Purchasing processes and organization

Challenge

This global automotive supplier wished to transform its US procurement operation into a best-practice organization. Procurement productivity and headcount were to be reviewed, as part of a company-wide efficiency campaign. We were asked to assess the organization’s capabilities and performance, identify opportunities, prioritize them and create an action plan.

Approach

• Evaluated alignment with internal customer needs.
• Benchmarked purchasing cost and performance.
• Prioritized major effectiveness opportunities.
• Evaluated broad efficiency gain opportunities.
• Assessed procurement skill sets and resource allocation.
• Proposed organizational options.
• Recommended action plan.

Results

• Recommended ways to automate processes and deploy tools that reduced effort devoted to low value-added activities.
• Identified opportunities for major savings and resources needed.
• Developed a broader, more powerful set of performance measures to demonstrate the value added by the purchasing organization.