Category Management in Purchasing is a comprehensive guide to strategic category management, providing a step-by-step guide to its implementation and use. This book provides the necessary tools, techniques and applications that will enable the reader to implement this cost saving purchasing method. The 3rd edition of Category Management in Purchasing has been rigorously updated to reflect the latest thinking in the field. Jonathan O'Brien shows how a strategic approach needs to work effectively together with other approaches, such as Supplier Relationship Management. He has added important sections on governance, included more supplier and supply chain tools, and introduced a pragmatic route for smaller businesses or those who need step-by-step advice.The book provides case studies of real companies, including: IKEA, The Body Shop, NHS, Heinz, Cardiff Council, and GlaxoSmithKline.

How is it possible to sell a kitchen at 30 per cent below market price? Why are hot dogs cheaper in IKEA than in the supermarket? How can IKEA sell the Lack table at half the price it was when it was launched 35 years ago and how can it be achieved with a substantial profit? Strategic Sourcing and Category Management examines how IKEA - and other cost leading companies - use category management to create advantages with direct and indirect sourcing. With 25 years' experience from IKEA, where he had the responsibility to develop and execute the company's purchasing strategy, author Magnus Carlsson shares his insights on important topics: when category management is profitable and why; how teams repeatedly create value and results; what the main approaches are in different categories; how a company implements category management; the difference between success and failure. In this new edition of Strategic Sourcing and Category Management, Magnus Carlsson has added new themes including examples and references from companies such as Maersk, Carlsberg, P&G and Aldi, illustrating the application of cost leadership that spans far beyond IKEA. Even there, the cost leadership lessons are not limited to home furnishings as the company is sourcing categories such as food, components, materials, transports and indirect materials, with a total purchasing spend of approximately €7 billion. But maybe even more importantly, the book illustrates how teams create value by thinking differently and asking the right questions, allowing an understanding that goes beyond mere tools and processes.

Category management is one of the biggest contributors of commercial value in the area of procurement and supply chain. With a proven track record of successful delivery since the early 1990s, it helps organisations gather and analyse key data about their procurement spend before subsequently creating and delivering value-adding strategies that change the value proposition from supply chains. The aim of category management is to find long-term breakthrough strategies that help lift an organisation’s commercial performance to a new level. Because of its strategic long-term orientation and complex execution, category management has long been the preserve of commercial consulting companies – in effect a ‘black box’ toolkit shrouded in expensive methodologies. This practical handbook lifts the lid on category management by providing readers with a step-by-step process and established toolkit that allows them a ‘do-it-yourself’ approach. Each activity is presented as a simple tool or technique for practitioners to apply to their own organisations. To support each activity, easy-to- use templates and checklists have been provided, together with simple but practical hints and tips for implementation. This handbook is a ‘must read’ for all procurement and supplychain managers looking to find significant improvements in their organisations. Its practical approach cuts through long-winded consultant-speak and provides an easy-to-use practical toolkit for everyday application.

The approach used on a given spend item should largely depend on the balance between supply power and demand power. That is the logic behind the bestselling Purchasing Chessboard®, used by hundreds of corporations worldwide to reduce costs and increase value with suppliers. The 64 squares in the Purchasing Chessboard provide a rich reservoir of methods that can be applied either individually or combined. And because many of these methods are not customarily used by procurement, the Purchasing Chessboard is also the perfect tool for helping buyers to think and act outside the box and find new solutions. A well-proven concept that works across all industries and all categories in any given situation, it is little wonder that business leaders and procurement professionals alike are excited by, and enjoy strategizing around, the Purchasing Chessboard. This second edition of The Purchasing Chessboard addresses the new realities of a highly volatile economic environment and describes the many—sometimes surprising—ways in which the Purchasing Chessboard is being used in today's business world. Yet despite all of the great achievements of procurement executives and their teams, they do not always receive the recognition they deserve. In response, the authors have developed and outlined within the book an unequivocal approach to measure procurement’s impact on a company’s performance—Return on Supply Management Assets (ROSMA®).

Spend analysis is a key component of strategic supply management. This book provides in-depth guidance on what spend analysis really is, what it specifically involves, and how to use it to help your organization achieve its full potential.

Managing corporate spend is far more complex than conducting RFPs. Learn how the most efficient and effective procurement departments operate, control costs, enforce compliance, and manage indirect spend. Managing Indirect Spend provides executives and procurement professionals with the knowledge and tools necessary to successfully reduce costs with a strong focus on the often-overlooked area of indirect spend. It also offers great value to those procurement and purchasing professionals aspiring to be leaders in the profession, regardless of the spend they manage. It includes an overview of the challenges faced when sourcing indirect spend categories, a detailed dive into the strategic sourcing process, tools that can help drive savings, technologies that drive efficiencies and compliance, and examples of success based on real-world experience. It is a how-to guide that clearly covers sourcing engagements of any complexity and provides the details needed to source effectively. The book is structured into sections covering the sourcing and procurement process, the tools and technologies, examples from the field, walkthroughs of specific sourcing engagements, guidance on building an effective sourcing team, and the information needed to become a best-in-class sourcing organization. Since the initial publication of this book, the procurement profession and the discipline of Strategic Sourcing have matured. Markets have changed, processes developed, trends have come and gone, and technology has experienced leaps and bounds, posing new and interesting challenges for procurement professionals. In addition to covering tried-and-true practices for strategic sourcing, this Second Edition discusses how strategic sourcing has evolved and provides an update on the techniques, tools, and resources available to purchasing groups. This book: Includes updated coverage of everything you need to know to source more effectively Covers the latest trends in procurement and sourcing, including technology, process improvements and organizational design Presents guidance for reducing costs through strategic sourcing, no matter what the economic climate or level of maturity of the existing procurement organization Shows how effectively managing indirect costs can provide a huge impact on bott m line growth Introduces Market Intelligence (MI), including techniques, tools, and resources available to procurement and supply chain management groups With tools, real-world examples, and practical strategies, Managing Indirect Spend provides insider guidance for big bottom-line growth through effective management of indirect costs.

WINNER: ACA-Bruel 2015 - Grand Prix Businesses are going through rapid change due to an increased focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility, technological advances, geo-political and macro-economic change, and demographic shifts. If purchasing and supply chain managers are to embrace these challenges they must develop new ways of thinking about supply structures and processes as well as new skills and competencies. The Procurement Value Proposition examines these important changes that will have a profound effect on the way future procurement is carried out. It considers the implications of global economic transformation for procurement set against: changes in business contexts, purchasing strategies, organisational structure, roles and responsibilities, system development and skills required to work in the profession. This book discusses the value proposition offered by contemporary procurement to the sustainability and development of business. They examine how organizations that position procurement as a core business function will be able to drive a more competitive lever for change, and more readily adapt to the forces driving rapid change in the current global environment. The Procurement Value Proposition features case studies of companies that are moving through procurement transformation in a continual phase of movement and adaption to the multitude of shifts that are occurring. It features input, observations and case studies from CPO's, Commercial Directors and other Procurement and business leaders. The book considers a variety of geographical contexts and highlights differences between the US, the UK and China. Awarded the Grand Prix ACA-Bruel for its important contributions to the research and practice in procurement and supply chain management, it has been recognized for its ambitious vision of procurement.