Maulina Gupta, General Manager, Hyatt Centric Chandigarh

As a GM, what is your role in terms of procurement?

A well-developed procurement process directly translates into an improved business performance by way of focusing on bottom line savings in the long term. Keeping this in mind, my primary aim is to drive each department towards flawless coordination and healthy communication in order to ensure that the hotel’s needs are met efficiently. Maintaining good relations with our vendors is also part of the process, and maintaining their trust becomes crucial to keep the procurement process for the hotel smooth sailing. The most important skill which I also try to imbibe in my Purchase Manager are organization, holistic knowledge of company strategies, constant updating of records, market research, and following the company SOP’s ethically at all times.

How closely do you work with the procurement team or purchase department for the same?

Procurement has evolved a lot lately, which has resulted in a complete refurbishment of strategies and various changes in the organizational structure of companies on the end of retail as well as purchasing. In current times, procurement is considered a critical path for any company to maintain their positioning in the increasingly competitive market. Speaking about the hospitality industry, strategic procurement is the backbone of the entire ecosystem, which services and controls all aspects of the hotel, be it for ongoing procurements or new purchases. These new developments call for different strategies and vigilant management in order to generate the most value for business, activities which are closely managed and timely reports are shared by the Purchase Manager of the same.

Are all purchases at your hotel centralized or are their local options and variations considered?

The best decision pertaining to each requirement is made keeping in mind appropriate rates and the quality of product desired at each step, in order to ensure the best possible outcome. We usually prefer to stick with local vendors, which helps in building sustainability program and harboring support from the local community. However, in terms of sourcing products from metro cities, nearest being New Delhi, we have a plethora of options with trusted vendors as well, the only challenge being additional freight costs and logistics.

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