The Situation
Some of the processes in the internal purchasing department and in the interfaces were not clearly regulated. This led to delays in the operational processing of purchasing processes and a delayed delivery of customer orders. In addition to process problems, the use of materials increased continuously. In consultation with the company advisory board, the management decided to optimize processes and reduce material costs through external consulting.
The Scope
The mandate comprised the analysis and reengineering of the purchasing processes within the company and the support of the respective department. Additionally new international sources of supply were to be identified. An assesment of the workforce in the SCM department were also within the scope of the project.
The Outcome
The analysis of the processes resulted in a purchasing manual. The role of the purchasing department as the central function of procurement in the company was defined more clearly. The management intends to introduce the purchasing manual by 2017 at the latest, but has not decided on the details by the end of the mandate. In any case, the implementation will lead to a significant acceleration of processes and lower transaction costs.