Reference no: EM133940289
Question: Highlight potential challenges or trade-offs involved in implementing your recommendations.
Working as a team, produce a 5-page professional guide that not only summarizes your research but also critically evaluates and applies it to real-world procurement practice. Get the best assignment help from top tutors.
Our Topic:
How procurement professionals should approach selecting a new supplier
Your guide must go beyond a generic overview and demonstrate original analysis and team-based reasoning. Specifically:
Identify contrasting approaches or perspectives from academic and professional sources, and evaluate their strengths and limitations.
Jesus and Nick to research how their respective companies select new suppliers and contrast. Josh to research academic/professional sources
In our industry we use a four step approach with Tollgates between each step to align with key stakeholders.
Project Definition
Supplier Search & Evaluation
Supplier Selection
Supplier Onboarding
The project definition step usually involves a high-level overview of the project captured in A3 format with key requirements and a draft of the timeline for the project. The A3 will define the problem that needs to be addressed by defining the current/future state and what the benefits of the project are. This step also identifies the team, stakeholders and project lead.
Supplier Search & Evaluation is lead by the Sourcing Specialist to identify all potential sources through a variety of methods (Industry Publications, Conferences, Social Networks, Thomasnet, etc.). A pugh Matrix is used to analyze, rank and eliminate any suppliers to create a shortlist of those for final consideration.
Supplier Selection includes any legal agreements that needs to be signed such as an NDA and then proceeds with an RFI or RFQ. Once RFI/RFQ are received the Sourcing Specialist will summarize and recommend a supplier. This step may include a supplier visit depending on the commodity.
The final step is supplier onboarding which includes PPAP initiation, tooling purchases and PO placement.
**Add Table showing comparison of ASML/Solar/Academic Sources Supplier Selection**
Use a real or hypothetical organizational context (e.g., healthcare, retail, manufacturing, education) to apply your findings.
Both companies are manufacturing
Include a framework or decision tool your team would recommend based on your evaluation.
See what other examples are in the textbook - Ryley & Ikjot researching this topic
Since both companies are in manufacturing, our team agreed that supplier selection and sourcing decisions need to be structured, data-driven, and easy to explain. We recommend using the Kraljic Matrix to group materials and suppliers based on how much they impact profit and how risky the supply is. This makes it easier to see where the company should focus its attention and what kind of supplier relationships make the most sense. For example, high-risk, high-impact "strategic" items should have long-term partnerships and backup plans, while "leverage" items can be managed through competitive sourcing and price negotiations. It's a simple way to make sure sourcing decisions fit each situation instead of treating everything the same.
After that, we'd use a Pugh Matrix to evaluate suppliers more closely. It's a straightforward tool that helps teams compare different suppliers using weighted criteria like cost, quality, reliability, sustainability, and innovation. It also makes trade-offs easy to see and helps get everyone at the company on the same page. This keeps the decision process transparent and consistent, especially when there are strong suppliers in more than one area.
Lastly, we would do a Total Cost of Ownership analysis to understand the full cost picture beyond just the purchase price. That includes things like logistics, maintenance, and long-term performance. Using all three tools together gives a clear process: start with the Kraljic Matrix to prioritize, use the Pugh Matrix to compare options, and finish with TCO to find the best long-term value. This approach makes decisions more strategic, objective, and aligned with what actually drives results.
*add in example Pugh Matrix
Highlight potential challenges or trade-offs involved in implementing your recommendations.