June 17, 2008

Success factors for Professional Purchasing


High performance purchasing with long-term strategic orientation is a key factor for successful international competition. Therefore, purchasing is one of the most important issues in a company – material costs are the largest cost block in an industrial company. Due to this situation, efficient cooperation with suppliers is becoming increasingly important.
An important success factor for professional purchasing is achieving transparency, especially regarding company-wide purchasing activities, purchasing volumes, frame contracts as well as detailed information about current and potential suppliers. A company can attain this comprehensive view through integrated supplier qualification, contract management and spend analysis.
An active and targeted supplier management is the prerequisite for strategic purchasing. Cross-functional supplier rating identifies supplier strengths and weaknesses. Suppliers are categorized according to their performance and strategic significance based on a substantiated and objective supplier classification. This is the basis for targeted and structured supplier development including measures controlling. During this process, supplier goals are set, deadlines and responsibilities defined, sustainable optimization measures implemented and development progress monitored.
Experience indicates that the individual components must interact with each other in order to provide consistent process support and that maximum benefit can only be achieved through the consolidation of the corresponding information obtained.

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