Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Preamble
One of the important activities in any
organization today pertains to procurement of materials and services that it
requires in order to convert raw material into finished products that are
useful for the customers. Sourcing has become strategic on two counts;
operational and economic. Operationally there is a growing importance of
sourcing due to several developments. An analysis of the cost structure of
manufactured goods over the last 30 years reveals that increasingly
organizations spend over 70% on raw materials and purchased components and
services. This puts a special emphasis on procurement and sourcing. Further
there is a significant change in the trading partner relationships. From an era
of “independence” between the supplier and the buyer, we have transformed into
an era of “mutual dependence” and even further into a “state of
interdependence”. Finally, the increasing cost pressure that organizations face
translate directly into reducing the input cost of materials and components
even while increasing the quality and performance of these components. Clearly
these operational considerations have pushed the importance of sourcing in
organizations.
Strategic sourcing consists of processes of
planning, evaluating, implementing and controlling all sourcing activities
undertaken by an organization to achieve its longterm goals (Carr and Smeltzer
1997). The principal objective of strategic sourcing is to effectively handle situations
when faced with supply, competitive, and demand uncertainties (Milliken, 1987;
Johnson & Johnson, 1991). It is achieved by developing a set of practices
through which certain flexibilities could be obtained to face these
uncertainties. Strategic Sourcing enables an organization to identify and
select suppliers through strategic long term partnerships, by providing
benchmarks, laying emphasis on supplier performance and providing feedback to
suppliers. Moreover, in today’s business context organizations compete in a
global environment and operate in multiple markets and geographical locations.
This provides additional dimensions to strategic sourcing.
With the advent of the Internet, new market
mechanisms have sprung in the electronic space enabling the buyers and the
sellers to locate each other, discover products and prices efficiently and
conduct business in a cost effective manner. A case in point is Alibaba.com, a
global leader in business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce. Alibaba has a user community
in excess of 42 million from more than 240 countries and regions (Alibaba,
2009). These users transact a number of trade leads with one another through
its portal. Such electronic marketplaces help the buyers and the sellers reduce
the transaction costs and the time in the entire procurement process. On
account of these developments, practices such as outsourcing, global sourcing
and e-procurement have become key aspects of strategic sourcing. The specific
comparative advantages of different locations, countries and regions have led
to an emerging trend in global production and sourcing systems. In such a
scenario, the procurement and production process is typically organized with
multiple country affiliations. A product may be designed in one country, manufactured
in another and parts/components sourced in yet another (Pham and Quoc, 2006).
This has introduced new dimensions in global sourcing as there are marked
differences in performance and procurement practices in different regions of
the world (Ruamsook at al. 2007).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Strategic sourcing requires certain planning
and operational changes in the manner the procurement and supply management
functions are managed. Internally in an organization, the status of purchasing
within the organization and the nature of internal coordination required
undergoes significant changes. Further there is a greater need for information
sharing with the suppliers (Kocabasoglu and Suresh, 2006).
In view of these developments in the sourcing
landscape we are motivated to understand the manner in which research and
literature development has taken place in the area of strategic sourcing and
provide some useful directions for further work in the area. Specifically, we
have analyzed 154 papers published during 1997 – 2007 in the area of strategic
sourcing and proposed a classification scheme to position the research efforts
in the area of strategic sourcing. We use it to identify specific areas where
more focused research will help both the practitioners and the researchers.
The paper is organized as follows. In the
next section we develop a framework for analyzing the past work in the area of
strategic sourcing. Using the developed framework we study the literature in
sections 3 and 4. In section 5 we provide some directions for future research
in the area of strategic sourcing and we conclude the paper in section 6. Our
analysis of the literature points to a few areas of research pertaining to
strategic sourcing. There is a need for studying several aspects related to
global sourcing. Further, important issues such as reliability of global supply
chain networks, development of strategies for responding effectively to major
disruptions in the supply network and understanding the behavioral issues
related to supply chains are some of the other areas worth researching in the
future. The current study also pointed out the need for developing hybrid
solution methodologies to improve the solution quality.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are given below:
·
to understand the nature of research
undertaken in the area of Strategic sourcing using a structured framework and
use it as a basis for projecting some future areas for research.
·
the contributions of the literature
are analyzed at two levels;
·
research agenda and data and analysis
framework
1.4
Literature Review
Since the study work is one of developing a framework for reviewing the
literature in strategic sourcing it will be useful to first understand the
methodology and the steps adopted in developing the framework. Figure 1 depicts
the various steps in this process. The first step was to identify the period of
study. Advent of the Internet into B2B applications began in 1996. Further, the
global economic trends and emergence of newly industrialized economies
including BRIC countries began to be noticed around the turn of the new
millennium. In view of these the period of study was chosen to be 1997 – 2007.
The second step was to collect relevant literature. In order to do this,
appropriate keywords were identified and well known electronic databases
(EBSCO, Proquest and other published databases) were searched using these
keywords. The selected articles were further analyzed from a content
perspective and relevance for the current study. Based on these a final short
list of 154 articles was made for further analysis using a classification
scheme. Table 1 has details pertaining to the articles selected and the
journals. Figure 2 provides a graphical representation of the number of papers
published in the area of Strategic Sourcing for the different years 1997-2007. There
has been steady increase in the number of published papers.
The next step in the process was to identify factors for classification
of the selected articles. During the time period of our study (1997 – 2007), we
identified 11 review topics/papers. The review papers covered areas such as
supplier selection, procurement auctions, state of procurement and contracting,
green supply chain and analysis of the supply chain management framework. Vidal
and Goetschalckx (1998) reviewed strategic production – distribution models,
examining the identification of relevant factors included in the formulations
and specific characteristics of selected models found in the literature. De
Boe, Labro and Morlacchi, (2001) reviewed decision models for supporting
supplier selection process, the final phase of supplier selection process and
also several other decisions. They classified them based on supplier selection
methods and phases in supplier selection process. Germer et al. (2004) reviewed
research on online reverse auctions in industrial purchasing by presenting a
detailed review on purchasing auctions. Issues covered include mathematical
optimization to study the auction aspects and classification methods to examine
players participating in an auction and their role. Croom et al. (2001)
reviewed supply chain literature using a two-part classification scheme;
content and methodology. Using the methodological classification research work
was identified as descriptive or prescriptive.
