The hospitality industry is growing leaps and bounds and with it the need for procurement managers has also risen. These managers delve into the purchasing needs of a company, says Hemant Kumar Kochar
The continuous transformation in the Indian hospitality industry has received a level of acceptance all over the world. The next decade will be even more significant as it helps the hospitality sector define its personality and curve its position. As the Indian hospitality sector works hard to welcome an era of growth, there are numerous critical influencers or what we think of as game changers that will play a key role along the way.
The movements toward environmentally friendly solutions present a distinctive challenge to hospitality procurement. This industry demands a high rate of turnover for fixtures, furniture appliances, and consumable products. Procurement Managers manage the purchasing needs of a company. They look at business trends and markets and attempt to get the greatest value of their company’s price without compromising on quality. Procurement managers are increasingly known as the key to successful business development and functioning of companies across a wide range of industries and organisations.
Today’s procurement manager needs to be well read and must have the knowhows about a range of supply management software, including database management, financial analysis, enterprise resource planning (ERP), inventory, management, point of sale, procurement and project management programs, as well as common office software.
Purchasing and supply management is an essential role of any business. More than two thirds of revenue can be spent on buying the company’s products or services meaning the purchase manager can make a real difference in cost saving and profit.
WORK ACTIVITIES
The working action of a procurement manager reckons largely on the business functions, size and place of the employing organisation. The level of accountability held by the purchasing manager will also influence duties. Responsibilities of procurement manager are as follows:
Conducting research to find out the best products and suppliers in terms of best value deliverables
Intermediating between suppliers, manufacturers, applicable internal departments and customers
Identifying prospective suppliers, visiting existing suppliers and building and holding good kinship with them
Figuring price trends and their impact on future activities
Giving demonstrations about market analysis and potential growth
Originating the organisation’s buying strategy
SCOPE
Career development for purchasing manager alters depending on the company. In bigger organisations all the buying and procurement activities are carried out by a multiple number of people working in teams, maybe at diverse locations and so you may grow by managing one of the teams or a group of teams across the locations. In a smaller company, however, one person may be accountable for all the work, so career procession may require a change of location.
Experienced project managers may also shift to a department that deals with a larger volume of goods, products or services. Job entitles at a higher level include purchasing director, senior buyer and group procurement director. It is also possible to specialise in a particular area such as IT, facilities management, hospitality procurement or travel. You may have to travel overseas to evaluate the suitableness of goods or products, and there you may also get the opportunities to work abroad with big multinational companies.
SKIllS
Procurement managers must be capable to use Internet effectively as well as supply databases and word processing software. Apart from computer and technology skills, certified purchasing manager'’ needs to have good planning and mathematical abilities. He should be familiar with supply chain management. He must also know how to execute financial examination and be able to study technical data. Foreign language skills are practicable for those who want to work for international businesses.
OPPORTUNITIES
With the constant growth in India’s GDP, rise in the per capita income, and increased determined spending, the Indian hospitality sector is likely to grow more rapidly than most countries around the world. The natural strength of the Indian economy has lead to enlarged international visits to India. India, known the world over as the land of hospitality is today in the central stages of the business of hospitality and with boundless tourism and untouched business prospects in the coming years Indian Hospitality will only see green pastures of growth.
So the need for a large number of qualified purchasing professionals to maintain the logistics protein of the industry or to keep up-to-date with the recent trends in the hospitality industry is on a high. Apart from the hospitality industry an experienced procurement manager can get engaged in various others fields also say for, manufacturing and service companies, information and communication technology companies, the armed forces, the national health service etc.
EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:
Most employers prefer to employ purchasing managers with a 4-year college degree. A business degree, especially with a specialisation in purchasing or supply management, is principally useful. Another good permutation is an undergraduate degree in a technical field and a master’s degree in business administration. Useful areas of study to get ready for a career in purchasing or supply management include business law, finance, negotiation tactics and business ethics. Employers favour hiring applicants who are well-known with their company's products or services, so some industry-specific knowledge may be helpful as well.
REMUNERATION
The salary structure in this industry is profitable and sky is the limit for the hard workers. The salary depends on the level of experience. Starters can expect a base pay of about Rs 8,000 to
Rs 15,000. Hence, if the candidate is hardworking, enthusiastic and ready to ride on a fast moving career, a purchasing manager career could be the right choice. With an experience of around four to five years procurement management professionals can earn anything between Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.
The writer is the Director, Madhuban Academy of Hospitality Administration and Research (MAHAR).