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The Sourcing Solution
Book

The Sourcing Solution

A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Successful Purchasing Program

Larry Paquette
AMACOM, 2003

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Purchasing is a critically important business function, although it lacks the glamour and excitement of, say, finance or sales. In the past, purchasing employees have often been little more than glorified clerks mired in price comparisons. Sometimes, their responsibilities included accompanying vendors to ballgames and such, activities that helped keep the purchasing pro’s mind off the fact that not many CEOs seemed to come up through the purchasing department. That may already be changing. Indeed, purchasing is now a career hot spot. Several trends - such as corporate demands for cost cutting and outsourcing, new electronic markets and auctions, globalization of customers and vendors, sharper supply-chain logistics technology, and the movement to create partnerships with suppliers - make purchasing substantially more important than ever before. Author Larry Paquette offers a short, lucid, quite readable summary of the essentials of purchasing in that light. getAbstract.com finds it an excellent, comprehensive and useful overview of sourcing.

Take-Aways

  • Purchasing is: shooting for the lowest price. Sourcing is: going for the most economical solution considering all aspects of your business.
  • Purchasing is out. Sourcing is in.
  • Purchasing is a long way from the customer, but if you don’t understand what the end-customer needs, you’ll make a hash of purchasing.

About the Author

Larry Paquette has more than 30 years of experience in materials management, purchasing, production and logistics with high-profile companies in the United States and the Far East, including Ampex Corporation, Silicon Graphics, Ridge Computers and Gould Electronics.

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