THE PILLARS WHO PROPPED PROCUREMENT

Advance planning, benchmarking, collaborating with local vendors – leading procurement professionals share how they adopted newer and improved processes to augment efficiency

- PRANITA BHOSALE

While the pandemic unraveled traditional hospitality processes and practices, there was one department that stood strong and ensured that business V continued as usual. These heroes, belonging to the procurement department, ensured that their hotels could overcome supply chain challenges, manpower shortages and rising prices. What's more, they also managed to champion the cause of sustainability, which helped enhance resource efficiency along with cost savings, while also attracting the rising tribe of eco-conscious travellers.

To understand the road ahead, Hotelier India organized the 'Pillars of Procurement' webinar on 11th March, 2022. The virtual event was curated by Nitin Nagrale, Founder of Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum and he was joined by his peers Basil Massey, Corporate GM - Purchase at The Leela Place, Hotels and Resorts, Bharanidharan Ramaswamy, Director of Procurement, APEC at Marriott International, Hariharan NV, Associate VP-Materials at Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and Sudhir Gupta, Head - Procurement at ITC Hotels. During this session, the panelists addressed pertinent topics, including digital transformation in procurement, supply chain challenges, sustainability and working with local vendors.

THE ABC OF PROCUREMENT

Nagrale flagged the session by quizzing Ramaswamy about the changes Marriott implemented to keep pace with market dynamics. The latter stated that the hospitality company focused on the ABC principle, which encompasses advance planning, benchmarking and collaboration. While advance planning was challenging during the pandemic when things kept shifting constantly, adhering to this principle can help save substantial money, time and effort.