摘要:

The success of Japanese manufacturing firms over a wide range of product categories is well established; however, one can argue that the success of an individual manufacturing system (such as the excellent Toyota Production System) has not been the causal factor. Rather, it is the thorough and speedy implementation of these systems throughout the complete supplier network that is crucial to manufacturing success.In this and other areas, purchasing has played a pivotal role in the deployment of what may be termedlean production.This article reviews the new strategic agenda set by lean production and explores how this affects the purchasing operation. Additionally, lean production attempts to build a new paradigm based on the integration of the different value‐adding organizations within the value stream to ensure excellence in final products and services. The termconcurrent purchasingis used to describe this new paradigm. In moving to concurrent purchasing, purchasing is repositioned as a key strategic and operationalprocessrather than an internal stand‐alonefunction.The achievement of intercompany value stream effectiveness is discussed in terms of improvements within the quality, cost, delivery, and design processes. The key role of purchasing in these processes is explored together with the implications this has for the strategic agenda within the subject at practitioner, education, and academic levels.

ISSN:0022-4030    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-493X.1996.tb00214.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2006

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Managing the cost of purchased goods and services continues to be one of the hottest issues in purchasing today. It has received a great deal of attention by top management, and in the press in periodicals such asFortuneandHarvard Business Review.As stated recently inFortunemagazine, “Simple fact: when the goal is boosting profits by dramatically lowering costs, a business should look first to what it buys.”1TheFortunearticle goes on to give a number of suggestions for reducing costs, such as leveraging your buying power; committing to a handful of suppliers; and working together to reduce total cost. These broad suggestions are helpful in providing direction, yet they are not specific enough to help purchasers actually analyze the situations they may face.While buyers know that effectively managing the costs of purchases is important, there are many approaches to cost management. Pressure to complete a particular buy may prevent purchasers from using the right tool for the job.This article proposes a methodology to help purchasers determine what type of cost analysis technique should be applied to a particular purchase by:1. Developing a framework for classifying purchases2. Discussing which cost analysis techniques best support each classification in the framework3. Focusing on strategic cost management techniques

ISSN:0022-4030    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-493X.1996.tb00215.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2006

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Does purchasing have a role in corporate strategy? The central theme that has emerged from an examination of prior research in the areas of competitive strategy and purchasing strategy is that the image and status of purchasing is driven by the contribution of the purchasing function to overall corporate performance and to the performance of other functions. Does purchasing performance impact corporate performance? Is purchasing really strategic? This article documents the impact purchasing decisions have on corporate performance. There are strategic “levers” that purchasing can use to enhance the chances for firm success. The implication is that any firm can successfully develop and implement purchasing strategies. A firm's efforts at purchasing strategy development can be successful. Purchasing is indeed strategic.

ISSN:0022-4030    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-493X.1996.tb00216.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2006

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Industrial Buyer.I like this supplier and want him to have my business, but I received a lower bid from a secondary supplier. I suspect the suppliers are engaging in price competition. Should I tell the favored supplier that I want him to have my business, but that his price is no longer low enough? If I do, will I get sued for knowingly engaging in price discrimination?Lawyer.Tell your favored supplier that you have a lower bid from a second suppler. Invite another bid from your favored supplier. Donottell him the specifics of the other bid. You could be sued for engaging in price discrimination, but the second supplier would not win the lawsuit. Do you really want to risk the expense of having to defend a lawsuit brought under the Robinson‐Patman Act?This article explores the underlying answer to this question, along with a more general assessment of the significance of the Robinson‐Patman Act for the typical industrial buyer.

ISSN:0022-4030    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-493X.1996.tb00217.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2006

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

A significant number of purchasing organizations find themselves working to improve both their image and customer satisfaction. This article describes the experiences of a purchasing organization, in one division of an oil company, that had tried unsuccessfully for ten years to improve customer satisfaction by measuring performance and improving supplier reliability. Management then employed a somewhat broader approach to improving purchasing performance in the area of capital equipment purchases: interacting more closely with internal customers.To evaluate the effects of this approach on customer satisfaction, upper‐ and middle‐level managers in purchasing's two largest internal customer organizations, Engineering and Maintenance, were surveyed—first in the Northern Division, where both past efforts and the current intervention had been implemented, and in a similar division, the Southern Division, where only past efforts had been applied. The results indicate that interacting more closely with customers can improve customer perceptions of purchasing's responsiveness and professionalism, but that technical knowledge may play a greater role in improving perceptions of the value added by purchasing. The experiences of this purchasing organization provide general insights on approaches to perceived performance improvement.

ISSN:0022-4030    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-493X.1996.tb00218.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2006

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Analysis of data from 179 respondents indicated that the concept of the business lunch is alive and well among both purchasing and sales professionals. Neither the purchasing nor sales professionals believed that there was a possibility for a high level of ethical conflict in a majority of the business lunch scenarios they were asked to consider. However, there were significant differences between the sales and purchasing people when asked about the legitimate purposes of the lunch. Moreover, female purchasers were more likely to disagree with the social purposes of the business lunch than were their male counterparts. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

ISSN:0022-4030    

DOI:10.1111/j.1745-493X.1996.tb00219.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:2006

数据来源: WILEY