Inf 336 Week 5

Purchasing and supply management is invaluable for today’s world wide businesses to stay competitive and efficient. Business must have complete understanding of purchasing and supply management which include detailed requirements regarding project supply, material budgets, and services. Along with this, businesses need to evaluate their resources and allocate them appropriately which may mean outsourcing tasks or manufacturing.

May 9, 2011

Purchasing and supply management holds a position of great importance to the business world. Within purchasing and supply management, there are the steps of the creation of project supply, service, and material budget from detailed requirements. It shows how to select the most qualified suppliers and strategies for negotiating prices. Along with this, there are also benefits and costs of outsourcing. This includes the growth of outsourcing. Various organizations will be evaluated on their benchmarks in purchasing and supply management, along with their best practices in this. There are specific companies out there that who show market leadership in purchasing and supply management.

The term, “purchasing,” is often limited to what its actual definition is. It is limited to just buying and this refers to the location and selection of suppliers, learning of the need for whatever it is to be bought, price negotiation and any terms of agreement, and finally, the payment and delivery. In this particular case it is something much bigger this is not the definition that should be used for it. “Purchasing, supply management, and procurement are used interchangeably to refer to the integration of related functions to provide effective and efficient materials and services to the organization. Thus, purchasing or supply management is not only concerned with the standard steps in the procurement process: (1) the recognition of need, (2) the translation of that need into a commercially equivalent description, (3) the search for potential...