Q1- Chapter 1 has a lot of great information. One of the key areas is total cost and how you can increase sales or lower costs and get to the same profit to the bottom line. There are many areas of cost of a product other than just price. Total cost is a key concept most supply chains and sourcing/procurement staff's are looking at today versus just price.
How does your organization (or one you know) initiate purchasing products and/or services? Is it efficient? Why or why not? What are the benefits of a company having a purchasing department as compared to each department ordering on their own? How does purchasing add value to an organization? How can they lower total cost?
Q2- Chapter 2 goes into the Evolution of Procurement/Sourcing and how it was everyone for their own and now a very cross-functional strategic teaming of ideas to deliver total lowest cost to the company. Now, Sourcing Strategy teams us a prove set of tools to look at data (spend analysis), supplier performance, how much value can be added to product development, quality, etc. It truly is a cross-functional sourcing function now versus just buying on price.
What is your organization's (or one you know) purchasing strategy? How did it establish its purchasing strategy? What procurement strategies can an organization use to improve its overall performance?
Q3- Supply management is not just for procurement any more. It is a whole company concept where sourcing/procurement work with all levels of the company and all departments. The internal customers are sometimes just as important as the external customers. Without cross-functional teaming, you may not find the best way to lower the total cost. Chapter 3 has some great explanations on how manufacturing works as a cross functional area, but also non-manufacturing and the government.
Who are the internal and external customers for private, public, not-for-profit, global, and government organizations? How are they different? How does an organization tie its internal and external customer's expectations to its procurement strategy?
Q4- What is your organization's procurement cycle? Has your organization streamlined its purchasing function? Why or why not? Explain.