MIDDLE EAST

ment team is not perhaps typical of those working in other industries .

As Black puts it : “ We ’ re not working in a manufacturing plant , or for a bank ; we ’ re working in a fast-paced and competitive creative industry . It means we have to be really dynamic , versatile and slick at what we do . “ Procurement in this region can often be very fast , transactional and functional , so it ’ s often about pricing structures and cutting costs . But , we work in an environment where the content and quality that we put on-screen has to be good . The production values on shows such as Arab Idol , The Voice and Top

Chef have to be first-class , so on one hand we have our budgets and ensuring we ’ re onboarding the correct partners and suppliers , and we also know that we have a duty to make sure the end product is a high-quality one .”

Again , says Farid , the work that the procurement team has put in over the years to build relationships is paying dividends . “ We often work in a live environment , so we need people who we can call in to come in and fix an issue at 2am , or ensure a delivery is made in the middle of the night . We need to have that flexibility and that ’ s when we need something to be free of charge or if something goes wrong and we need a new camera , so it ’ s important our suppliers understand our needs .

“ We cannot have suppliers that we don ’ t have that kind of relationship with , because the outcome or the effect that it could have on one of our shows on the commercial impact it could have could be huge . So , we ought to be very careful when we deal with our

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