Page 155 - DMGT554_RETAIL_BUYING

Retail Buying

Notes Outcome(s)
Over a one year period, the company realized savings in excess of $32M for hard cost, soft
cost, cost avoidance, human capital labor, all with sustainable measures. Each year our
client initiated the Request for Proposal, best practice, and sustainable measures
implemented within a proactive and communicative centralized procurement department.
The ATS approach, as conducted for all clients, resulted in the customized solutions to the
company's environment, challenges, and needs. The end result not only stopped after we
completed all of these projects, but continued through the education ATS brought, turnkey
and automated software systems, data intelligence for vendor sourcing, and up to licenses,
contracts, and agreements.
The most significant impact to this company was the teamwork that started occurring as a
result of ATS recommendations being implemented within the company. From the
involvement, came ideas, which resulted in applied actions and solutions, and actual
ownership. This entire change management process helped the teams in this company to
sustain the savings, efficiencies, compliance, vendor management and evaluation, continued
best practice and SOPs changes as the company continued to excel in growth, more than
doubling in revenues, additions of new enterprises, and the train the trainer model.
Question

Critically analyse the case study.

Source: http://atsprocurementgroup.com/resources/resourcedocs/casestudies/33.1.012%20Retail%20Grocer%20
Case%20Study%20Story.pdf

10.4 Summary

 The way to make the preparation process easy, intuitive and less monotonous is to split it
in 3 clear defined steps.
 In case of your usual partners, you already know the information, just put it in writing.
Don't hurry, think in deep. This gives you the warranty that you leave at the hand of
probability only very few variables.

 When you have a new vendor in sight, the number of variables being much higher,
documentation work takes a bit more time (also, the strategy and tactics adopted for the
first meeting are specific).
 Knowing your supplier is one of the best tools, weapons, instruments – no matter how
you want to call it – to control the situation and always have the benefit in discussions,
negotiations, day to day purchasing activity.
 "Knowing" the supplier takes a lot of time and work at the beginning. It takes time to dig
into the information, to learn all you can about their production capabilities, their partners
(basically your competition), their competition; their reputation in the market and the
reputation of their sales people and management etc.
 Internationalization of the marketplace, global competition, and changes in the business
environment have contributed to the increase in international purchasing.

 The strategic importance of international purchasing, describes procedural and managerial
issues of concern in international procurement, and delineates the significant differences
between buying from foreign and domestic sources.

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