Read about how to integrate purchasing into business strategy on pages 158 to 162 in yourtextbook (van Weele 2014) and answer the following questions:
Who are the major stakeholders of a company?
What factors affect the ultimate competitive position of a company? (Hint: refer to the strategic triangle in figure 9.2).
What factors shape the relationship between manufacturers and suppliers?
A landmark study of manufacturing firms by R. M. Monczka has indicated that in order to achieve purchasing excellence, companies need to implement two kinds of processes: strategic processes and enabling processes.
What are the different strategic and enabling processes than can help companies achieve best practice? (Note: outsourcing was considered in the previous module. Other processes will be examined in more detail in subsequent modules).