Procurement Driven by Innovation

Today’s conference topic is innovation, and I hope we all return to our workplaces tomorrow with new ideas or at least contacts – said Mirela Senica, the procurement director at IBM, opening this year’s jubilee 10th procurement conference, jointly organized by the Croatian Association of Procurement Professionals (HUND) and the business weekly Lider.

She emphasized that HUND recently elected a new management team, of which she is at the helm, signed a cooperation agreement with the Association of Procurement Professionals of Slovenia, and presented a new, innovative, and up-to-date website for the Association.

Marina Lindič from the Association of Procurement Professionals of Slovenia stated that procurement will become a strategic function in every Slovenian company, significantly contributing to the development and success of businesses.

– We strive for the procurement function in Slovenia to gain greater significance, to exchange knowledge and experiences in the profession because the more we know, the higher our reputation will be in the companies we work for – she emphasized.

In the introductory part of the conference, Lidija Pintek from Đuro Đaković delivered a lecture titled ‘Innovative Procurement Management in an Industrial Group’ in which she presented the organization of Đuro Đaković and highlighted the significant challenge of organizing procurement in such a branched group. She defined an industrial group as a collection of multiple members that have the same owner, follow group rules and principles of operation, and use synergy as a lever to achieve a better market position.

– We have adapted our organization by defining a unique group procurement process, which is now the same for all members of the Đuro Đaković group. This way, we determine what our strategic procurement goals are and what are standard ones – Pintek stated, adding that ensuring a good plan and timely execution of procurement is crucial for successful operations. The goals are savings and transparency, which they achieve through standardization and categorization of procurement as introductory steps towards e-procurement.

– In the Đuro Đaković group, all entities operate independently, so it was necessary to establish certain agreements between individuals participating in group procurement. We work by creating a framework agreement with defined conditions under which each member then conducts its procurement – Pintek explained, noting that innovative procurement management is not a simple process as procurement and innovation are in a somewhat antagonistic relationship; procurement is a conservative process while innovation involves untested ideas. Nevertheless, an innovative approach is essential to survive the increasingly complex market demands, she emphasized, elaborating on this process within her group.

– We have launched quite a few outsourced services, trying to focus on core business; these are some initial steps in innovative procurement. It is very important to select suppliers who can participate in this story and who will help us with innovations, being partners in business. I believe that collaboration with suppliers leads to mutual progress and savings – Pintek said, adding that clear criteria must always be established that suppliers must meet.

– What we all need to know is that as individuals, we will never be able to create a successful story; we need a creative team, people need to be trained for collaborative work, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses less significant – she concluded.

Under the slogan “Procurement Driven by Innovation,” throughout the day, domestic and foreign experts will present important topics of interest to professionals in the procurement field through lectures and round tables.