Week 5 DQ

Respond to each chapter question 400 words each chapter.

 

Chapter 25

If you explore the opportunities for entering the world of procurement you will find a forthcoming surge in universities, colleges and hospitals seeking new employees in near future. The old “greybeard’s” like myself are retiring creating the need for succession planning.  If you enter this work environment you will find it one requiring heavy emphasis on cross functional teaming to constantly assess and document requirements that will be coming forward.  Educators are great idea generators, but when it comes to execution, they must have procurement professionals leading and guiding them through the minefield of statutes and regulations defining how the purchasing action must be accomplished. The world of reciprocity raises its head in this world continuously due to business expectations from making donations. Key to the success of the institutional world of procurement is the use of centralized approaches. Our text is very correct in how this environment works with cooperative purchasing.

There are numerous cooperative purchasing activities dedicated to supporting the educational community. These pre-competed  contracts allow the institutions to obtain great value with the volume of purchasing that can be combined with the requirements of other organizations.  Examples include U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance, http://www.uscommunities.org/ and the National Joint Powers Alliance;http://www.njpacoop.org/about-us/ .

Within the contracts presented for consideration by these cooperatives, you will find the use of lead agencies for the competitions and contract administration in the US Communities Approach. With NJPA one will find great transparency in how the contracts were solicited and how they are managed from a contact administration perspective.

 

Chapter 27

A great benefit of our text is its application of very simple graphs that if examined and followed can lead to revolutionary change within the organization.  Chapter 27 presents two classic diagrams sharing a model for World Class Demand Management and World Class Logistics Management.  Added to the diagram from Week 1 you have a road map for your organization to move world class status. I encourage you to retain these diagrams and use them to your advantage.  I am a big believer in Sales & Operational Planning (S&OP). While to chapter may not address this term up front one can examine the narrative to see this is what they are addressing.  Coupled with this journey the need for high quality Enterprise Requirements Planning (ERP) system and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is required to make the procurement function to the next level.  E-Commerce and E-Business concepts enter the picture as well. 
I hope everyone understands these basic concepts. 

 

Chapter 28

It seems we have reached th end of a journey. Our authors wrap the various concepts we have discussed over 4 weeks into some detailed goals and incentives over a four year period to reach World Class Supply Class Management.  Even though our text is dated these recommendations still hold valid.  The future of procurement will be filled with interesting developments. The automation tools that will evolve will surprise us especially with smart phone technology, EDI and the next evolution in the Internet.  At the same time things such as outsourcing of procurement, something that was taboo at one time, will become part of the accepted business practices. 

As you have studies in-depth how we should work with suppliers in a collaborative and alliance perspective, the need for strong contract administration and stabilized/standardize practices will take effect.  There are moves to make supply chain certifications harder without degrees. There will still be the need for the new procurement specialist to move up from the ranks, but look for more emphasis on professional certifications and degrees to allow the Chief Procurement Officer a seat at the Board Room table.