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A Strategic Implementation Process

Effective procurement requires the utilization of sound business practices that maximize value to the organization through the acquisition of goods and services (Sollish & Semanik, 2012, p. 1).

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• Product supply management is nothing but Procurement Strategy, which is integral to corporate strategy.• A corporation’s corporate strategy and procurement strategy must fit with each other or otherwise, both will fail.• We will discuss the strategic decision making issues of procurement and also how managers make decisions related to both corporate and procurement strategy.• The discussions should facilitate understanding of the issues of strategic implementation.

Fierce competition Introduction of products with shorter and

shorter life cycles Heightened expectations of customer Continuing advances in communications

and transportation technologies (e.g. mobile communication, Internet, overnight delivery)

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It is estimated that the grocery industry could save $30 billion (10% of its operating cost) by using effective logistics strategies.

Compaq computer estimates it lost $500 million to $1 billion in sales because its laptops and desktops were not available when and where customers were ready to buy them (Compaq does not exist anymore).

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JIT, TQM, lean mfg. techniques have reduced manufacturing costs as much as they could.

One area that yet requires improvement: Inventory Procurement. See the following examples: It takes a typical box of cereal more than 3

months to get from factory to supermarket. It takes a new car (on average) 15 days to

travel from factory to dealership.

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In 10 years, Wal-Mart transformed itself by changing its logistics system. It has the highest sales per square foot, inventory turnover and operating profit of any discount retailer.

Dell Computer has outperformed the competition in terms of shareholder value growth over the eight years period, 1988-1996, by over 3,000%

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All stages and parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer request

Internally, the procurement process includes all functions involved in fulfilling a customer request (product development, marketing, operations, distribution, finance, customer service).

Externally, it includes the suppliers, vendors, manufacturers, transportation, and distributors, that exist to transform raw materials to final products and supply those products to customers.

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The following example illustrates how a simple box of cereal travels through a retail store that involves so many parties and contractual arrangements, hence why each one must function effectively to make the process efficient.

A procurement or a supply example

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TennecoPackagingTenneco

PackagingPaper

ManufacturerPaper

ManufacturerTimber

CompanyTimber

Company

P&G or otherManufacturerP&G or otherManufacturer

Cornmanufacturer

Cornmanufacturer

Wal- MartWal- Mart

PlasticProducerPlastic

Producer

CustomerCustomer

Primary purpose is satisfying customer needs. Maximizing the overall value created Value, measured monetarily, refers to: the

difference between what the final product is worth to the customer (price the customer is willing to pay) and the effort, collectively, the procurement chain expends in filling the customer’s request (the collective costs)

Therefore, procurement profitability would be: the difference between revenue generated from the customer and the overall cost across the entire Procurement chain.

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While managing procurement process is important for managing costs and profits and delivering value to the customer, it is not easy to do.

It requires understanding, cooperation, coordination, and information sharing among several trading partners – both internal and external.

And, given that there are so many parties involved, it is indeed a formidable task to make all of them work towards a common objective.

Procurement chain network is often very complex

Procurement chain partners have conflicting objectives.

Consequently, making everyone to agree is not an easy task.

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1. Purchasing wants• Stable volume requirements • Flexible delivery time• Little variation in mix• Large quantities

2. Manufacturing wants• Long run production• High quality• High productivity• Low production cost

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Think why some of these objectives are conflicting.

3. Warehousing wants• Low inventory • Reduced transportation costs• Quick replenishment capability

4. Customers want• Short order lead time• High in stock• Enormous variety of products• Low prices

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Think why some of these objectives are conflicting.

In the 1990s, outsourcing was the focus of many manufacturers. Example: Nike Shoes

Nike’s strategy: R&D on one hand and marketing, sales, and distribution on the other.Example 2: CISCO

CISCO’s strategy: Focus on Internet sales; increased productivity and save on business expenses. Example 3: Apple Computers

Apple computers: outsourced most of its mfg.

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In 2001, Nike reported a profit shortfall due to inventory buildup, shortage for others, and late deliveries.

In 2000, CISCO was forced to announce 2.25 B write-down for obsolete inventory.

In 1999, Apple had huge customer dissatisfaction because of shortage of G4 chip supplied by Motorola.

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In the examples, the difficulties reflect problems with procurement chain strategies.

Nike, CISCO, Apple have short product life cycles. When technologies changed, uncertainties related

to customer demand increased. Procurement landscape changed significantly with

the introduction of independent, private, and consortium-based e-market places.

With changes in procurement landscape, both problems and opportunities also changed.

But, Nike, CISCO, and Apple were not able to react to these changes and formulate a new corporate and procurement strategy.

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The most important requirement for sustainability is a well-formulated corporate strategy

A corporate strategy, in turn, requires forming sub strategies such as product strategy, procurement strategy, marketing strategy, and so on.

A firm should continually evaluate its corporate strategy and its sub strategies and ensure that they are appropriate for a changing environment.

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Relative to competitors, how should my firm satisfy customers?

What products and services should we offer?

Should we focus on cost or should we focus more on service and quick response?

How much customization should we allow on our products?

Compare the competitive strategies of: Lands End and a local retailer.

