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“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?

In the purchase department, two sides of the same coin: on the one hand, this is the need to purchase high-quality goods at a low price and the closure of claims for low-quality goods, and on the other hand, the preservation of good relations with suppliers.

Suppliers are unhappy with our acceptance of goods and they have complaints about quality, and it is very important for us to balance between ensuring that the company receives the necessary income for further existence, and at the same time, maintain good relations with suppliers.

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 the department, a friendly team, a new office, and free coffee and fresh fruit around. The work is very interesting; it involves communication with company representatives and business trips around the world. Our employees visited China, Peru, India, Iran and other countries. As well as in Europe, for example, in Madrid and Berlin we meet new partners and look for new suppliers on annual exhibitions of fresh fruits and vegetables.

I wish young specialists would be purposeful, responsible, hardworking, constantly developing and striving to learn new things, so that work would give them pleasure. In just a year, it is possible to grow from an assistant to a specialist and independently conduct certain products. In the end, the result of the specialist's work affects the salary, the better you work, the more fruits you can afford.

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