In a previous post about renewing contracts, I mentioned the problem of being "too busy putting out fires to have time to build a fire station."
I'm sure this is an issue for workers across the board, but I know first-hand that it is a huge problem for Buyers and definitely fits into the Purchasing Challenge series of blog entries.
The main problem is that we want to think and act strategically while circumstances force us to get stuck in the tactical mode. Dealing with any commodity that has high volume orders (such as office supplies) or a commodity with thousands of direct end users (such as cell phones) in a large company creates an endless customer service cycle that takes every available second of a Buyer's day and then some.
How can this challenge be handled? How can Buyers build those fire stations?
The best solution is for Purchasing departments to be structured with this situation in mind. The different duties require different employees. Buyers should be responsible for strategic aspects of a commodity while Buying Assistants handle the tactical aspects.
If a Buyer must handle all aspects of a commodity, the next best solution is limiting the amount of commodities to a manageable level. If the Buyer is overextended, then none of the commodities get their rightful attention.
A third, and unfortunately most likely/popular solution, is that the Buyer must automate as much of the customer service function as possible. This includes turning portions over to the vendor, creating instructional and self-help web applications, and constant communication with end users.
Remember, it's called Strategic Sourcing for a reason!
» Purchasing Challenges - Part 5 from PurchaseRealm
I left off the Purchasing Challenges series last week with Part 4 talking about the issue of strategic versus tactical Purchasing focus. This post is about one of the banes of the Procurement field - rogue spending. Rogue spending, also... [Read More]
Tracked on: May 9, 2006 11:22 PM | Permalink to Trackback