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Competitive Strategy and procurement Strategy –

The relationship

New ProductDevelopment

Marketing &Sales

Operations Distribution Service

Procurement Strategy

SupplierStrategy

OperationsStrategy

LogisticsStrategy

Suppose Dell’s competitive strategy is to deliver a product within 72 hours of receiving an order but is product suppliers, on average take 7 days to resupply inventory.

Will Dell be able to accomplish its competitive strategy?

Consider Dell’s competitive strategy on the next slide…

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Competitive strategy: provide a large variety of customizable computer-related products at a reasonable price and to let customers select from number of configurations.

Procurement strategy: Two possible options: 1. Efficient procurement limiting variety and exploiting

economies of scale or 2. High flexibility and responsiveness producing a large

variety of products. Dell’s procurement Strategy is No. 2: Dell

focuses on designing easily customizable products, common platforms and components that can be assembled quickly.

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Step 1: Understanding the customer and procurement uncertainty

Step 2: Understanding the procurement capabilities

Step 3: Achieve strategic fit

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Demand uncertainty: arises because of changing customer needs – predicting demand for a product or service absolutely is impossible. This is an external factor controlled by the customer.

Procurement chain uncertainty, in contrast, arises because of uncertainties within a procurement process.

While a firm would like to meet 100% of customer demand, it may not be able to do so because its procurement is unable to because of multiple reasons that were listed under procurement uncertainty.

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Usually products that are less mature (electronics & computers) have greater demand uncertainty (unlike salt or milk).

Forecasting demand for such products is very difficult and usually not very accurate.

With forecasting difficulties, matching demand against product and services supply is difficult.

For uncertain demand products, prices are not steady and varies depending on demand levels.

At the same time, a firm could earn greater margin from uncertain demand products.

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Procurement uncertainty: The portion of uncertainty introduced by procurement attributes such as: production breakdowns, low product yields, poor quality and rework, procurement capacity is limited (because of limited production facilities, availability of raw materials, labor, and numerous other factors);

Supply capability is inflexible and cannot increase with increased product demand;

Changes in production process could lead to bottlenecks.

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Identify the needs of the customer segment being served (retail, wholesale, discount, high-end customers)

Quantity of product needed in each lot (large, small)

Response time customers will tolerate Variety of products needed Service level required Price of the product Desired rate of innovation in the product

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A procurement can rarely meet all demands of all of its customers. Why?

How many of the following demands of customers can we meet? Responding to wide range of product demands Meeting short lead times Handling a large variety of products Meeting high service level possible

Where do we compromise?

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How responsive should a procurement be? Quicker response implies increased costs

(responsiveness). Delayed response implies lower costs

(efficient). Therefore, a firm must compromise

between quicker response and lower costs and strike a balance that suits its objectives.

See the graph.

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High Low

Low

High

Responsiveness

Cost

Efficient Responsive

Primary goal Supply demand at the lowest cost Respond quickly to demand

Product design strategy Min. product cost Modularity to allow postponement

Pricing strategy Lower margins Higher margins

Mfg strategy High utilization Capacity flexibility

Inventory strategy Minimize inventory Buffer inventory

Lead time strategy Reduce but not at expense of greater cost

Aggressively reduce even if costs are significant

Supplier selection strategy Cost and low quality Speed, flexibility, quality

Transportation strategy Greater reliance on low cost modes

Greater reliance on responsive (fast) modes

Now that a firm has assessed customer needs, demand uncertainties, and procurement chain constraints and uncertainties, it is time to make the two fit with each other.

How? In most cases, by offering high responsiveness to

products with high demand uncertainties and strive towards more cost efficiencies for products with low demand uncertainties.

Compare these two products: computers and cheese. How are the strategic fits different?

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Dell proposed a competitive strategy that it will ship ordered consumer products within 72 hours; a relatively high response rate.

What are the factors that Dell must consider?

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First, Dell should be able to forecast customer demand with some degree of accuracy (demand uncertainty).

Decide how much of this demand uncertainty it can meet (e.g. we can offer 72 hours shipment in the case of jackets and overcoats but not for school bags (implied demand uncertainty).

Also, note other items that Dell must consider…

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Decide whether its procurement chain – from manufacturers to trucking companies to warehouses would be able to meet its goal of 72 hours shipment.

Decide how much inventory Dell should carry and how much should its procurement chain partners carry.

How soon can Dell inform manufacturers of changing fashions and demands?

Ascertain the flexibility (in procurement of raw materials, mfg. capacity, labor, etc.) that its procurement chain partners have (or do not have)?

Consider the cost of all of these factors and decide on the responsiveness spectrum or the zone of fit.

See the next slide.

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Two key points there is no right procurement chain

strategy independent of competitive strategy

there is only a right procurement chain strategy for a given competitive strategy

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Formulating corporate strategy is easier than implementing strategy.

Strategy implementation requires the cooperation of both internal and external parties and

In turn, that requires common objectives and common benefits.

Strategy is not an one time implementation but something that requires constant redesign.

Procurement or supply management is one of the largest assets in an organization and

The implication of managing it well has significant consequences to an organization.

Sollish, F. & Semanik, J. (2012). The procurement and supply manager’s desk reference, 2nd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ.