Anwar Ogla, purchasing manager, Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates, and regional purchasing manager MEA for Kempinski Trading Company, reveals his top tips for finding savvy suppliers
How long have you been in hotel purchasing?
I did my bachelor degree at the Kathe-Kollwitz Hotel Business Management School of Marburg in Germany and have more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. I have been in hotel procurement for 10 years now.
What products are you on the lookout for?
I am on the lookout for all types of luxury hotel products from F&B and rooms products to new (guest) technologies and accessories for design and decoration. What is very important to us at Kempinski as a high-end luxury brand is quality products and the right brand association with respected, high quality brands and products.
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We are also looking for products that are innovative and unique within the industry, products that will help us differentiate our hotel and our product.
What area of your hotel are you most proud of?
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates is a great hotel and has many truly unique features such as its location in Mall of the Emirates and the fact that it is adjacent to Ski Dubai. If I had to choose, I would say the hotel lobby as well as our rooms.
We have a great room product and some very unique room categories including the Ski Chalets that on one side look out over the ski slopes of Ski Dubai and on the other the city’s skyline.
Tell us about one of your most successful deals?
I don’t have any specific deals in mind, but generally speaking I am very proud of the fact that we are running the procurement department for the hotel with an incredibly strong focus and priority on quality goods and services.
Through effective planning and strong relationships with partners and suppliers we are able to meet the purchasing requirements of the hotel on a timely and cost effective basis and our results show this; we are very consistent in our cost performance, which is particularly important for departments such as F&B.
What does a supplier have to do to impress you?
It is vital that suppliers are reliable, especially in a fast-moving and rapidly changing environment like the hotel industry. Our partners and suppliers are selected on the main criteria that they can service us with the right product in a timely manner with the right quality for a reasonable price.
We also look for suppliers that are professional and easy to deal with. There is lots of follow up and correspondence in our field and it’s very important to us that this happens as efficiently as possible.
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