Essays on Purchasing and Supply Management


Book Description

Daniel Kern provides an answer on how to implement the theoretical concepts into day-to-day business of multinational corporations through the empirical validation of SCM models and in-depth casestudies. The four essays cover research on inter-firm collaboration, supply risk management, purchasing competences and research on measuring and benchmarking SCM efforts.




The American Heritage Book Of English Usage


Book Description

For the first time, the editors of the acclaimed American Heritage(R) Dictionary have applied their efforts to word usage as its own subject. The result is this practical guide that includes chapters on grammar, style, diction, gender, social groups, pronunciation, word formation, science terms, and a subject and a word index.







Four Essays on International Entrepreneurship


Book Description

Gordian Rättich provides with his four essays on distinctive levels of International Entrepreneurship an answer on some of the most essential challenges by shedding light on how social groups, economic institutions and nations manage to overcome the challenges of internationalization and gain competitive advantages.




Purchasing and Supply Management


Book Description

The Fourteenth Edition of Purchasing and Supply Management provides a comprehensive introduction to the purchasing and supply chain management field, supported by over 40 case studies. Cases cover purchasing and supply chain issues in a variety of settings, from process industries to high tech manufacturing and services as well as public institutions. The text focuses on decision making throughout the supply chain. Based on the conviction that supply managers, in concert with suppliers and distributors, have to contribute to organizational goals and strategies, this edition continues to focus on how to make that mission a reality.







Strategic Procurement


Book Description

Most organizations, regardless of industry, spend more money on suppliers than they do on employing their staff. Written for the non-procurement expert, Strategic Procurement explores the 'why' and 'what' of good procurement rather than the 'how.' It explains why you should focus your efforts on this previously neglected area of business and rich rewards, where P&L impact is relatively painless and immediate, where benefit to cost ratios of 10 to 1 are realistic ambitions and in-year payback is possible. It covers all the aspects of strategic procurement, including The role of the executive and the organization in procurement; Primary and secondary supply chains; Cost reduction techniques Making yourself important to suppliers; Sustaining procurement improvement; Keeping procurement on the business agenda Showing you how to cut costs without harming your business and the importance of recognizing supplier relationship management, Strategic Procurement offers real understanding of the true worth of procurement in the boardroom.




Supply Chain-Based Category Strategies for Global Supply Networks


Book Description

From a supply chain perspective, often big differences exist between global raw material suppliers’ approaches to supply their respective local markets. The progressing complexity of large centrally managed global supply networks and their often-unknown upstream ramifications increase the likelihood of undetected bottlenecks and inefficiencies. It is therefore necessary, to develop an approach to strategically master the upstream complexity of such networks from a holistic perspective, in order to align regional competitive priorities and supply chain structures. The research is set in the context of polyamide engineering thermoplastics in the automotive industry. Based on an initial industry analysis and a literature review, a conceptual framework is developed. The framework is matched with existing empirical and theoretical literature, as well as multiple case study analyses in the relevant supply market and a centrally managed global supply network. As a result, strategic group theory is transferred into the supply network management context, to allow for the consideration of upstream supply chain structures in the category strategy development process. The proposed approach introduces strategic groups of supply chains as a segmentation criterion for complex global supply networks, which enables the network-wide alignment of competitive priorities, flexibility requirements, and partnerships with suppliers. Supply chain-based category strategies can effectively reduce the complexity firms are facing in this context. The results of this research are applicable for certain types of global supply networks, and can be used for network alignment and strategy development. The approach can furthermore generate valuable insights useable for negotiation support with suppliers.




Business in Africa in the Era of Digital Technology


Book Description

This book covers various aspects of business such as Entrepreneurship, HR management, Supply chain management, Marketing, Finance, and Globalization within the Africa Context, especially as digital technology changes the African society. Private and NGOs are emerging with greater capabilities and affecting the development of Africa, and this volume explores the impact of such change. This edited volume honours the exemplary contribution of Professor William Darley to the creation and development of the Academy of African Business and Development (AABD). The book is intended for graduate students and researchers interested in business development and practices in Africa.




Essays on Supply Chain Management in Emerging Markets


Book Description

Micha Hirschinger emphasizes the importance of foresight on logistics and institutions in particular for effective decision making as distinct research in this context is limited. He applies a systematic and transferable multi-method approach based on Delphi studies and fuzzy c-means cluster analysis to develop profound scenarios for the future. He uses the relevance of information-processing requirements to investigate whether centralization of purchasing organizations increases functional efficiency. The author finally shows how a sharing-economy business model transfer could help to overcome the limited access to factor markets, especially trucks, at the base of the pyramid.