Aissaoui, et al (2006) presented a literature review that covered the
entire purchasing process for parts and services and outsourcing activities. It
also covered the Internet based procurement environments such as electronic
marketplace auctions. Main emphasis was on papers that employed operations
research and computational models. This paper adopted a technique and method
based classification. Srivastav (2007) reviewed the area of Green supply chain
management. Literature on Green Supply Chain was classified on the basis of
problem context in supply chain’s major influential areas and on the basis of
methodology and approach adopted. Krishnan, Ulrich (2001) reviewed research in
product development and focused on product development and decision making
within a single firm. Content development, supply chain design, product design
and product ramp up and launch were the dimensions considered for
classification.
All review papers used a scheme of classification using dimensions such
as content, techniques and methods adopted in the study. Classification methods
were also used to critically analyze contributions made to the respective
fields. In this paper, the contributions of the literature are analyzed at two
levels; research agenda and data and analysis framework. Research agenda
pertains to choice of focus area of research and the type of research. On the
other hand, data and analysis framework points to the type of data collected
and the manner in which it is analyzed.
Research agenda is an important aspect for assessing the contributions
in the field. This is primarily due to the broad set of topics that could be
covered under strategic sourcing. Therefore, we use focus area of research as a
dimension to classify the papers. An analysis of this will help us identify
under-researched areas of work and the need for focusing on new areas. Further,
since there are newer developments in the field, the manner in which the
research agenda is proposed to be studied can also point to nature of
contributions. In an area where rapid changes happen (such as e-procurement) or
where the issues are too complex to comprehend and analyze (such as global
sourcing and trans-national supply chain management) studies involving
practitioners could help us develop better research propositions for future
research. Therefore, type of research is used as another dimension to assess
the contributions.
Data and Analysis framework provides vital clues about the substantive
part of research. It also informs the challenges faced by the researcher and
the potential limitations of the current work. Data structure is a defining
aspect of analysis for the researcher. Further, the type of data used also
points to the challenges in collection and analysis. Therefore, data collection
method is used as dimension to classify papers. The other aspect is the method
of analysis of the data. Specific solution methodologies are valuable pointers
to other researchers and help avoid reinventing the wheel. It also promotes
further improvement of tools and technique employed in some future research.
Therefore, tools used for analysis is another dimension to assess research
contributions.
In the rest of the paper the study uses this classification framework to
assess the contributions to the literature and identify some areas for further
work.
1.5 Methodology
1.5.1 The research agenda in Strategic Sourcing
1.5.2 Focus Areas of Research
Five major areas of research emerged based on
the analysis of the papers selected. These include strategic issues related to
sourcing, supplier selection, evaluation methods and decision tools, purchasing
method, buyer-supplier relationships and e-Procurement. Outsourcing is one of
the frequently addressed issues in strategic issues related to sourcing.
Outsourcing occurs when a company purchases products or services from an
outside supplier, rather than performing the same work within its own
facilities, in order to cut costs. The decision to outsource is strategic one
for most companies, since it involves weighing the potential cost savings
against the consequences of a loss of control over the item or service.
Supplier selection is a multi-criteria problem that involves both qualitative
and quantitative factors. It is a pre-procurement process carried out to
understand a supplier’s suitability towards an organization’s sourcing needs.
On the other hand, purchasing methods include
the entire set of activities carried out for purchasing decision.
Buyer-supplier relationship deals with the post procurement process. Earlier
majority of business transactions were done at arms length, now companies are
embracing each other and working together towards a mutually beneficial goal.
In the present scenario both buyers and suppliers are beginning to work with
each other to form supply networks. e-Procurement refers to purchase and sale
of supplies and services through the Internet and other information and
communication technologies (ICT). e-Sourcing is a branch of eProcurement whose
task is to locate and select suppliers. Based on further analysis of the papers
major sub-themes addressed under each of the focus areas of research have been
identified. Table 2 has details on this.
1.5.3 Type of research in Strategic Sourcing
Type refers to the approach or the strategy
used by the researchers to setup the overall study. Qualitative research and
quantitative research are the two main methods of research. Five
sub-classifications have been done under type of research; Analytical,
Empirical, Conceptual, Review and Best Practice. Most of the papers classified
as analytical research develop sophisticated relationships formulating or
developing new mathematical relationships. They use them to study how the
models behave under different conditions. Empirical research generally involved
theory building that emerges from both collection and analysis of data.
Conceptual papers consist of qualitative research papers that investigate
complex phenomena or events. A literature review is an account of what has been
published on a topic by accredited scholars and researchers. In addition to research
based papers, ten papers described specific situations, practices developed in
leading companies. These are grouped under best practices.
Analytical papers can further be classified
into papers using a modeling approach and other specific tools for
analysis. Teich et al. (2006) described
a multi attribute eauction mechanism in their paper. The paper emphasized on
multiple unit and several algorithms for such auctions were outlined. Miles
(2000) provided a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits associated with
the dual source strategy associated with suppliers. The study provided a
quantitative analysis of the practice to understand the actual economic
benefit. Schummer and Vohra (2002) examined the issue of efficient procurement
auctions. Marshall Miles (2000) studied the dual source strategies utilized in
the power supply industry. A Modeling method is used to determine what
additional price leverage would be required to make a dual vendor scenario a
breakeven proposition. Hazra et al. (2004) analyzed the costs and risks faced
by suppliers in the open and electronic market and derived the price capacity
function for the supplier. Kishore, Manish and Rao (2004) investigated
determinants of e-commerce-sourcing during technology growth and maturity
phases.
