1. When discussing the opportunity to foster synergies in the area of purchasing, some top managers stated that 'purchasing in our company is too important to leave it only to buyers!'. Would you agree with this? How would you see the buyer's role in creating corporate, leveraged purchasing strategies.
2. In this chapter it was argued that most large companies have opted for a hybrid structure to organise their purchasing activities. What is meant by his? Why would companies choose for such a structure?
3. When applying for a new job in medium sized company a prospective purchasing manager was asked to whom he would prefer to report: 1) the financial manager, 2) the production manager, 3) the logistics manager. Each of these managers reports at the same hierarchical level. What would you consider to be the most important advantages and disadvantages of each option? What option would you prefer?
4. Some complaints that can be heard from CPO's in companies is that their carefully negotiated corporate agreements are barely used by the operating companies. These contracts suffer from a high degree of 'maverick buying'. What could be the reason for this phenomenon?
5. How would you explain the growing popularity of cross functional teams when coordinating purchasing at the corporate level? What would you consider to be the critical success factors of such teams?
6. Cross functional teams would prepare corporate sourcing plans for strategic commodities. How would such a commodity plan look like? What elements need to be taken into account in such a plan?