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Open borders, globalization processes and computerization are the factors that have altered purchasing processes of Polish enterprises. Companies are seeking new suppliers’ markets from Eastern Europe or Asia, and highly-specialized information systems are controlling every phase of the purchasing process. In the decision-making process, managers not only take into account the purchase price of a service or product, but also its future maintenance costs. Purchasing processes are constantly changing.

During the conference, corporate procurement executives of the biggest organizations and enterprises, as well as other experts, had the chance to present their experiences in Panel I entitled: “Change management in purchasing”, as the results of the change processes in the purchasing departments of different entities vary.

Shared Services Center (SSC) - how to cut the costs

In the resent past, the purchasing departments were not separate organization unit, and today central offices or purchasing departments are created and in many cases deal with supplies both for their own organizations and the entire groups of companies. This allows for the costs reduction and a flexible employment structure. The Shared Services Centers – as they are called – are spreading as a consequence of the financial crisis. They are usually created for the areas of finance, HR, IT or supply.

One of the companies to build a Shared Services Center in purchasing is Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A.

- We are in progress with advanced conceptual works on creating a SSC in our Group of Companies. Our Company is a huge organization and having such a center will increase effective management of the purchasing processes, optimize costs and open us for new suppliers. However, the process is neither simple nor fast in the case of such a big organization as we are, and considering the Polish regulative environment – says Jan Stasiak, Purchasing Department Director in the Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. Group of Companies.

In Poland, there operate 37 such centers. Recently, such a center has been established by the Prime Minister’s Office (for the purpose of tenders for public administration in 26 categories). The SSC have been operated in Germany, Latvia, U.K., Greece and Scandinavian Countries.

The SSC was the main focus of the 2^nd Panel “The Shared Services Center”.

Index databases

Companies frequently consider an appropriate categorization and design of the index databases as an element of planning, supplier selection and managing of a contract or purchase performance. Groups of companies or multi-entity organizations require unified service in individual units, database management and applying relevant IT tools to support the index databases.

The above issues were discussed in a special case study presented during the Conference.

The Public Procurement Act needs verification

Big companies that operate under the Public Procurement Law are dissatisfied with the extensive bureaucracy of the purchasing process. However, this situation can even get worse, in particular, in the area of subliminal contracts, with the Council of Ministers adopting in late July the draft legislation guidelines for amending the existing law.

- The proposed regulations may interfere with the purchasing policies on subliminal contracts. We will discuss the way it may affect the business of strategic companies which act under this law and what measures can be taken to eliminate an extensive bureaucracy of the purchasing process - said Przemysław Kotwicki, Procurement and Administration Deputy Director in Gaz-System S.A.

The regulations on public procurement have caused controversy for many years. The goal of the provisions is to enable equal treatment of all entities participating in tender procedures, but in fact they hinder, complicate and impede tenders for products and services.

- Many potential contractors decide not to participate in the process due to an excessive formalization of the public contracts’ procedures. For each procedure exceeding 387,000 euro, a contractor is required to provide a great number of certificates by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), Tax Office, the National Criminal Register and many other. This also applies to foreign entities, and even banks, notwithstanding the fact that such documents were already presented by those companies in the course of another procedure – adds Jan Stasiak, PGE.

Sometimes, once the call for tenders have been issued, companies have no further influence on the procedure,...

- Such situations actually take place and are particularly dangerous when market tenders are changed. A company’s management board is in fact “incapacitated” after the procedure has been initiated, and is not even able to cancel the procedure when it concludes that its continuation is beyond its interest or will not be entered by an appropriate number of contractors – exemplifies Daniel Szczęsny, key purchasing specialist in the PGE S.A. Group of Companies.

- Our opinion should be taken into account, as we generate the most spending within this area – says Jan Stasiak, Purchasing Department Director in the Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. Group of Companies.

The issues relating to the public procurement was the main focus of the 3^rd panel “The amendments to the Public Procurement Act”.

Resources in a purchasing organization

Day-to-day operation of purchasing departments is frequently dependant on the IT resources applied. The participants of the 2^nd Purchasing Conference of PGE discussed this matter within the 4^th panel “Resources of a purchasing organization”.

- An effective purchasing section means employees who successfully use the available IT solutions. Purchasers would not be able to build optimal purchasing strategies for individual product ranges, if they did not use an analysis of different data from the entire organization or market information. On the other hand, an enterprise requires continuous information input from the purchasing section. These two directions of the information flow should be managed in an aware manner. This is where the IT systems play their part – says Robert Bonat, Implementation Department Director in Marketplanet.  

The participants of this panel answered the questions about effective information management in purchasing sections, and the practical requirements for IT systems designed to support the purchasing functions.

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The conference was attended by nearly 100 representatives of fuel, energy, banking, insurance, construction, military, aviation or telecommunication sectors, as well as public sector units.