Empirical approaches utilized single and
multiple case studies. Kulp et al.
(2006) and Cicmil and Marshall (2005) studied the effectiveness of
e-Procurement at the project level using a case study. In some papers event
studies were utilized for the study. Agarwal et al. (2006) presented the
results of an event study that examined the stock market reactions to publicly
announced E-Business Projects. The study used cumulative abnormal returns as a
dependent variable to provide an objective firm level performance measure to
evaluate the appropriateness of the outsourcing decision. Hoffmann (2003) used
a longitudinal study to explain the development paths and patterns in the
evolution of an alliance portfolio from 1990-1999. Hadfield used a field study
to determine the performance measures that distinguished JIT from non-JIT firms
for made-to-order and assemble-to-order products. Arnold et al. (1999)
discussed the role of reverse auctions on transaction costs pertaining to
procurement.
The study has presented in the previous
section some of the review papers. Aissaoui et al. (2006) presented an
up-to-date comprehensive literature review of supplier selection. Balakrishnan
and Cheng (2005) focused on tactical issues in the make or buy decision; this
study was a review and an update on a previous study carried out on the same
topic. McIver, Humphreys and McAleer (1997) used published literature to
investigate the major changes that have taken place in the role of purchasing
function in organizations over the last two decades. Markatsoris and Richards
(2004) described reference, design architecture, workflow and practical issue
for an eProcurement system and introduce a design process of B2B enabled
e-Procurement system.
Table 3 provides a cross-tabulation of the
focus areas and type of research. Maximum number of research papers were in the
area of strategic issues related to sourcing (36%), followed by e-Procurement
(21%). Over three fourths of the papers employed either empirical or analytical
types of research. It is also pertinent to note that 48% of the papers employed
empirical methods to address strategic issues related to sourcing. On the other
hand, in the area e-Procurement, analytical (44%) and empirical (38%) were the
principal research types. Clearly, these are current topics and several
organizations have been addressing some of these issues in different ways. On
the other hand, fewer papers addressed the issues such as supplier selection
evaluation methods and decision tools (14%) and buyer-supplier relationships
(9%).
1.6 Data & Analysis framework in
Strategic Sourcing
1.6.1 Data collection method
Although the type of research to an extent
determines the data collection method, researchers have adopted different
methods to carry out the next steps of data collection leading to theory
building and model formulation. Several methods of data collection were used by
the researchers in the papers that we have studied. These included action
research, survey, case studies, use of published data, interviews and others
including analytical induction.
Rothaermel et al. (2006) made use of
published data to focus on simultaneous pursuit of vertical integration and
strategic outsourcing. Kakabadse and Kakabadse (2002) explored the differences
in outsourcing between US and European companies using a case study. Padillo et
al. (1999) developed a multiple criteria decision model of “make or buy”
problem and used a case study to illustrate the implementation of the
methodology in manufacturing organisations. Momme (2002) developed a model of
the process of outsourcing manufacturing using theoretical approach while
simultaneously using secondary methods of action research and longitudinal case
study.
Action research included papers where the
researcher was participating in what was happening. Jennings (2002) developed a
method to structure the contextual factors, capability, cost, technology,
supply and product market conditions. Gulati et al. (2000) discussed how
incorporating a heightened awareness of strategic networks helped to gain
insights into firm conduct and performance.
Surveys were either cross-country or
longitudinal depending upon the unique feature of the survey. Nassimbeni (2006)
studies the concept of international sourcing using a survey of Italian firms
across various sectors. Li et al. (2006) highlighted the role of a purchasing
firm’s switching inertia in the supplier selection process using data from a
cross section of industries. Lancot and Swan (2000) analyzed the multinationals
and their technology strategy from a resource perspective and attempted some
theory development in technology reliance strategy. The sample included
practitioners from US, Germany, Japan and Taiwan. Trent and Monezka (1998)
adopted a longitudinal survey across a ten year period to study the real and
projected changes and trends that have affected purchasing and sourcing
professionals. Lowson (2001) carried out a cross-country survey of 78 UK and
North American retailers in the consumer good sectors to examine the nature of
operational strategies in retail communities. Monezka, Peterson and Handfield
(1998) used a cross country survey across United States, Canada, Mexico,
Western Europe and Australia to study strategic supplier alliances.
Platts et al. (2002) proposed an interview
mechanism to collect data for studying the make or buy decisions. To gather
data in a structured manner a workshop was conducted which enabled people from
different areas to share and exchange views and have a better understanding of
make or buy decision. Analytical induction is a method used in most of the
theory building and qualitative research. Ulrich and Ellison (2005) developed a
theoretical argument and conceptual framework to investigate the relationship
between design and production of an organization by developing a theoretical
approach. Schiele (2006) focused on a conceptual bias and derived propositions
on the nature of innovative suppliers. The paper briefly established the
theoretical link between purchasing and innovation and provided a general
conclusion. Kakabadse and Kakabadse (2000) invoked conceptual knowledge to shed
light on the increasingly complex and sophisticated forms of sourcing found in
today’s organizations.
Table 4 provides a cross-tabulation of the
data collection methods and research types. Mathematical modeling, surveys and
case studies accounted for nearly 77% of the total papers. Conceptual type of
papers adopting qualitative research used methods such as analytical induction,
action research, modeling and multiple case studies. As is evident from table
4, surveys and case studies are primarily employed to gather data for research
using the empirical approach. Increased use of action research and interviews
could bring the research effort closer to practice. This will be a desirable
transformation in the future.
1.6.3 Tools used for analysis
The current study further provide a scheme of
classification based on the tools used for analysis after the data collection
process was completed. Prominently four categories of tools were used for
analysis by the researchers. This includes statistical analysis, Multi Criteria
Decision Modeling (MCDM), AHP/Heuristics and others. Tools such as Markov
Decision Process, simulation, game theory and queuing theory were clubbed
together under others.
