What is a buying center. Explain how the prcoess of buying center

In the past, departments within the circuit would order their own supplies and equipment. This practice was not the most efficient or economical way to do business. Now all ordering and billing is processed from one central location. All departments request supplies to my office; then as a circuit we order in bulk and the supplies are then distributed to the various departments. Often times the circuit gets better deals because we are using the same vendor and buying in bulk is more economical.

There are no defined roles and responsibilities assigned to individuals. The supply manager, buyer, expediter and clerks should not be responsible for technical specifications. Item s are taking longer to get ordered in because the supply department is spending more time then what is needed trying to translate technical data.

Members of the buying center assume different roles throughout the procurement process. The different roles are users, gatekeepers, influencers, deciders, and buyers. The buying center consists of Steven Anderson the purchasing agent, Jim Thompson the manager of Manufacturing Operations, Carl Jefferson the senior engineer of Test Engineering, Kevin Reilly the vice president of northern California operations.

In this way, when suppliers see that the purchasing department of an organization understand their business and value, and work well together with their Sales & Marketing department, they will be more inclined to work with the organization. This means that all parties can gain both in terms of increased value and respect towards each other.

Purchase of goods/services: At my job, the procurement manager is the one that decides the contract of vendors. He also decides what suppliers are to be used and approves all purchase

The operation manager must insure informed purchasing decisions are made and to improve procurement effectiveness by providing purchasing expertise and

The buying process for federal agencies usually consists of three methods. Federal agencies can choose from any one of the method discussed below. The three methods are:

W.C. Benton, J. (2010). Purchasing and Supply Chain Management (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Locating a central distribution center will increase the control over inventory for Consolidated. Having small point of operations will reduce the amount of inventory that will be maintained at the sites. Each location will have different needs and only stocking the immediate customer needs at each location will reduce overall costs. The purchasing discount will be easier to maintain if all shipments come to one location which will also save the company money. Having a couple small vans deliver to regional locations within an hour is less costly than ordering extra just to meet the minimum purchase discount. The cost of shipping to small locations will be minimal and will save the company and customers money in the long term. If the contractors know of items that they will need for a job they can inform Consolidated and the special items can be delivered to the job site or picked up at the regional office. Communication is key and willing to provide the best service in a timely manner will reduce cost and increase profit.

The main goal of company should always be providing maximum customer service at the lowest cost possible. Nowadays company are facing many challenges regarding some areas. Let’s talk about Procurement, it begins with managing processes associated with a firm’s need to purchase goods and services required to manufacture goods/services (direct) or run the organization (indirect). The process of procurement is regarded as part of the organization because the ability to purchase certain materials will determine whether the operation will continue or not. For a business to survive in the competitive market the price of procurement should be low than the profit it makes on selling the actual product. HollyFrontier Corporation is a largest petroleum company and it operates to a global market where it has to face many competitors. Many companies are adopting value based strategy and less volume which helps them to sell their product in higher cash value. An organization spends colossal sum on discovering, creating and delivering oil and gas. In this way, acquisition capacity assumes extremely discriminating part in effective operation. Procurement management is divided into drilling, well completion, facilities, transportation, operation, office services and IT services.

Purchasing and Supply Management agents use Strategic Sourcing as a two way continuous improvement process. It is different from Tactical purchasing on four levels or principles, it:

This assignment is being submitted on February 1st, 2013, for Dr. Mello’s 4123 MKTG: Organizational Purchasing course.

Deriving from this structure, with regard to separate businesses, each division demanded standardization and had an overall "Frankfurt is Orlando" mindset. However, it was recognized that each division was very different than the next and had varying distribution and selling methodologies. Hence, each division would have its own instance of the system to manage the customer fulfillment process, and a decentralized approach to implementation details (such as each division choosing its own partners). This minimized the risk of having the relative requirements of one organization driving the practices of another.

Businesses have numerous key departments which keep the structure running appropriately and supports the business to build and embellish in all worldwide markets. This report will consider what the key departments do for the business, in addition, this report will enlighten the research procedure used and significant complications which have been encountered throughout.

Sales team – they understand the industry and customer needs. They know the company target segments and whether this product aligns with company value propositions. •