IMPLEMENTING PURCHASING STRATEGIES TO SECURE PURCHASING PROSPERITY

The strategic positioning of the own enterprise in relation to the market and to competitors is a common standard within sales. This is completely different within purchasing – here the accurate self-positioning is developing slowly.

And thus regardless the fact that the self-positioning in the sourcing markets is a major lever to optimize the future purchasing success.

Thus METROPLAN is positioning the topic of purchasing strategy just at the top of the agenda for the management board.

Knowing that the purchasing volume influences roughly 70-80% of the total costs in the most companies' improvements within purchasing influences the P&L statement directly. Improvements can be achieved mainly without investments or long lasting personal reductions.

A purchasing strategy should be oriented along the following 8 principles:

1. The purchasing strategy is derived directly from the enterprise strategy.
2. The purchasing strategy is following the demands from vision, mission, targets and  policies within purchasing.
3. There have to be strategies for all material groups developed. For direct as well as for indirect spend.
4. Portfolio technic is the perfect tool to develop, to fix and to document purchasing strategy.
5. The top management is involved frequently in the results of the update process for the purchasing strategy.
6. With the help of the purchasing strategy a team consisting of purchasing, quality assurance, production, logistics, sales, service and finance is able to derive a common understanding.
7. The purchasing strategy clarifies at the very beginning targets for the next supplier selection phase within these material groups.
8. The action points derived from the purchasing strategy have to be introduced by the participants of all involved departments shortly.