Goyal et al. (1990) proposed a LP model for
multistage batch environment that interfaced with the-Procurement and
production decisions. Lejeune and Ruszc (2007) investigated a supply chain
operating in an uncertain environment using an integer programming formulation
to study a multi-period inventory production distribution plan that aims at
minimizing the total cost of the supply chain. Gans (2002) used a Bayesian
Bandit model to analyze how suppliers should set quality levels in markets characterized
by unavoidable random variation. Integer Programming models have been used by
Talluri, et al. (2006) and Jayaraman et al. (1999) to arrive at an optimal set
of suppliers. Romeijn et al. (2002) studied a multiperiod single-sourcing
problem that took into account transportation and inventory costs. This was
suitable for evaluating the performance of a logistics distribution network in
a dynamic environment. An LP tool was developed to solve the pricing problem
efficiently.
Some of the complexities of real life have
been captured by papers using MCDM. Shyur and Shih (2005) proposed a hybrid
model for vendor evaluation using a MCDM that incorporates an Analytical
Network Process. Sharp (2006) developed a modeling based SMART process that is
based on MCDM technique to decide what products need to be in-sourced and which
need to be outsourced. Platts et al. (2002) presented the results of an ongoing
study investigating factors affecting Make versus Buy Decision using MCDM.
Teichetc al (2006) used MCDM to study some of the decisions in an E-Procurement
scenario. Similarly, Raghavan and Prabhu (2004) developed a MCDM for the
e-Procurement process. Wadhwa and Ravindran (2007) posed the vendor selection
problem as a multi objective optimization problem and arrived at a pricing
model. They analyzed a situation in which one or more buyers order multiple
products from different vendors in a multiple sourcing network. Make Vs Buy
decision has undergone significant changes in the way it is seen by companies,
earlier these decisions were made primarily on the basis of cost; in recent
years there has been a greater implication of the strategic implication of
these decisions. Narasimhan et al. (2006) proposed a mathematical model that
efficiently addressed this issue. They developed an approach for optimally
selecting suppliers using multiple-criteria across multiple products over their
product life cycle.
A small number of studies utilized the
AHP/Heuristics for modeling. Sucky (2007) used a hierarchical Approach and studies
the dynamic strategic vendor selection. Buke et al (2008) highlited the
importance of supplier scale on buying firm’s sourcing decision. Ding et al.
(2005) studied the supplier selection problem using a simulation optimization
method. Three basic modules of Generic Algorithm, discrete event simulator and
a supply chain modeling framework were utilized to analyze the problem. Burke
et al. (2008) analyzed the impact of supplier pricing and supplier capacity
limitations on optimal sourcing policy for a single firm. Heuristics were
developed to identify a quantity allocation decision for the firm. Milner and
Kouvelis (2007) also employed a heuristic approach to study how online
exchanges affect the sourcing strategy of firms.
Lejeune and Raszczynskl (2007) studied a
supply chain operating in an uncertain environment. A multi-period inventory
production distribution plan was considered with the objective of minimizing
the total cost of the supply chain. A probabilistic approach was adopted for
constructing the inventory production and distribution plan.
Other studies emphasized tools such as Markov
Process, game theory, dynamic programming, queuing theory and simulation for
analysis. Cheung et al. (2004) presented an agent-oriented knowledge based
system for strategic e-Procurement. Ding et al. (2004) developed a genetic
algorithm based multi-objective optimization for joint decision making on
strategic sourcing and inventory replenishment. The model enabled the decision
maker to simultaneously optimize decisions at both strategic and operational
levels. Teich et al. (2005) designed a mechanism to auction multiple units of a
good in B2B transactions using a multi-criteria e-auction mechanism. Chatain
and Zemsky (2007) showed how biform games that introduce unstructured
negotiations into game theory analysis can be used to study buyersupplier
relationships.
Robinson (Jr.) et al. (2005) proposed a
simulation based experimental framework to mathematically characterize system
costs in both decentralized and coordinated supply chain structures under
alternative e-replenishment technologies.
Cardi et al. (2004) demonstrated that adoption of simulation helped the
project team in evaluating the dynamic behavior resulting from the implementation
of eprocurement platform better. Yang et al. (2005) studied the optimal
production inventory outsourcing policy for a firm with Markovian in house
production capacity that faces independent stochastic demand and has the option
to outsource. The paper aimed at offering a better understanding of tactical
outsourcing. Bradley (2004) used queueing theory to study inventory management
with replenishment from two sources. Dai et al. (2005) used queuing techniques
based model that captures fundamental trade-offs in a firm's purchasing preparation
process.
Table 5 shows a cross-tabulation of data
collection methods and tools adopted for analysis of data. Prominently four
different tools for analysis were used by the researchers. These are
Statistical Analysis (35 nos), MCDM (19 nos) others (13 nos), Analytical
Hierarchy Programming/Heuristics (11 nos)
Miscellaneous tools of analysis such as
Markov Decision Process, Simulation, Game Theory and Queuing Theory were
clubbed together under others. Statistical Analysis (38%) was the most popular
tool; by Multi Criteria decision Model and others.
Chapter Two
Overview of the Company
2.1 Company Profile
Sanmar Interior & Architecture Ltd (SIAL) is a multidisciplinary
design firm for a one stop service to clients for an integrated design solution
from architecture to interior. We offer each client a combination of
imaginative design, expertise and intense involvement and strive to produce
work that is innovative and practical while keeping in mind the social,
economic, environmental and aesthetic issues relevant to each project. We see
architecture and interior design as overlapping and symbiotic areas of activity
and continue to maintain the delicate balance of innovation and professionalism
that is our hallmark.
