Sourcing Solution, the: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Successful Purchasing Program

by Larry Paquette

ISBN: 0814471919
Format: Hardcover, 224pp
Pub. Date: April 2003
Publisher: AMACOM

Hardcover, April 2003
B&N Price: $39.95
Buy at Barnes & Noble.




FROM THE PUBLISHER
The purchasing function is in the middle of unprecedented change. The transformation is being driven by globalization in consumer and supplier markets, as well as by rapid technological advances that facilitate procurement on any scale.

The Sourcing Solution offers a clear overview of the new tools of sourcing success, including e-commerce and Internet strategies, supply-chain management technology, inventory auction sites, strategic sourcing initiatives, offshore and international sourcing, and much more. Author Larry Paquette brings his considerable experience to this engaging and accessible guide, designed to give readers practical ideas for use in their own organizations and throughout their careers.

The Sourcing Solution is a timely resource for professionals at all levels, including:

* Newly promoted buyers who will use it as a basic introduction to purchasing, filled with great ideas for how to do the job better
* Managers whose growth and new responsibilities require understanding of broader issues
* Executives who need to identify shortfalls in current sourcing initiatives, set new procurement goals, and develop strategies and metrics for ensuring

About the Author:
Larry Paquette (Fresno, CA) has been a purchasing professional for more than 30 years, with experience at Caterpillar, Silicon Graphics, Beckman Instruments, and others.

SYNOPSIS
Written for buyers, managers, and executives, this guide serves as a basic introduction to purchasing, but also relates specific tools to broader procurement and general business issues. Paquette (a materials management consultant) specifically explains how to leverage technological advances and global supply chain dynamics into profitable purchasing practices. He covers e-commerce and internet strategies, management technology, inventory auction sites, strategic sourcing initiatives, and off-shore and international sourcing. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Customer Review
Insightful!
Purchasing is a critically important business function, although it lacks the glamour and excitement of, say, finance or sales. In the past, purchasing employees have often been little more than glorified clerks mired in price comparisons. Sometimes, their responsibilities included accompanying vendors to ballgames and such, activities that helped keep the purchasing pro's mind off the fact that not many CEOs seemed to come up through the purchasing department. That may already be changing. Indeed, purchasing is now a career hot spot. Several trends — such as corporate demands for cost cutting and outsourcing, new electronic markets and auctions, globalization of customers and vendors, sharper supply-chain logistics technology, and the movement to create partnerships with suppliers — make purchasing substantially more important than ever before. Author Larry Paquette offers a short, lucid, quite readable summary of the essentials of purchasing in that light. We find it an excellent, comprehensive and useful overview of sourcing.