsourcing & Real Estate Management

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RBI’s procurement team now enjoys full control and visibility over supplier performance, regulatory compliance, and risk exposure. With integrated contract lifecycle management and a clear link between internal and external supply chains, the bank can respond swiftly to both operational needs and compliance audits.
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“We have now covered the entire procurement flow under one umbrella.”

— Konstantin Redko, Head of Tools & Processes, RBI Procurement

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As a result, procurement at RBI is no longer about just driving cost savings — it’s about driving capability, consistency, and competitive advantage. RBI has positioned itself not only as a leader in procurement digitalization in financial services, but as a model for how to build a strategic, scalable procurement organization that adapts to evolving business needs.

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