SIAL is proud to provide the best services in all design disciplines in
Dhaka & Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Sanmar Interior & Architecture Ltd. is proud to provide the best
services in all design disciplines. The organization offers comprehensive
architectural design solutions for all types of projects blending resourceful
initiatives and noble aesthetics
2.2 Mission
The company value the transformative role of ideas and the capacity for
architecture and interior design to inspire through innovation and creativity. SANMAR's
work culture is to shun preconceptions of prototype design styles allowing each
project to become an opportunity to research, analyse and creatively respond to
client’s brief, the work site and the project context.
Address: Landmark Tower (2nd FlrSial),
12-14 North Avenue, Gulshan 2,
Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Phone: +880 2-8810348
2.3 Products and Services
Products
·
Interior Works
·
Design Consultancy
·
Logistic Services
·
Constructions
Services
SIAL is proud to provide the best
services in all design disciplines. The organization offers comprehensive
architectural design solutions for all types of projects.
SIAL team of experienced and qualified
professionals is ready to provide interior service for projects like home,
office, shop, penthouse or event's set and stage design, pavilion design.
Drawing
Approval-Construction Permission
On behalf of client, SIAL is ready to provide the complete processing
service starting from submission to final approval of all such design/drawings
prior to implementation.
Residential &
Commercial Construction
With one stop service of better construction, Sanmar's major commitment
is to build on experience and to expand its capabilities and expertise in
building any type of construction projects.
Factory Construction
At Sanmar, the company provide a complete solution for constructing
environment friendly building for factory or industry. SIAL's highly trained
and skilled team ensures client a bespoke construction service.
Chapter Three
Analysis & Findings
3.1 Strategic Sourcing Concepts
Strategic sourcing is the process of
developing channels of supply at the lowest
total cost, not just the lowest purchase price. It expands upon traditional
purchasing activities to embrace all activities within the procurement cycle,
from specification to receipt and payment of goods and services (see Fig. 2.1 ). Although strategic sourcing focuses
primarily on reducing costs, its foundation is building longer term, win-win
relationships with key suppliers to give buyers a competitive advantage. 1
The nature of the relationship underscores the success of strategic
sourcing initiatives. It is critical that both buyer and supplier work together
and share information to identify opportunities that will significantly
increase savings over time.
|
Payfor
|
|
Goods
|
|
Specify
|
|
Goods
|
|
Purchase
|
|
Goods
|
|
Qualify
|
|
Suppliers
|
|
Receive&
|
|
Handle
|
|
Materials
|
Fig. 2.1 Procurement cycle
In most companies,
procurement operations are loosely coordinated. It’s common to find different
units within the same firm buying the same product with a different buying
method that results in a different price and service level. The challenge
facing a company is to obtain an optimally integrated enterprise-wide strategic
procurement that allows it to leverage the purchase to achieve the most
cost-effective strategic procurement of quality products at the highest level
of customer service.
The transformation from traditional purchasing
methods to a strategic-sourcing focus requires three fundamental philosophies
that drive the strategic elements and also the infrastructure required to
support the procurement process. These include:
•
Focus on the total delivered value, not the purchase
price
•
Collaborative approach to dealing with suppliers, rather
than oversight
•
Focus on enhancing profitability, rather than cost
savings
The above fundamental philosophies (as shown
in Fig. 2.2 ) often result in fewer
supplies. This creates economies of scale and long-standing relationships with
suppliers. [1]Both
the supplier and purchaser gain an advantage: they can both leverage core
competencies to focus on increasing market share and improving market position.
The move from
purchasing to strategic sourcing developed amid the far-reaching market changes
during the 1980s. New production models based on just-in-time delivery and
total quality management—as well as outsourcing, commoditization and
globalization—had a profound impact on the way goods should be sourced, and on the relationship
between suppliers and customers. Companies that wished to remain competitive
had to shift their focus from a narrow transaction-based view of purchasing to
a wider, more strategic view of how the supply chain could be configured to achieve
broader corporate goals.
3.2 Strategic
Sourcing Principles
A procurement
strategy’s overall objective is to support the ultimate goal of achieving and
sustaining a company’s competitive advantage. Hence, any procurement strategic
initiative must be designed to support profit growth targets. This means a firm
must seek ways to maximize the return on total delivered value of purchased
materials, which is different from ensuring that the needed material is
available at the lowest possible purchase price. The three prevailing
principles in formulating and executing strategic sourcing are as follows:
Expenditure Category Strategy Formulation A product or
service’s strategic importance is determined by whether it has an impact on a
company’s core business and future competitiveness. Certain expenditure
categories contribute differently to a company’s success, so different
strategies should be deployed depending on the goods or services that are
procured. Formulating an expenditure category strategy requires a company to
assess how important a resource is to the company’s competitive position.
However, critical resources may not be instrumental to running a company. They
may be necessary, but they provide no competitive advantage in the marketplace
and may have very little to do with a company’s goals or mission. A good
example is office supply. A business needs photocopying paper, pens and folders
each day, but sourcing them is unlikely to affect a company’s competitive
position. On the other hand, strategic sourcing of important products will
impact a company’s position in the market. Silicon, for instance, is the key
product for a microchip manufacturer as it adds value and differentiates the
product from competitors. Thus, purchasing silicon is crucial to the overall
product value and the company’s future. If a problem occurs with silicon
supply, such as poor availability or a price increase, the whole supply chain
is affected, from the microchip manufacturer to the electronics manufacturer.
Therefore, silicon is strategically important to a microchip manufacturer, and
the purchasing process should reflect that.
In addition to
understanding the strategic importance of purchasing key products, a company
must also pay attention to the supply side. This will act as a guideline for
specifi c strategies to use and the amount of time and effort that should be
spent purchasing any particular item. Items with a simple supply market (high
availability, large number of suppliers and plenty of substitution
possibilities) are easy to purchase. Therefore, a company should devote minimal
time and effort to buy them. Items with high market complexity are most likely
to be high value goods or recurring needs. As the dollars spent in the long
term can be significant, companies should spend the necessary time to reduce
the total cost of these purchases.
