“Path to success, or How it all started”. Interview with the new head of purchase department.

In August 2020, the staff of our company replenished with a new top manager. We had a talk with the head of the purchase department, Andrei Dumpa, and learned how his career began at Fruitreal LLC, what difficulties he faces every day in his work and what it takes to become a successful leader.

1. Andrei, could you please tell us how did your career in Fruitreal LLC begin? What was your career path during the years in the company?

I began my career as a quality expert in 2009, during the reconstruction of the company after the events of 2007. At that time, the volumes were small, two to three times less than now. I had little experience, I just graduated from school, so it was difficult to start, and it took several months to adapt. An additional factor was that at that time I had to combine the work with university studies.

In 2011, I decided that it would not be enough to have just Belarusian education for further work in the company. Therefore, for the next four years, I studied at the University of Brighton. The business school allowed me to improve my English and gave the basics that the future manager needs so much.

In 2015, I went back to work in the company as a specialist of purchasing department. Moreover, already in 2020 I became the head of the purchase department.

2. What qualities and skills, in your opinion, allowed you to get that promotion?

First, it is a sense of responsibility. I clearly understand how much depends on my work, no matter what position I hold. I am interested in the result, it is important for me to reach the maximum effect. Main thing, I sincerely root for the company interests, because this is a family business that my father and his partners developed from scratch. I think, I am a reliable person, so people can easily rely on me.

In addition, my strong suits are sociability and the ability to analyze statistics. After all, in the purchase department it is important to understand what the core of the specialist's work is. The main task is to buy the necessary volume of goods in highly competitive conditions. Therefore, you need to find the right approach to each supplier, and analyze the huge number of factors that affect the sales and procurement plan to solve this problem.

3. What difficulties do you experience in your work?

There are two sides of the same coin in the purchase: on the one hand, it is the need to purchase high-quality goods, and on the other hand, it should be an acceptable price. 
We all understand that this is very rarely feasible, but we still always try to find this balance so that we can offer our customers a good product at a reasonable cost.

In order to achieve this balance, we develop relationships with our suppliers and support them. 
We try to find compromises in all emerging issues, because cooperation must be mutually beneficial, otherwise nothing will work.

4. Is there already a clear work plan or are you just adapt to a new workplace?

While being just a specialist of purchase department, I had many thoughts about improving the efficiency of the department. Some of them we have already implemented, and some have become irrelevant over time. To date, there are still ideas that, in a new capacity, already being a leader, will be much easier to implement.

I am sure that there is no limit to perfection. I will carry out changes, both insignificant and cardinal, in the purchase department on an ongoing basis. After all, today the world changes very quickly, and we simply have to adapt to these changes, only in this way we can succeed in our work.

5. Could you say some words to young specialists who are just starting a career in the company and, in particular, as specialists in the purchase department?

In fact, we have very good working conditions in our department, a friendly team, a new office, the opportunity to earn good money, free coffee and fresh fruit around. The work is very 
interesting, it involves communication with representatives of companies from all over the world and business trips to the farthest corners of our planet. Our employees have visited 
China, Peru, India, Iran and other countries. In Europe, we annually visit exhibitions of fresh fruits and vegetables that take place in Madrid and Berlin (the photo above is just from there), 
there we meet with our partners and look for new suppliers.

I would like to wish young specialists to be purposeful, responsible, hardworking, constantly developing and striving to learn new things so that work gives them pleasure. With us, in just 
a year, you can grow from an assistant to a purchasing specialist into a specialist, and independently manage certain goods. Well, the result of the specialist's work is reflected
 in his salary, the better you work, the more fruits with

We wish Andrei emotional and mental balance and ease in achieving his goals.