NATIONAL REPORT— With the whirlwind of new hotels and renovation projects that have populated the hospitality industry over the last several years, the need for experienced purchasing agents has significantly increased. While these specialists continue to weather challenges such as longer lead times, shorter schedules, rising costs and quality control, the majority of purchasing companies are in agreement that the biggest change over the last 15 years has been the globalization of their industry. “Fifteen years ago, the majority of manufacturers were located here in the U.S. Now a significant majority of products are manufactured overseas, with China producing a bulk of that,” said Neil Locke, principal, Neil Locke & Associates. “With the globalization of the marketplace we’re now also seeing product from Malaysia, Vietnam and especially India, which is exploding with hotel development right now. South America and Mexico are also getting into the mix.” Along with this globalization has come a number of obstacles, the main two being quality control and scheduling, which has led to major changes in the role of purchasing companies. “On any major project now, a huge portion of the product comes from overseas because the cost is too big a factor to ignore,” said Douglas Parker, partner, The Parker Company. “But dealing with overseas vendors has put more emphasis on the purchasing agent’s role and responsibilities because they need to spend more time investigating the sources, coordinating shipments and acting as the intermediary on a variety of issues.” Scheduling has also become more imperative with regards to overseas product, according to Locke. “It’s a trade-off of price versus time when it comes to overseas product. Overseas product is more cost-effective, but delivery times have to be adjusted to allow for more time. You’ve got to balance it out. The marketplace is so intense right now and saturated with business that delivery is a constant challenge,” he said. The biggest problem stemming from overseas manufacturers has been verifying their quality and legitimacy, therefore there is more need than ever for procurement companies to do their homework. “We must get 10 new vendors a week that tell us they have a giant factory in China and are working on dozens of project. When you actually take the time to investigate their references and claims, we usually find that 90% of what you are told is false,” Parker said. The sheer volume of hotel projects has led purchasing agents to maintain a precarious balancing act. “We have smaller budgets and less time to accomplish the work,” said David Shulman, principal, Project Dynamics, Inc. He noted that over the years, the relationship of the purchasing company to a project’s architect and designer as well as the owner has gotten much closer, particularly after 9/11 when there was a major slow down. “The relationships have become closer due to the fact that during the down swing [in the hotel industry]companies down-sized. That forced the team to work that much closer together,” he said. Now with the health of the market there is a greater focus on the design of hotels— particularly with the rise of condo hotels and mixed-use developments— and that has also created the need for close relationships and good communication. “As design has become more sophisticated, we have been forced to find more and better sources for product,” said Parker. “The purchasing agent has to spend much more time making sure the designers’ intent is property followed….Most interior design firms realize that the purchasing agent is not an interior designer and their goal is to implement the design with the best product at the best price.” However, with that has come a newfound appreciation for the purchasing agent and a clarification of their role in a hotel project. “This evolution has tremendously helped the hotel industry to better understand the role and abilities of a purchasing agent and what they
