Purchasing and storage

Purchasing was a non-strategic and mere operative function before its revolution. This meant a decentralized activity with individual departments conducting their own purchasing processes. It was considered a low-level activity with no impact on increasing the competitive advantage of companies. There was an overlook of the effects of purchasing on strategy formulation and implementation [2]. Michael Porter, a leader in strategy also signaled the traditional nature of purchasing at the time but was one of the first authors to mention the importance of purchasing in any institution .

Purpose – Purchasing has emerged as a key source of competitive advantage. This paper aims to explore how different purchasing strategies are connected to complex supply relationships and to the goal of purchasing. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on the literature on industrial network theory and industrial buying behaviour. Findings – The contribution describes six types of purchasing strategies that firms exert. These strategies depend on the complexity of supply relationships and the buyer's purchasing goal. Conventional products and services are bought through transactional exchange relationships, whereas strategically important items are purchased through intentional supply networks. Practical implications – Purchasing strategies of a firm emphasise either efficiency or effectiveness of operation. The type of exchange varies according to the nature of supply relationships: it is either transactional or relational. A key implication for managers is that they should recognise the goal of buying, the strategic importance of the object of purchasing, and choose accordingly between the different types of supplier structures. Originality/value – The paper shows that firms' purchasing strategies depend on the nature of their supply relationships and the motive for purchasing. Different strategies emphasise different aspects and events that ultimately manifest themselves in the firms' business models.

International Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, 1996

Vezetéstudomány, 2022

I n today's rapidly changing environment there is a continuous need to sustain competitiveness, to minimize risks, to ensure the supply. Due to these market conditions "in organizations of the future, world-class operations will require world-class supply management and suppliers" (Carter et al., 2000, p. 22). Within the compa-MÁRIA MAGDOLNA WITTINGER CONTINGENCY FACTORS OF PURCHASING-A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO SUPPORT PROCUREMENT DECISIONS A BESZERZÉS KONTINGENCIATÉNYEZŐI-KONCEPCIONÁLIS MODELL A BESZERZÉSI DÖNTÉSEK TÁMOGATÁSÁRA Because of serious changes in environment, it is vital to ensure continuous supply. It is thus necessary to analyse business processes such as procurement in-depth to determine whether any tool exists to help in decision-making. The key objective of this study is to support more conscious management of the purchasing area based on the literature and professional knowledge gathered (by qualitative research methods) at five multinational and large companies over the course of two decades. This paper therefore defines a conceptual model that depicts the complex environment of procurement, synthesising its features and identifying factors as forces and drivers. The developed model identifies four forces-requestors, suppliers, internal and external rules-and four drivers-strategies, IT solutions, cross-functional integration and supplier management. The resulting model could guide scholars and practitioners in how to identify deficiencies, and it can support its audience in analysing, managing and increasing the strengths of procurement.

This paper presents the results of a comprehensive literature review of the organization of purchasing covering the period from 1967 to 2009. The review provides a structured overview of prior research topics and findings and identifies gaps in the existing literature that may be addressed in future research. The intention of the review is to a) synthesize prior research, b) provide researchers with a structural framework on which future research on the organization of purchasing may be oriented, and c) suggest promising areas for future research. JEL-Classification: M19, L22

European Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 1998

This paper addresses the issue of whether many purchasing organisations are presently attempting to operate within an inappropriate framework. Namely, are they putting structure and roles ahead of strategy and the process? To overcome the resulting problems associated with the status quo a new lean model is presented which starts with strategy development, process definition and leads on to appropriate or contingent roles, responsibilities and structures. A framework for the application of this new model is also provided in the three pillar management approach. This framework is explained in detail and rests upon three interconnected concepts, those of policy deployment, cross-functional management and supplier integration.

Business Horizons, 2015

International Journal of Physical Distribution & Materials Management, 1983

Strategic discontinuities in growth and profitability over the past decade suggest that, for the most part, the traditional planning models employed by American industry are less than adequate. Indeed, both corporate planners and purchasing executives are beginning to recognise that corporate strategic planning must balance a historical concern for product/market decisions with an understanding of and an appreciation for those factors that impact on the supply side of corporate performance. Generally speaking, the purchasing profession has contributed little to our understanding of strategic procurement primarily because the practice and principles of planning have been slow to diffuse to the purchasing function. In addition, academicians have offered little guidance. It is clear that formal planning models either ignore totally purchasing‐related factors or tend to treat them as an after‐thought. Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that the planning literature separates stra...

Management Decision, 2003

This paper discusses the problems and challenges that arise if a firm tries to concentrate purchasing activities in a separate organisational unit. For a variety of reasons, only a – small – part of all purchasing activities in an organisation is actually carried out by a purchasing department or a specialist. In particular, the purchasing of so‐called non‐product‐related (NPR) items and services often takes place without the involvement of a purchasing department. In addition, despite the sometimes huge savings that reportedly are possible by involving a purchasing department, many managers and boards pay only modest attention to such opportunities. In this paper, a conceptual model is proposed that serves, in particular, to explain the Purchasing department’s limited and problematic involvement in a firm’s tactical NPR‐purchasing activities. Based on these explanations and results from a small empirical study, we draw conclusions and formulate implications for managers and purchas...