Elevating Procurement Excellence: Nina Bomberg on Global Strategies at Dormakaba
In today’s complex procurement landscape, strategic foresight and operational excellence are crucial for success. Nina Bomberg, the Director of Global Indirect Procurement at Dormakaba, shares insights into her career journey and the innovative strategies she employs to enhance the company’s procurement processes. With a focus on sustainability, technology integration, and supplier relationships, Nina is at the forefront of transforming Dormakaba’s approach to indirect procurement, ensuring it aligns with the company’s broader goals for growth and efficiency.
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Career Journey: Can you share your career journey and what led you to your role as Director Global Indirect Procurement at Dormakaba?
I began my procurement career 20 years ago, somewhat by coincidence, and over the years, I’ve had the privilege of working across five different industries. During this time, I led three major procurement transformations, which provided me with invaluable experience in building teams and optimising departmental operations. I have always enjoyed the challenge of developing teams and driving operational improvement, which eventually led me to dormakaba. The company was seeking someone to elevate its indirect procurement function to the next level of maturity. I was excited to take on this challenge, aligning my expertise with dormakaba’s vision for global procurement transformation.
Procurement Strategy at Dormakaba: How does Dormakaba’s global procurement strategy align with the company’s goals of operational efficiency and innovation?
Dormakaba’s global procurement strategy is closely aligned with our overall business objectives of operational efficiency and innovation. We focus on achieving operational excellence by consolidating our supplier base and streamlining procurement processes. Additionally, we are working on digitising our procurement landscape to ensure seamless integration across functions. By adopting robust procurement strategies, we can enhance both cost efficiency and supplier collaboration. This approach allows us to remain agile and innovative, ensuring that procurement contributes effectively to the company’s long-term growth and sustainability goals.
Sustainability in Procurement: How is Dormakaba integrating sustainability into its procurement processes, and what are the key sustainability initiatives within indirect procurement?
Sustainability is a core focus of Dormakaba’s procurement processes. We have integrated sustainability criteria into our supplier selection and decision-making, ensuring that our procurement practices support the company’s broader environmental and social goals. A dedicated team within procurement focuses exclusively on sustainability initiatives, helping to ensure that our suppliers align with our values. This includes reducing our carbon footprint, promoting ethical sourcing, and adopting circular economy principles.
Supplier Relationships: How do you manage supplier relationships globally, and what strategies are used to ensure alignment with Dormakaba’s values and standards?
Managing supplier relationships globally requires a structured and cohesive approach. At Dormakaba, the Global Indirect Procurement team operates as a single, unified entity. We regularly communicate across regions and share best practices to ensure consistency in managing our supplier relationships. This teamwork helps ensure that all suppliers adhere to Dormakaba’s values and standards, regardless of geography. By fostering open communication, regular collaboration, and a clear understanding of our expectations, we maintain strong relationships that align with our operational goals and ethical standards.
Challenges in Indirect Procurement: What are the biggest challenges in managing indirect procurement at a global level, and how do you address them?
One of the biggest challenges in managing global indirect procurement is ensuring data transparency across more than 40 different ERP systems. The lack of integration can make it difficult to access and analyse procurement data efficiently. Another significant challenge is that many stakeholders within the organisation may not be accustomed to working closely with indirect procurement. To address these issues, we invest time in educating internal teams about the importance of our work and the value we bring. By encouraging clear communication and collaboration, we can effectively navigate these complexities.
Technological Integration: How does Dormakaba use technology to optimise procurement processes, and what recent advancements have you introduced?
At Dormakaba, we see digitalization as a critical factor in optimising indirect procurement processes. Recently, we implemented an AI tool designed to enhance the user experience across procurement functions. This tool simplifies day-to-day operations by addressing routine procurement-related queries and streamlining the requirement definition process. The tool not only improves efficiency but also reduces the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing procurement teams to focus on more strategic activities. By adopting advanced technology solutions like AI, we aim to create smoother processes that benefit the entire company. This digital integration is crucial for maintaining agility and enhancing the overall effectiveness of our procurement operations.
Risk Management in Procurement: How do you ensure risk management in the procurement process, particularly when managing global suppliers and indirect categories?
Effective risk management in procurement starts with identifying which suppliers and categories are critical and which are not. Critical suppliers are those that have a significant impact on our operations, and these relationships are managed closely to ensure supply chain continuity. Nearshoring has also become a viable strategy for mitigating risks, as it allows us to reduce our dependence on distant suppliers, particularly during times of geopolitical instability or logistical challenges. By continuously monitoring the risk landscape and having contingency plans in place, we ensure that our procurement processes remain robust and resilient, even in the face of uncertainties.
Cost Efficiency: What strategies do you implement to drive cost savings in global indirect procurement without compromising quality and supplier relationships?
Driving cost savings in global indirect procurement without compromising quality or supplier relationships requires a multi-faceted approach. One key strategy is to consolidate our supplier base, which allows us to negotiate better terms with fewer, more strategic partners. Additionally, we implement tailored procurement strategies to identify opportunities for savings, such as process optimization and collaboration with suppliers to achieve mutual benefits. We also explore process changes that facilitate greater efficiency for both our team and our suppliers. This approach enables us to maintain strong supplier relationships while ensuring that cost efficiency remains a priority across our operations.
Sustainability and Digitalisation: How do digital tools support Dormakaba’s sustainability goals in procurement, and what future innovations do you see playing a role?
Digital tools play an increasingly important role in supporting dormakaba’s sustainability goals. We use platforms like EcoVadis to monitor and assess the sustainability practices of our suppliers, ensuring they align with our environmental and social responsibility standards. These digital connections provide greater transparency and enable us to collaborate more effectively with suppliers. Looking ahead, we anticipate that advancements in technology will further streamline our sustainability efforts by providing more data-driven insights and automating compliance processes. The future of procurement lies in deeper integration between digital tools and sustainability initiatives, driving responsible sourcing practices.
Future Vision: What are your future plans for Dormakaba’s global procurement strategy, and how do you see indirect procurement evolving in the coming years?
As we look ahead, the goal for Dormakaba’s global indirect procurement strategy is to continue advancing toward greater maturity. We aim to remain flexible, ensuring that our procurement processes can adapt to future changes in the market and industry. A key focus will be on developing our procurement teams, empowering them to become even stronger partners to our internal stakeholders. This involves ongoing training, leadership development, and equipping teams with the latest tools to maintain operational excellence. We envision indirect procurement evolving into a more strategic function that not only supports the business but also drives innovation and value creation.
