There are many admirable attempts to encourage women and girls to pursue jobs in STEM, but procurement is another gender-imbalanced field that is sometimes disregarded. Working in procurement entails investigating items or services for a company from a third party. Because when women band together, tremendous things happen: doors open, status quos and outdated, antiquated gender stereotypes are broken.

A very driven, passionate and a dedicated individual, Saima Lodhi is an experienced Global Tech Procurement leader, with a demonstrated history of working in the Information Technology and Professional Services industry. She cultivates relationships and always follows through on her promises, whether it takes a week or a year. She is driven by a desire to achieve and is enthusiastic about leading and developing leaders.

Saima, GSPM-Technology at Booking.com, is knowledgeable in partner management, software licensing, IT service management, and IT strategy. She has a solid history in software licensing and an MSc in supply chain and project management.

A Look in Past

Saima, a British Pakistani from a family of four siblings, was born and raised in Birmingham, UK (2 brothers and 2 sisters). She had always pursued a career in technology through university, graduating in a variety of topics and landing her first professional position as a sales support representative for a tech business. She remained in Sales Account Management responsibilities until 2012, when she moved into Software Procurement. During this period, Saima began her adventure as a startup philanthropist, blogging many of her charity trips she took both abroad and locally, which can be seen on her website www.saimascharitytravels.com, but like with most things, Covid put a halt to these journeys.

However, Saima then took up a position as a Global Tech Lead at Booking.com. She relocated to Amsterdam, which was quite a bold move in itself, having never visited Amsterdam before, and she never looked back.

Booking.com 

Booking.com is one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, with more than 100 million monthly active app users globally and serving customers from 220+ countries and territories in 44 languages and dialects. With a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Booking.com offers more than 28 million accommodation listings, including 6.5 million listings in homes, apartments, and other unique places to stay, as well as a growing offering of everything travelers need to book the perfect trip, including flights, rental cars, attractions, and even pre-booked taxis. Booking.com is part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), the world leader in online travel and related services, which logged a record $27 billion in gross bookings in the first quarter of 2022, the highest quarterly figure in the company’s history.

Becoming a Procurement Tech Expert 

Saima feels becoming a Procurement Tech expert is a role that chose her. She further adds, “It sounds rather cliché, but since she can remember, she always had an interest for technology, loved the program ‘How it works’ and remembered watching this with her dad and being blown away by how far technology had developed from when he was a little boy.”  She had always been on the sales side of business choices, listening to client initiatives and being fascinated by how they planned to alter their company. This is where Saima’s imagination ran wild. She wanted to be a part of the change, and being a part of the overall transformation idea was exhilarating.

Saima has been able to create working connections, network with departments within the organization’s Central Technology division, for the good of the firm, remove hazards, and be a member of the various teams that Booking.com has. This not only allows Saima to work and network within the firm, but it is also amazing how many women in technology she has met through the company’s large network of suppliers and partners. She asserts, “Procurement is a journey you go through for each project, and you have the opportunity to work amongst some amazing talent, which in some cases, evolves into being recognized globally, receiving nominations, and ultimately awarded with such a prestigious award like Top 100 Influential Women in Supply Chain.”

Leading the Organization at a Global Scale

As a GSPM, Saima is primarily responsible for collaborating with the company to develop category long-term, mid-term, and short-term strategies, as well as a pipeline of activities to bring procurement solutions and savings to the business. She oversees a worldwide team of sourcing managers, buyers, and procurement coordinators in developing talent and knowledge in order to provide best-in-class procurement results. She states, “Engaging with the procurement operations group to ensure the business is serviced is key for the reputation of the overall functionality of any procurement-driven tooling.” Saima also oversees category management and strategic sourcing initiatives, generating desired outcomes, producing and sustaining value and year-over-year savings, simplifying business through global procurement, and assuring quality, supplier innovation, risk management, and supply certainty. As she previously stated, creating and sustaining collaborative, long-term partnerships with strategic suppliers with the goal of continuing value creation is critical for bringing those networking possibilities to the surface.

Industrial Changes Due to Pandemic

Saima believes that the big changes in travel are obvious to everyone who appreciates seeing the world and visiting different locations and nations; it was a wake-up call for us all. For Booking.com, she is very thrilled with how the staff as a whole supported one another and truly showed up to be here and present. She is quite happy with how the procurement team came together and flourished as a unit.

According to Saima, a sustainable mode of transportation is now in the forefront of many people’s minds, and it’s heartening to see the little measures being done to educate everyone. She is excited to see more of the transformation and how the organization can enjoy the globe together in a more sustainable way.

Recognition throughout the Journey

Saima views being ranked No.64 in the Top 100 Women in Supply Chain as being one of her biggest accomplishments. She feels this way since her troubles in tech as a child, as well as not being offered a place at the table, were difficult to stomach. She shares, “There were times when I wondered what my purpose was and how I could be an aspiring role model to my beautiful nieces and young women amongst family and friends.”  She further adds, “I was not a model child by any means and had my fair share of rebellious moments. I am sure my parents even doubted my maturity when I was younger.”

As per Saima, becoming a leader in tech is just the start of greater things to come, and she is excited for her future and her teachings to the little women in her family and friendship circle.

Seek Out for What You Need

Saima’s parents were always interested in traveling from a young age, and she believes that because of their youth, they could not afford to travel, and the first time they ever flew was when they came to the UK in the 1960s. They’ve been hopping on planes and seeing the world in ways they never could have dreamed. Saima realized that traveling was the greatest way to comprehend cultures, other beliefs, and truly see the globe. Saima’s advice to all female leaders is to take a leap of faith, be patient, “dream big,” and truly put yourself out there for what you believe in and are passionate about.

“It’s not what you ask for, it’s how you seek out what you need,” Saima often tells her employees, and there are times when you have to go to tremendous measures to achieve what you really want. She traveled to Amsterdam, where she has thrived in her work adventure, and she considers herself really fortunate to be where she is now.

Looking Forward to a Sustainable Future

“I will continue to dream big and encourage others to do the same, because dreams do come true you just have to believe and put in the hardwork.”

In the future, Saima hopes to have advanced further in her job with all of today’s learning, taking on all of the experiences everyone has been a part of over the previous two years, which still impacts everyone today, but she also sees herself as a highly talented individual. She is really optimistic about Booking.com’s future since the firm has so many unique abilities and traits to offer that the journey over the next several years will be spectacular. She says, “It is not very often you get to say you work for one of the world’s leading travel technology companies.”  She further adds, “We can’t predict what the future holds. However, what I can say is how far I have come. I’m so proud that Booking.com embraces diversity and inclusion and that this company has given me opportunities that I had only ever dreamed of growing up.”

Becoming a Role Model for Woman Leaders

Saima always reminds herself of her value as an Asian female leader in a male-dominated society. She believes that this is what keeps her motivated every day and drives her to succeed in whatever she wishes to do. She believes it is critical to flourish in building up fellow women in tech along the path, so she is both supportive and tough on people, because it is a tough profession to be in and you need thick skin to go far in this industry.

Website: www.booking.com