PART II
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 6: PROCUREMENT
6-1. What is procurement? What is its relevance to logistics?
喝完酒可以喝咖啡吗Procurement refers to the raw materials, component parts, and supplies bought from outside organizations to support a company’s operations. It is cloly related to logistics becau acquired goods and rvices must be entered into the supply chain in the exact quantities and at the preci time they are needed. Procurement is also important becau its costs often range between 60 and 80 percent of an organization’s revenues.
6-2. Contrast procurement’s historical focus to its more strategic orientation today.
洁静
Procurement’s historical focus in many organizations was to achieve the lowest possible cost from potential suppliers. Oftentimes the suppliers were pitted against each other in “
cutthroat” competition involving three- or six-month arm’s-length contracts awarded to the lowest bidder. Once this lowest bidder was chon, the billing cycle would almost immediately start again and another low bidder would get the contract for the next veral months. Today procurement has a much more strategic orientation in many organizations, and a contemporary procurement manager might have responsibility for reducing cycle times, playing an integral role in product development, or generating additional revenues by collaborating with the marketing department.
6-3. Discuss the benefits and potential challenges of using electronic procurement cards.
微信截图怎么截Electronic procurement cards (p-cards) can benefit organizations in veral ways, one of which is a reduction in the number of invoices. In addition, the p-cards allow employees to make purchas in a matter of minutes, as oppod to days, and p-cards generally allow suppliers to be paid in a more timely fashion. As for challenges, p-cards may require control process that measure usage and identify procurement trends, limit spending during the appropriate procurement cycle, and block unauthorized expenditures
at gaming casinos or massage parlors. In addition, using p-cards beyond the domestic market can be challenge becau of currency differences, availability of technology, difference in card acceptance, and cultural issues.
6-4. Discuss three potential procurement objectives.
The text provides five potential procurement objectives that could be discusd. They are supporting organizational goals and objectives; managing the purchasing process effectively and efficiently; managing the supply ba; developing strong relationships with other functional groups; and supporting operational requirements.
6-5. Name and describe the steps in the supplier lection and evaluation process.
英文写信的格式范文Identify the need for supply can ari from the end of an existing supply agreement or the development of a new product. Situation analysis looks at both the internal and external environment within which the supply decision is to be made. 失败者 Identify and evaluate potential suppliers孙叔通 delineates sources of potential information, establishes l
ection criteria, and assigns weights to lection criteria. Select supplier(s) is where an organization choos one or more companies to supply the relevant products. 预习琥珀Evaluate the decision involves comparison of expected supplier performance to actual supplier performance.
6-6. Distinguish between a single sourcing approach and a multiple sourcing approach.
怎么写感谢信A single sourcing approach consolidates purcha volume with a single supplier in the hopes of enjoying lower costs per unit and incread cooperation and communication in the supply relationship. Multiple sourcing proponents argue that using more than one supplier can lead to incread amounts of competition, greater supply risk mitigation, and improved market intelligence.
6-7. What are the two primary approaches for evaluating suppliers? How do they differ?
There are two primary approaches for evaluating suppliers: process bad and performance bad. A process-bad evaluation is an asssment of the supplier’s rvic
e and/or production process (typically involving an audit). The performance-bad evaluation is focud on the supplier’s actual performance on a variety of criteria, such as cost and quality.
6-8. Discuss the factors that make supplier lection and evaluation difficult.
First, supplier lection and evaluation generally involve multiple criteria, and the criteria can vary both in number and importance depending on the particular situation. Second, becau some vendor lection may be contradictory, it is important to understand trade-offs between them. Third, the evolution of business practices and philosophies, such as just-in-time and supply chain management, may require new lection criteria or the reprioritization of existing criteria.
6-9. Distinguish between supplier audits and supplier scorecards. When should each be ud?
A supplier audit usually involves an onsite visit to a supplier’s facility, with the goal being t
o gain a deeper knowledge of the supplier. By contrast, supplier scorecards report information about a supplier’s performance on certain criteria. Both supplier audits and supplier scorecards are associated with evaluating the supplier lection decision; supplier audits focus on process evaluation whereas supplier scorecards focus on performance evaluation.
