The mission of the section handling procurement at the Bank is to punctually supply the materials and services needed of the required quality. These activities are accompanied by systematic cost optimization. On the other hand, the Bank follows the principles of business ethics, aiming towards transparent relationships with suppliers. The procurement policy is developed in cooperation with the suppliers. One of its main documents constitutes the Principles of purchasing of goods and services at the Bank.
Relations with suppliers are built on the basis of honesty, transparency of action, mutual respect and professionalism, including, in particular, through:
- honouring the accepted arrangements and obligations;
- settling payments and other liabilities on time and in accordance with the agreed contractual terms;
- resolving difficult and conflict situations through dialogue;
- verifying suppliers only on the basis of substantive and business premises;
- informing suppliers about standards of conduct.
Payment terms in contracts with suppliers vary according to the supplier’s standard contracts and individual arrangements. The standard term at the Bank is 30 days (57% of contracts), but, in many cases, the payment term is half of this (i.e. 14 days: 26% of contracts). The situation is similar in the Group: 30-day payment terms are prevalent, whereby the frequency of 14-day payment terms is relatively higher than in the case of the Bank, as this period dominates in the contracts concluded by the subsidiaries.
The Bank and entities from the Group reliably approach the issue of settling their liabilities to suppliers on time. In 2017, the value of invoices paid late, on which interest was charged as a result, constituted a marginal percentage of all the invoices paid. The list does not include payments, a possible delay in which was agreed with the supplier, because the collection of this information would be excessively laborious.
Share of the value of invoices on which interest was paid to the total value of invoices paid in the Group, including at the Bank (2017)
| GROUP | the BANK | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of the total value of invoices (%) | 1.053 | 0.003 |
The procedure for selecting suppliers consists of two stages. In the first step, potential contractors are required to register, which they can do on their own through the PKO Zakupy [procurement] platform. Every such supplier must be approved by the manager of the section responsible for procurement. Entities, which have obtained approval, are able to take part in the second stage, namely procurement proceedings.
The impact on suppliers regarding socio-environmental issues takes place at the stage of the enquiry organized by the Bank or each of the other entities of the Group. In accordance with its wording, when joining the procurement procedure, the suppliers declare that they are guided by the overriding principle of respecting the law, a sense of justice and social responsibility and they understand the influence exerted by their activities on the natural environment, their surroundings, the other party, their employees, co-workers, subcontractors and business partners, and they are guided by ethical principles. A later part of the statement contains detailed declarations regarding:
- caring for safety at the workplace;
- being guided by cooperation, trust and a responsible and partnership approach to the other Party;
- compliance with the rules on working time and remuneration for work;
- respecting human rights;
- counteracting corruption;
- caring for the natural environment.
The details of these provisions have been discussed in the respective parts of the Report.
Suppliers receive a survey from the Bank once a year, which enables valuable information to be gathered about the functionality of the procurement platform and general observations about the cooperation with the Bank. The conclusions from the survey are the premises for improving the terms of cooperation between the Bank and the suppliers.
