Foodstuff Procurement

INTRODUCTION

Over the years the role of the supply chain has evolved a lot as it has moved from static, cost-centric model to an evolving, integrated model. Organizations in order to stay profitable in the business have started to focus more on their supply chains to help them alter the way they think and execute their business. By doing so organizations have started looking at business processes horizontally rather than vertically and have also started integrating processes within and beyond the enterprise.

Due to the prevailing economic conditions and fierce competition organizations have started to increasingly focus on the ways to reduce cost and enhance profitability and cash flow. In such a scenario procurement has become one of the most important tasks, which effectively adds value to the organization. Procurement today has evolved from the traditional buyer-supplier relationship to improving the overall supply chain performance of the company. Due to this increased importance of procurement as a major of supply chain activity, firms nowadays have started involving suppliers in the early design process, which helps them in adding new value, and contribute to increase their competitiveness.

In the early stage the purpose of the purchasing was to get the right resources, in the right quantity, at the time, from the right point and to the right location (Baily et al. 2008). Now the organizations have realized the importance of this task and have devised different mechanisms to analyze and manage the process of procurement more effectively. The process of procurement can be broadly divided into six main activities as illustrated in the diagram below.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Company Profile –Mahmood & Sons LLC

Mahmood & Sons LLC is a foodstuff trading company located in Dubai since 1979. It sells different and diverse foodstuff products to local markets as well as different countries around the world. The organization specializes primarily in the...