Insights from a Career in Construction Procurement

Taking the time to build relationships and fully communicate is the secret to great customer service, says Bijal Solanki, a buyer for the Scotland region at commercial construction company Morgan Sindall.

In her current role, Bijal looks after purchasing of all materials required for a wide variety of commercial construction projects across Scotland, which often includes remote highland locations. Currently, she’s juggling the complex needs of multiple schools, a leisure centre, a court refurbishment, and three fire stations. 

She “felt really appreciated” recently on receipt of an All Star Award for Excellence in Customer Service provided to the site teams and across the business. 

Throughout her career, Bijal has built a reputation for being responsive and proactive in her communication with everyone she works with, from suppliers to teammates. 

“I never get chased by anybody,” she laughs. “I’m just doing things in a timely manner. Even if it’s just a small email, I’m always responding to people quickly saying I’m here and I’m sorting that out. Everybody’s always in the know about everything.”  

Although she works remotely most of the time from home or head office in Rugby, Bijal connects with suppliers and site teams over the phone or face to face as often as possible. 

“People might be abrupt in emails, but when you speak to them, as long as they know you’re helping and you’re doing your best to sort out any problems, they’re like teddy bears,” she says. 

Inside the role of a buyer in the construction industry

Bijal enjoys being a part of the fascinating process of turning raw materials and an empty site into a beautiful building. 

Her role includes looking at tenders before the team wins a job, then procuring the materials for a full site setup and the job itself. She always starts by “asking questions, listening and speaking to everybody” in the site team to make sure she gets the right products for the right prices. 

Getting construction materials to remote corners of Scotland is “not as bad as we think it might be,” she says. “Our Scotland teams have good relationships with highland suppliers, and we always find a way.” 

Procuring early is a key tactic in getting remote jobs ready on time, Bijal says. That said, there are always last-minute requirements, “like, oh we’ve forgotten the coat hooks and we need them today,” she laughs. In these moments, it’s Bijal’s job to frantically find a local supplier – often having to build relationships outside of the established supply chain. 

“I do my best to rectify anything that may have gone wrong on site,” Bijal says. “For example, if we have to call off an order because we ordered too much or if the incorrect product was delivered, it’s my job to sort it out.” 

As the key procurement contact, Bijal loves the continuous learning involved in maintaining strong relationships with suppliers and keeping up to date on their products. It’s always a rewarding feeling when the team achieves ‘Perfect Delivery’, when a project’s planned end date is met without delays. 

“Being able to learn and progress is very rewarding, and I feel like my hard work has paid off,” she says. 

Finding the path to procurement via finance 

Back at university, Bijal studied business management, which included subjects on procurement, but she started out on a finance path. She first worked in finance at a law firm, then at EasyJet, before joining Morgan Sindall in a finance role a decade ago. 

It was at EasyJet where Bijal had her first taste of procurement, purchasing IT hardware and software, which she found very interesting. After three years in finance at Morgan Sindall and having realised accounting wasn’t her calling, she decided to transfer into procurement. 

“An opportunity came up in the procurement team and I thought it could be a good change for me,” she recalls. “I started out as a trainee buyer for just over a year, then took maternity leave, and soon after I went back I was promoted to assistant buyer, then a year and a half after that I was promoted to buyer, then I took over my own region, Scotland.” 

As a trainee buyer supporting the entire team across all regions, Bijal enjoyed the steep learning curve and developing good relationships with all the supply chain managers and site teams. It was “a bit daunting” learning to understand architectural drawings and technical details like the differences between types of moisture-resistant timbers but she thrived on learning it all. 

“I would have meetings with contacts in our main supply chain and they’d tell me, ‘these are the products we sell, this is your contact if you need quotes’. I got quite into it, and it was a nice change from accounting,” she recalls.

Advice to anyone considering a career in construction procurement

For anyone thinking of entering procurement from a different profession, or entering construction from a different industry, Bijal is confident that key communication and negotiation skills are transferable. 

“Take every opportunity to learn from experienced supply chain managers and suppliers,” she advises. “Visit sites and learn the process. Suppliers are all willing to tell you about what they sell, and as long as you’ve got a willing and supportive team, you can learn from the beginning.” 

We’ve been conducting interviews with professionals from around the world, delving into their real-world experiences in Procurement and Supply Chain, and passing on their advice and thoughts on the future of the profession. You can check out our previous instalments, including UK Construction, the Australian Wine Industry and working with the Indigenous Supply Chain.