The purchasing situation
An understanding of the buying situation is vital for both the purchasing (procuring) company and the supplier (selling company).
- Companies are simultaneously purchasing and selling
- Sales and purchasing activities are the links connecting businesses along the value chain
- The value received by the end user depends on the quality of all players (companies). It is, therefore, highly important to develop these relationships correctly and with the right players
Task
Based on the company case given below:
- Answer all questions in one document.
- Reference using Harvard style (embedded citations with references at the end)
The word count is 1250-15000 words, excluding references, tables and graphics.
- It assesses the following learning outcomes:
To describe the impact of the purchasing situation on Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)
To understand the purchasing (procurement) decisions and organization of a company.
Case
DS Smith is a leading provider of corrugated packaging solutions worldwide. They operate across 37 countries and employ over 31,000 people.
In order to support corrugated packaging operations, they have a recycling business that collects used paper and corrugated cardboard, from which our paper manufacturing facilities make the recycled paper used in corrugated packaging.
DS Smith’s customers want broader reaching solutions to packaging needs; innovation and processes that will help them reduce waste, cost and complexity from their supply chains. By using expertise from design to production and supply to recycling, they can offer high quality, environmentally friendly, innovative solutions and great service that looks at the whole of our customers’ packaging needs, not just one part.
https://www.dssmith.com/company/ds-smith-at-a-glance
Questions (each carries an equal weight)
- Using the company above, explain why effective purchasing is important for their business?
- What is the concept of “adding value” to a business in terms of purchasing for the above company?
- What are “make-decisions” and “buy decisions” and how would decisions about these points be made for this company?
- What are the major benefits of sustainable purchasing/sourcing for the company?
- Explain how modern technologies are helping purchasing processes and purchasing decisions in the above example?