At the very end of the 18th Leader’s Procurement Conference, Zdravka Demeter Bubalo, the Chief Operating Officer of Customer Service and Retail of the INA Group, had a one-on-one conversation with Gordana Gelenčer.
Demeter Bubalo, just like many speakers before her, agreed that the procurement function is far more important today than it was 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Today, the procurement department is extremely important and is no longer viewed as a ‘technical support’ as it once was, so Demeter Bubalo emphasized the need to ‘sit at the table’ and be a ‘strategic player’.
– Procurement is key and strategic, and it is one of the most important segments of our business – stated Demeter Bubalo, noting that INA operates as an integrated company and that all segments of operation function as one, including procurement.
– The flow of goods, relationships with suppliers, customers… all of this is complex, and we must be extremely agile day by day and find solutions because nothing is like it used to be. There are no more patterns, and changes are frequent, so you must adapt – said the Chief Operating Officer of Customer Service and Retail at INA, adding that they are one of the largest HoReCa players in the domestic market. She also stated that as a company, they are increasingly leaning towards a circular economy to be as sustainable as possible, and in addition to having over 500 retail locations in the region, they are increasingly focusing on gastro shops alongside fossil fuels, which they are extremely proud of.
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Furthermore, in the conversation, she mentioned that the CPO must be proactive, be at the table, and be part of the decision-making process because it is not the same to speak the procurement language among procurement experts and to advocate at the company level.
– More proactive approaches to proposing creative solutions are increasingly valued and important because experts in this field know how to improve procurement, and that is why they need to sit at the table – stated Demeter Bubalo, emphasizing that procurement always values good and tangible results, so if someone is good at procurement, it means they will be good in business, and that is why procurement experts should be pushed into business.
In conclusion, Demeter Bubalo stated that it is extremely important to expose young people in the procurement segment within the company, but also to external experts, as these are exceptionally qualified individuals who can significantly contribute to the conversation, have innovative ideas, understand technology, and can provide added value.
– We need procurement for new ideas, innovation, technology; it is not expected that procurement only cuts costs, but it is expected to bring knowledge and skills… of course, there is also cost-cutting, especially in today’s time, but procurement can bring many good business solutions that other departments neither can nor know how to provide, and that is why they must be proactive – concluded the Chief Operating Officer of Customer Service and Retail.