A supply market’s
complexity is determined by how difficult it is to buy a certain item. Buying
becomes difficult when a small number of suppliers are dominant and very little
competition exists; buyers encounter high switching costs and lack negotiating
power due to small purchase volume; suppliers have more power due to their
ability to provide inputs that are important to the industry; and the supply
market has high entry barriers due to, for example, major capital requirements
for a startup (see Fig. 2.3) . The
strategic formulation for each expenditure category depends on its importance
and complexity. Hence, appropriate arrangements (procurement options) must be
assigned to sourcing items in each category arrangement of
sourcing techniques). A more detailed methodology for determining the
importance and complexity of an expenditure category are illustrated in later
sections.
Total Supply Cost The Strategic Sourcing concept considers
the total
cost of supply . This concept unveils the total cost incurred by the buyer
when purchasing materials and services. The Total Supply Cost (TSC) is an
assessment of all costs—both direct and indirect—involved with an item over the
product life. [2]Most
frequently, TSC is used in the purchase process to determine the most
cost-effective choice. When TSC is calculated at the time a decision is made,
many of the included costs are estimated because they are incurred in the
future. Calculating the TSC can give buyers more detailed information to make
decisions on suppliers and purchasing. It is important to know that the quoted
purchase price is not the only cost involved in obtaining and using an item. An
example of the TSC framework is shown in Fig.
2.5 . The inclusion of all other known cost factors allows for a more
complete picture to emerge. The benefits[3]of
using TSC include:
•
Helps focus on total value, core business, quality,
yields and cycle time reduction
•
Helps in understanding technical issues beyond price
Price + U
• Supplier Cost •
Structure
• Guaranteed •
Reductions
•
• Volume
Leverage
• Hedging
•
• Performance/
Incentive •
Structures
•
• No Rebate •
• Gain Sharing
•
•
•
•
•
*Usage cost is relatively more imp manufacturing
business compared to retail
|
sage Cost* +
Product
Specifications
Product
Design
Customer
&
Product
Variations
End Product Cost
Standardization
Elimination
Functional
Equivalents
Mix
Shifting
Extended
Life
Products
Scrap
Transportation
Recycle
ortant in a
|
Administrative & Process Cost
• Material Planning
• Receiving
• Performance Reporting
• Obsolete Inventory
• Payables
• Store/Ready to Use
• Purchase
Order
Processing
• Procurement Card
• Consolidated Invoicing
• JIT Deliveries
• Stockless Inventory
• Electroinc
Ordering/
Internet
Technology
• Quality
|
Fig. 2.5 Total supply cost
•
Makes it easy to negotiate and communicate based on facts
•
Drives suppliers to work on the right issues
•
Pinpoints and promotes continuous supplier performance
improvement
•
Provides in-depth knowledge of key costs and aids in
quantifying actual savings [4]
•
Aids in supplier development
•
Improves internal and external communications
•
Reduces subjectivity
•
Allows purchasers to determine if “something is missing”
T o calculate TSC,
one must fi rst establish a framework and assumptions that will guide the work.
This includes defining the needed item (or service) and determining who will
use it, estimating how long the item will be in use, calculating quantities and
usage rates and determining the scope of process and areas that will incur
costs from using the item. Early in the process, one should defi ne the degree
to which a company is using relative vs absolute cost data. In general, three
costs categories are involved in calculating the TSC. They are:
•
Incurred costs : These are either
known or can be estimated to a reasonable degree of accuracy. Incurred costs
include a quoted price, transportation costs, spare parts and supplies,
brokerage fees and customs duties.
•
Performance factors: These include areas such as delivery
performance, quality and requirements for service or maintenance. Performance
factors are relative data. As long as the data is valid for relative
comparison, it doesn’t need to be an absolute cost fi gure.
•
Policy factors : These encompass
all issues the buying company chooses to incorporate to reflect business or
social policy directives. Typically a supplier or product either meets or does
not meet the policy criteria, and a fi rm’s policymakers must establish a
dollar value for it. These policies can include recycled content of materials
and minority and women-owned suppliers.
F or social policy
factors, and other so-called “soft issues,” a company must ask itself: “How
much more would we be willing to pay for the privilege (or issue) being
considered?” The buyer may include any soft issue in TSC as long as the company
is willing to put a value on it. The buyer’s value can be arbitrary, as long as
it is consistent across suppliers and its relative weight makes sense to the
buyer.
S everal other
factors must be considered in determining TSC that can affect the absolute cost
comparisons between supplier A and supplier B, as well as item X and item Y.
Estimates of these factors are acceptable as long as they provide a valid basis
for comparison. These additional factors are:
•
Attributes of
Performance : To select suppliers that can make strategic contributions to a
buyer’s business, buyers need to sort out the performance variables. However,
buyers should also be concerned about a supplier’s respect for recycling,
handling hazardous materials, safety and demographics. For example, a buyer may
have a commitment to do business with minority and female-owned businesses, and
we must factor these demographics into a supplier’s performance.
•
Total Processing Cost: Historically, the purchase price may have
served the buyer well. But TSC takes into account many other elements that may
require a more detailed methodology for calculating costs. For example, order
processing costs are not the same from supplier to supplier.
Importing/exporting costs and
2.6 Negotiation philosophy
correction costs can
also vary. Inventory costs depend on whether the supplier carries the costs or
if the buyer takes ownership of the goods.
•
Weighting and Method: After establishing the attributes of
performance and cost ownership, the buyer needs to create a weighting system
that converts all supplier data into a structure for making richer, better
informed decisions.
