Key Account Management, 6th Edition

13

Purchasing organization: rationalization and centralization

There are fewer buyers than there used to be. This isn’t a clever point about their change of role or title; it’s just that there are fewer people involved in the task of buying, procurement, sourcing or whatever else you might like to call it.

The reason is simple: ‘rationalization and centralization’. In the past every site had its own purchasing team, each often working quite independently of other sites. That was hard work for the seller, but also an opportunity. Today the norm is for the job to be done at one location, perhaps even globally. So why the change?

• As we have said, you need fewer buyers, so there is a cost saving.
• More importantly (perhaps), as businesses seek uniformity ...