"A sense of vocation in my role drives my life at the company"

by Kim Hak-rae (Construction Purchasing Team)

Q1. Please tell us about your job.

The main tasks of purchasing & outsourcing are to supply major materials required for construction sites and to select subcontractors. In addition, the purchasing department performs various tasks to supply materials and services required for construction sites, such as logistics, customs clearance, and equipment leasing. I am part of the construction procurement team and am mainly working on selecting suppliers of materials and equipment for construction and housing sites. For this, I utilize different mechanisms of procurement like competitive bidding and annual unit price contracts to select suppliers through a transparent and reasonable process. In addition, I conduct demand surveys, establish supply and demand plans, negotiate costs, sign contracts, and manage delivery dates.

Q2. What competencies do you need most in your job? 

First, “good judgment”, Each construction project is unique, and the same materials are suitable for different situations. You need to be aware of site-specific limitations and make quick judgment calls to find the right balance of quality, cost, and delivery.

Second, it's “the ability to coordinate”. There are more stakeholders involved in a single contract than you might think. In some cases, opinions are in agreement, but conflicts often arise as well. Therefore, it is important to have the ability to objectively coordinate opinions between buyers and sellers in purchasing, and to be able to make context-appropriate decisions.

Third, "market analysis capability" is important. It is critical to not only understand the market situation, but also to be interested in various factors that affect market prices, such as fluctuations in supply and demand, raw material prices, global logistics, and social issues such as war.

Q3. How did you prepare for joining the company? 

Before joining the company, I had a design part-time job on a construction site, which helped me to think about “Is construction the right career for me?” and prepare my answers. I think it's important to understand the procurement process well in advance and be able to answer specifically how you can contribute to the company in the interview. It's not always easy to get information about a company's purchasing process, but in many ways, it's similar to the process of buying goods as an individual. Being prepared based on your personal experience can help you find solutions.

Q4. Is there a corporate culture or system at HDEC that you would like to share? 

I'd like to brag about the "Employee Compliment Exchange Event" because I work with a lot of employees every day, and I never get a chance to thank them properly. Especially for employees at overseas sites, the time difference between Korea and overseas makes them wait until they get to the head office, so it was nice to be able to thank them in a small way.

At Hyundai E&C, there is often a long distance between the headquarters and the sites, and many employees don't see each other even though they communicate daily. I would like to highlight that the company organizes various events to bring employees closer together.

Q5. Do you have any advice for juniors who want to work at HDEC?

I'd like to say that what I do at Hyundai E&C can later become the culture of a Korean construction company. In my work, I hear the question “How is Hyundai E&C doing?” more often than I thought. Even though you are just doing your job, you realize that your judgment and decisions are used as a reference in the industry. Simple comments often become the agenda of supplier meetings and sales strategies. This sense of calling to a given task is what drives motivation at the workplace.