by Karen Glendinning, Managing Director, Center for Context
(This article will be presented at the Production Operation Management Society meeting in April, in San Francisco, at the POM 2002 Conference: High Tech POM Conference)
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As the demand for savings grew stronger and eprocurement provided the means for efficient purchasing by a larger “procurement community of users”, purchasing found itself in unknown territory…. as perhaps few other functional areas have.
Not many years ago Global Sales organizations struggled with a similar overhaul. Why you may ask? As large global customers emerged with increasing demands. the typical sales forces had to think through how to manage demands, prices and diversion and still bring profit to the corporations they worked for.
This comparison between Sales and Purchasing functions can easily bring to mind some immediate touch points. Doesn’t Sales and Purchasing need to understand the needs of their customers? Don’t they both have to balance the needs of the corporations they work for and the desire to meet customer’s expectations? Don’t they need to intimately understand the business of their customers in order to be helpful and responsive in making both businesses stronger?
