Interview with José Cruz Zirión
- Briefly describe your professional career in Shopping
My professional career in Sidenor has been mainly in the Commercial department until in 2010 I had the opportunity to go to the Purchasing department. It was, as I say, an opportunity and also a challenge, it was about leading the management of that department.
It must be borne in mind that Sidenor at that time was integrated into a multinational group; The first step was, therefore, to get our purchasing department to align with the global management. Thus, we achieve a global strategy to carry out the Purchases of the entire company. From here, we take responsibility, among other issues, for the purchasing strategy of the Indian factory.
After a group of managers acquired Sidenor in 2016, from the Purchasing department we carried out a new strategy to focus our services on the Sidenor factories.
- How do you define yourself as a buyer?
With responsibility, since it is essential to find the balance between customer satisfaction and ensure that your product is delivered with the quality committed within the agreed time, and the cost, which is not only the price but the TCO concept.
In our philosophy it is to work directly with the supplier, make him a participant from the first minute and thus collaborate closely to seek continuous improvement and mutual benefit. In fact, we have already carried out three-way initiatives with customers and suppliers with excellent results in both service and cost.
- As for the organization in Sidenor, what place does Shopping occupy in the scorecard? Is it a strategic function?
The Purchasing department is represented in the highest body of the company, the Operations Committee, which is where the strategic projects are decided.
It is also a cross-sectional department since it collaborates with other departments of the company and is part of different work groups where the purchasing criteria is essential.
- Has shopping changed the way you work with suppliers? What does technological innovation contribute to the Purchasing function ?
Technological innovation and digitalization is a reality that has come to stay and from the Purchasing department of Sidenor we are implementing a new digital service that will involve improving and optimizing information, and doing it more efficiently and with greater control.
Likewise, digitalization will also serve to improve the company’s CSR as we seek the commitment of our suppliers to the SDGs.
- Is it necessary to give a boost to specific training for Purchasing professionals?
Yes, clearly, a boost to specific training for purchasing professionals is essential. In fact, there is already specific training, such as AERCE, which offers ad hoc modules.
In addition to training, I think it is essential that the purchasing professional have an in-depth knowledge of the entire production system since only then will he be able to provide more added value by being able to detect possible aspects that improve that result in greater productivity and, Therefore, competitiveness of the company.
- About your day to day, what are the most important functions in the management of Sidenor Purchases?
Sidenor’s Purchasing management has two distinct parts, one in the short term and one in the medium term. The short-term is the day to day of the company, so that from the purchasing department you must carry out all the arrangements with the suppliers so that the company has all the necessary supplies that guarantee the operation of the whole process productive. This activity must always be carried out, as I mentioned earlier, with a constant search for improvements in products or services that result in greater competitiveness.
The second part of Sidenor’s purchasing management is in the medium term, aimed at the investments that the company is undertaking and will continue to make in the future. In this context, from the purchasing department we work closely with other departments of the company so that the suppliers that provide greater competitiveness, quality, service, among other aspects, are those who work with us in our investment plan.
- What have been the latest challenges or changes that have taken place from your department?
We are currently immersed in different ambitious projects of the company, such as digital transformation, investment plan and circular economy.
Regarding the digital transformation, we are working on a new platform for suppliers and in this way further improve our relationship with them and optimize the processes of the purchasing department.
Regarding the investment plan, the implication of Purchases is being intense and strategic for our department since we are participating in the definition of what the company will be in the future.
Regarding the circular economy, our department is also committed, like the entire organization, with respect for the environment and the environment, so that efforts are focused on reducing consumption to the maximum and, in parallel, to achieve more and more value and reuse .
- How does Purchases participate in CSR policies in the company?
The participation of the Sidenor purchasing department in the company’s CSR is very active, since we require both the suppliers we work with today, and the companies with which we start a collaborative relationship that they have to fulfill rajatabla social commitments related to the eradication of child labor and forced or compulsory labor; security and health at work; respect for the environment; fair competition and honesty.
In addition, our objective is that the suppliers we work with also demand these criteria from their own suppliers and, thus, achieve a network of suppliers committed to CSR.
- Finally, how do you see the profession in the future in the medium and long term?
The profession of medium and long-term purchases I anticipate that it will have increasing weight within organizations, since after the last crisis we have experienced, the importance of having a good Purchasing management in companies has become clear, which has allowed to adjust costs, seek alternatives and improve competitiveness at times where it was even more necessary.
Therefore, the future of purchases should go through being present in the strategic areas of the companies. In this way, the vision that is taken from the purchasing department will be an added value to the analyzes that are carried out from other departments of the company to, among all, make strategic decisions that will mark the future of the companies.
For more information about Sidenor and how to face the challenges of the sector: https://www.sidenor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/1906_MC_FacingFuture.pdf
Soon the original interview on the page of the association of professionals of AERCE Purchases: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aerce/