I moved a team of 250 operators in Thailand. Now, I lead my own team at CETIN

CETIN couldn't do without good purchasing. Marta Nunvářová's team makes sure that nothing is missing and everything is of high quality. They have to source enough suppliers, materials, services and IT equipment. Read what her job entails and her experiences abroad. She's done procurement in Canada, the US and Thailand.

How did you come to work at CETIN?
I came to CETIN in 2019. I got a call from a former colleague who needed some reinforcements for his team. I joined as a strategic buyer. After three months, I was promoted to my current position - Purchasing Manager.
 
What did you study?
I graduated with a bachelor's degree in management and marketing. Then I went to the US. When I came back, I ended up working for Celestica instead of continuing my studies. It's a global company that manufactures infrastructure components such as servers. After that, I decided to study some more and got an MBA.
 
Have you wanted to work in the technical field since you were a child?
I guess not. My specialisation only came about when I got a space at Celestica. At that time, I used to travel abroad every two to three months for a month at a time and negotiate with suppliers. I enjoyed it right from the start. Plus, I like to buy for myself. I've enjoyed it since I was a kid. But I certainly wouldn't have dreamed of working in the technical fields when I was a kid.
 
How did you find working on global projects?
I've had a lot of interesting experiences in global procurement. For example, I moved a call center of 250 operators in Thailand including infrastructure, office connectivity, security, licenses, hardware and all equipment. I have also negotiated in Canada and the USA. I like to remember the extraordinary purchases. But they were challenging projects. Managing international teams from the Czech Republic is quite difficult.
 
Do you have any interesting memories of working in the Czech Republic?
In my previous job I was hired for a project related to the selection of an outsourcing company. It was to outsource the press centre - it was mainly about invoices. Previously they did it in-house. It was a complicated project. We saved money, but we also had to make redundancies.
 
Where did you work before joining CETIN?
I worked for one of the Czech operators in purchasing for about nine years. Before CETIN, I spent about a year in the travel industry. I worked for a large travel agency as a global purchasing manager for IT.
 
How can we imagine the role of a strategic buyer at CETIN?
The role of my team is to ensure that CETIN can work towards the customer to provide a quality service. All purchases go through us - from data centres to ensuring sufficient capacity for network construction.
What does your normal working day look like?
It's usually full of meetings. I deal with suppliers, top management at CETIN and my teammates. There are even more meetings before an important tender. Besides that, I approve various requests in our internal system, deal with orders and contracts.
 
What skills does a good buyer need?
Definitely reliability, speed and team spirit. Of course, he must also have a good overview of the market and internal regulations. It is important to negotiate transparently and be loyal. You can't do without good negotiating skills either. He must buy well and at the right price.
 
You also mentioned negotiating skills. Does that always mean being a tough negotiator who won't pay a penny more?
It certainly doesn't. It always depends on the strategy and what the current market situation is. Currently, shortages of capacity, human resources, components, containers, plastics and other commodities are affecting negotiations. We are currently rather minimizing the impact of these changes.
 
The main skill I need for my job is to identify the negotiation strategy well and to be able to set up the auction correctly. So that it turns out to the expected result - time and financial savings. I need to be able to set the price and commercial terms well, and take into account the quality of the company - to make sure it is capable of delivering the product or service.
 
So every meeting is a little different?
Yeah, it is. We act differently when we want to expand our portfolio of suppliers and differently when we need to maintain it. That's why I always have to know what the objective of the purchase is. This requires collaboration across the company with all departments - from technical colleagues, security, finance and legal.
 
How do you keep an overview of the market? CETIN is a big company and there are many areas where it needs to buy.
Various conferences and exhibitions help me keep track. We also get information from external companies. For example, from the American research firm Gartner, which helps us to orient ourselves in different areas.
 
We always do market research before we go to choose a potential supplier. Not only on the Internet. We've been using LinkedIn a lot lately. We always find out the data we need before we buy, we can't make the right decisions without it.
 
What do you enjoy most in your work?
I enjoy working with my colleagues. I'm in charge of a team of about ten people. They often get stuck in, enjoy their work and then produce great results. I can see in them that they enjoy working for the company. They come up with their own ideas, they don't just wait for my assignments. That's important and I'm always happy to praise them for their quality work. Together we enjoy seeing good results. I have always wanted to have my own team of people, but I have only succeeded now at CETIN. I am happy in this position now.
 
What do you enjoy the least?
There are definitely some processes that could be simplified. Overall, I'm mainly tired of the paperwork.
 
What do you do in your spare time?
I enjoy fast cars, skiing, horse riding and swimming. I'm also a regular blood donor.
 
What's your favourite brand of car?
I have a Subaru Impreza. But not a racer, that's just my dream for now. I enjoy watching rallies and I like to drive on the circuit. It improves my driving skills and I can drive faster myself.
 
What would you like to see for CETIN in the next five to ten years?
To be successful with customers and to expand the portfolio of services offered. I also hope for an internal transformation. We are trying to move more towards agile project management (Petr Holý talked more about it in an interview here: https://bit.ly/3Otv9bK).
 
Where do you see the future of the internet in the next ten years?
In my opinion, streaming and new networks - fixed and mobile, including 5G - will be even more important. That is why we are investing in these areas. I believe that the development will go in a good direction and that the Internet will serve mainly research and the development of mankind, not its destruction.