Sam Rose

What was the catalyst for you to get into Procurement?

My first role was in NPD for a food manufacturing business. The challenge of finding good quality ingredients at the right price was exciting and gave me a taste of negotiation. I was then fortunate to gain a place on a trainee buyer scheme with a Dutch food company called Zwanenberg. My passion for procurement was cemented during this time under the guidance of my line manager, Shane Nowakowski. He taught me to appreciate that suppliers are an extension of one's business and how important it is to invest in the relationship with them.

What does a typical day in procurement look like for you?

I try to keep things simple. Daily activities typically fall into one of three areas: 1) Everyday leadership of my team supporting them to deliver procurement excellence; 2) Partnering with my colleagues around the business; 3) Talking with our suppliers. Getting these things right is the heart of what I do.

What is the best piece of advice you've been given about procurement?

Early on in my career I learnt to be super organised. My mantra is 'Always be prepared'. I had a filofax and I wrote everything useful in it. It sounds so simple, but it's that important. Being prepared is the recipe to a successful negotiation. In our team we keep meticulous digital folders with all our key information and I've also implemented a contract database.

What is the biggest achievement you have had in your procurement career?

Definitely the most rewarding is supporting and coaching my incredible team of procurement professionals. I'm also proud of the way we've brought procurement to life across tails.com. We invented a simple idea to train the basics of procurement to every team in the business called 'How to buy a dog' - the parallel to procurement is that if you're going to buy yourself a dog, you'd do good research: write down the breed and characteristics you're looking for (the specification), check out a number of breeders (supplier assessment), meet several dogs (know the product!). This approach worked really well.

What was the hardest thing you have ever had to source?

I was in the procurement team at the Savoy Hotel. We had to source the cleaning services for the hotel - not the most glamorous category but incredibly challenging. Having a beautifully clean hotel is paramount and directly contributes to the guest experience. There were so many things to get right - not just cleaning rooms and foyers but attention to detail such as how hundreds of thousands of lightbulbs in chandeliers would be cleaned and what defined a shiny marble floor.

What advice do you have for delivering an excellent SRM programme?

The secret to our SRM is its simplicity! Don't have process for process' sake. If you introduce a process internally and externally, its success is its adoptability long term. For something to be adoptable, it needs to be low effort and high impact. We hope our suppliers find our sessions enjoyable and that it contributes to their success in being the best supplier to tails.com.

Tell us all about your dogs Claude and Bea

They are both Parson Russell Terriers. Claude will be 5 this Christmas and Bea is one and a half. Much to the amusement of my suppliers, they regularly appear in meetings with me online. We're so lucky to have such wonderful creatures, although Bea decided to 'investigate' (tear to shreds) what was inside our sofa cushions recently - and eat a lump of coal too!

What advice would you give to anyone looking to forge a career in procurement?

Go for it! Procurement has the capability and freedom for innovation, strategy building, commercial and numerical analysis, negotiation and relationship management. It also gives you a great foundation in understanding how a business is run. The CIPS programme is super helpful and all of our procurement team go through it.

Rapid Fire

Afghan Hound or Siberian Husky?

Afghan Hound | Country Walk or London Park? Country Walk | Lands End to John O'Groats or Swim the Channel? Neither - I want to sail the Atlantic | Horse Riding or Camel Trek? Horse Riding | Dame Ellen MacArthur or Sir Edmund Hillary? Dame Ellen MacArthur