The TSC can be applied to the cost of any
purchase. In a manufacturing environment, it is most commonly applied to the
purchase of inventory, services and Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO)
materials. [5]
Negotiating Philosophy The successful implementation of
strategic sourcing relies largely on the ability to undertake fact-based
negotiations. These use a structured analytical framework based upon rigorous
analysis to achieve a lower total system cost. This method, illustrated in
Fig. 2.6, takes a total-cost-of-ownership (or TSC)
approach to selecting suppliers rather than focusing on the purchasing price
alone. This technique is suitable for high-need, high-value relationships
belonging to the strategic partnership zone of the strategic sourcing model.
In contrast to a
traditional negotiation process where outcomes often hinge on one-to-one
personal dynamics and style, fact-based negotiation relies on comprehensive
methodology. To carry out fact-based negotiation, a team of executives
experienced in a range of business functions is formed. Buyers and suppliers
come to the table with experts in everything from procurement, engineering and
finance.
3.3
The Strategic Sourcing Methodology
|
Expenditure
|
|
Category
|
|
Analysis
|
|
SupplyMarket
|
|
Analysis
|
|
Supplier
|
|
Analysis
|
|
ExpenditureCategoryStrategy
|
|
Formulation
|
|
SupplierStrategy
|
|
Fact-BasedNegotiationStrategy
|
|
InternalAnalysis
|
Fig. 2.7 Strategic sourcing methodology
to maintenance and
research and development. The objective of the negotiation is to rely on
analytical support of data and facts to address multiple issues that will
develop a long and lasting relationship between the buyer and supplier. If
carried out correctly, a fact-based negotiation process should produce win-win
outcomes for both buyer and supplier that can ultimately lead to stronger
relationships with fewer suppliers. [6]
S trategic sourcing
represents a major shift from a win-lose to a win-win negotiating philosophy.
It is important for both parties to negotiate with a win-win philosophy that
will successfully form the basis of a long-term relationship. This approach
shows that a company can lower purchasing costs without browbeatingsuppliers.
3.4 Traditional Sourcing and Procurement
Methods
Under traditional procurement methods,
a purchasing department used similar methods for buying a wide variety of
products and services. The chief focus was on buying items at the cheapest
possible price. For example, when a company purchased large capital items,
managers with technical expertise, such as engineering or information
technology, often handled the decision-making and purchasing process. Managers
discarded the negotiating and buying skills of purchasers in favor of so-called
expertise in a product’s function. In contrast, strategic sourcing recognizes
that the skills of purchasing professionals are necessary not only for
purchasing but also for decisions in other areas—product design, direction of
research and development and technology uptake. All of these functions have
purchasing implications and all have an impact on a company’s overall
profitability.[7]Rather
than taking a blanket approach to securing products and services, strategic
sourcing differentiates between items so that products with the highest
priority command the most time and effort.
Strategic sourcing methodology consists of the
following four distinct stages (see Fig.
2.7):
•
Internal analysis: Analyses to understand the roles each
purchased category plays in meeting strategic business objectives. If done
properly, internal analyses should produce immediate short-term cost savings
benefits to buyers.
•
Expenditure category strategy: This stage involves
determining the strategic approach, portfolio of buying options and tactics for
each buying category.
•
Supplier strategy: Unique category characteristics and
market conditions will drive different approaches to sourcing a given
expenditure category. Supplier strategy determines the overall approach for
dealing with suppliers; this includes the number of suppliers, the focus of a
Request for Proposal (RFP) and negotiations.
•
Fact-based negotiation strategy and execution: A
structured analytical framework arms the negotiating team with all facts
necessary to reach the desired outcome. These stages consist of the following:
–
Negotiation strategy and case building: Defines the
leverage points of buyers and suppliers and formulates strategies for
countering a supplier’s leverage points.
–
Supplier response and positioning: Involves anticipating
supplier responses and mapping out negotiation tactics for countering a
supplier’s responses.
–
Negotiation planning, discussion and resolution: This
process prepares a company for the actual negotiations by mapping out the
logistics of engagements.
–
RFP/RFQ (Request for Quotation) preparations: RFP/RFQ
provides a formatted vehicle for collecting competitive information from
suppliers to aid in the negotiations.
–
Supplier selection and evaluation: This stage involves
developing processes and criteria for evaluating individual suppliers. This
requires a complete understanding of value received from purchasing.
Chapter Four
Analysis and Findings
Table 1 Focus Areas and Type of
Research
Focus
Area
Type
|
Strategic
Issues related to sourcing
|
Supplier
Selection
Evaluation
Methods and
Decision Tools
|
Purchasing Methods
|
Buyer
Supplier
Relationship
|
e-
Procurement
|
Total
|
Analytical
|
13
|
13
|
9
|
2
|
14
|
51
|
Best Practice
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
10
|
|
Conceptual
|
13
|
1
|
5
|
2
|
2
|
23
|
Empirical
|
27
|
4
|
12
|
10
|
12
|
65
|
Review
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
||
Total
|
56
|
22
|
30
|
14
|
32
|
154
|
Table 2 Research Type and Data Collection Methods
Method
|
Empirical
|
Analytical
|
Conceptual
|
Best Practice
|
Review
|
Total
|
Action
Research
|
4
|
4
|
||||
Case
Study
|
25
|
6
|
10
|
42
|
||
Interviews
|
1
|
1
|
||||
Published
Data
|
5
|
2
|
5
|
12
|
||
Survey
|
34
|
34
|
||||
Others
|
50
|
5
|
55
|
|||
Analytical
Induction
|
6
|
6
|
||||
Total
|
65
|
51
|
23
|
10
|
5
|
154
|
Table 5 Tools for Analysis
Method
|
Multi Criteria
Decision Model
|
Statistical Analysis
|
Others
|
AHP/
Heuristics
|
Total
|
Case
Study
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
|
Model
|
16
|
1
|
12
|
11
|
40
|
Survey
and
Interviews
|
2
|
28
|
30
|
||
Total
|
19
|
31
|
13
|
11
|
74
|
Chapter Five
SWOT
Analysis of SANMAR Interior and Architecture Ltd.
5.1
SWOT Analysis of SANMAR
Strength
Now financial crisis is seen in whole world. In Bangladesh
They face difficulties from
govt. rules and regulations Gas facility will be not
ensured in upcoming projects as decreasing selling prices of per square fit. Cost of raw materials are
hiking Many competitors Financial crisis in whole
economy Customers are very conscious
about quality.
Weaknesses
1.
Marketing department is not strong because only one assistant manager
works in the corporate office like executive.
2.
Sanmar properties Ltd don’t more attention in improving branding. They
are too much confident about their position but other competitor like Equity
properties always challenges them to capture market however they ignore it.
3.
Like other company still Sanmar properties Ltd can’t minimizing
customer complain that customer don’t want appropriate size of apartment. That
means Sanmar’s professionals can’t properly managed customer about cutting
common area.
4.
TV ad is common tool to reach customer. But Sanmar Properties Ltd
doesn’t give add in TV media. But we see available TV add of other big company
such Bosundhara, Concord etc.
5.
Sanmar is not much promoting their projects in out of Chittagong but
many local people of Chittagong live in other district.
6.
Without Sanmar Ocean City, Sanmar has no any residential project as
easily recognized to common people that it was built by SANMAR Interior &
Architecture Ltd.
7.
Earthquake is a common natural disaster as related to real estate
business. But I don’t know any content of Sanmar Marketing strategies which
ensure customers that Sanmar apartment is risk free in earthquake.
8.
Sanmar properties Ltd promote their projects on the based on luxurious,
attractiveness etc but safety and security don’t get more attention in
promotional concept.
9.
Sanmar Holdings ltd has domain website but Sanmar properties ltd has no
domain website but SPL is main business spot of Sanmar. Existing website can’t
fulfill require demand of customer.
10. Sanmar talk about luxurious
apartments but their most projects are included huge number of apartments as
not make sure to customer about friendly environment of live another side
Equity maintain its.
11. “Green technology are used
or our projects are environment friendly ” such types of promotion are not
seen in Sanmar Banner however they used
slogan “Live in Green”
12. Sanmar can’t major
differentiate in project design with competitors. Most real estate companies design their
apartment almost same. Sometimes
internal design to be slightly changed if customers want. However it does not
big matter that Sanmar bequest to customers highly differentiate apartment.
Example: like other competitors apartment, Sanmar given maid toilet with a side
of kitchen but it’s not hygienic.
13. Sanmar promoted their hand
over projects to ensure beautification, to late, name plate etc but any
projects has no emergency number list such fair service number, hospitals
number, ambulance number etc. but it shows accountability of company.
Opportunities
1. This is not to say, however,
that it's not a worthwhile way to gain customers!
2. Once a novel way of selling,
telemarketing has unfortunately moved into the category of a nuisance to many
consumers.
3. Sanmar telemarketing
professional collect number from Chittagong Club, Golf club etc. But very
professional or traditionally rich person are member of these club who have
already apartment or house own self. We
see many newly rich people who still not member of these place but able to buy
a flat so they don’t informed from Sanmar telemarketing professional’
4. According to telemarketing
professional of SPL, the main objectives of telemarketing is not to sell, just
informed to prospect as create demand over time but demand is also changing
with time. Today customer what want, in future their want may be different. So
today’s project may not to be able to meet customer future demand.
5. Telemarketing is not
accepted to all. Because some customer disturbed to get such types of call.
Threats
1. SANMAR Interior &
Architecture Ltd.
provided customer service for 1 year but Equity Properties Management (pvt) ltd
provide for longevity so it created negative impact to customer.
2. Sanmar has no special fire
service force as quickly sent to projects when any accident is occurred.
Chapter Six
Suggestions and
Conclusion
6.1 Suggestions
Sanmar properties ltd should
make some things as ensure their leader position. In the following it is point
out ----------------
- Marketing department
should be strong.
- More invest to improve
branding as create strong positioning to customer mind.
- Use national and local
TV adds to easily recognize to customer.
- District wise fair should be arranged where
customers of outside Chittagong easily purchase apparent. (Many people who
born in Chittagong, live in other district but come back Chittagong at the
end of service or business).
- Customer should be made sure about safety of
Sanmar’s apartments. Sanmar declares that they use quality materials. But
in their project promotion, I didn’t find out declaration of minimum
risk in earthquake. So it must be kept up in promotion as raises
customer contentment and reliability.
- While target customer is very rich then number of
apartment should be minimized because many people don’t live in gathering.
- Management should be concerned about customer
complain that customer can’t get appropriate size of apartment but pay for
whole size. So Sanmar should be cut minimum portion of common place as
shown their integrity. And salesperson must understand to customer why
some areas are cutting for common place.
- Not only signboard of live in green, promote also
their product under green perspective.
- Marketing strategies should be updated at the
change of time.
- Most of the time customers don’t go in project.
So information of construction state should be sent to client via mail,
phone etc.
- In telemarketing, database should be made not
only club basis, but also it is made of depend on corporate relationships,
associations of professions or such types of prospect who are able to pay
for apartment. Whatever they noble or not.
- Customer care must be providing service long
life. 1 year customer service is not sufficient for achieving customer
satisfaction.
Conclusions
This study has
focused on the literature development in the area of strategic sourcing during
a ten year period. Based on a scrutiny of review papers we have developed a two
part framework to assess the contributions of the literature. A carful study of
about 154 papers using this framework shows how various issues have been
addressed in the area of strategic sourcing. Global sourcing is an important
aspect of strategic sourcing. The study has pointed out the need to focus on
this aspect more in the future. Further, important issues such as reliability
of global supply chain networks, development of strategies for responding
effectively to major disruptions in the network and understanding the
behavioral issues related to supply chains are some of the other areas worth
researching in the future. The study also pointed out the need for developing
hybrid solution methodologies to improve the solution quality.
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