The Purchasing Machine

In this summary you will learn

• Why many companies underestimate the importance of purchasing
• Why a company’s supply management leader should be a vice-president
• What 20 best practices to implement, one at a time

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Why you should read The Purchasing Machine

One of this book’s mantras is that purchasing is a lot more important these days than in decades past. The authors, Dave Nelson, Patricia Moody and Jonathon Stegner, have spent decades in the field of purchasing. Their principal argument is that now that most companies outsource their equipment and even their parts (for example, very few Dell parts are made in-house), purchasing has become not only more important, but a potential source of incredible savings. The dozen companies profiled in this book - which is meant to detail the best practices in purchasing worldwide - have realized millions of dollars in savings simply by optimizing supply-chain management. The authors emphasize that this isn’t an individual task. Change in purchasing management requires an internal team and management support. getabstract.com recommends this book not only to purchasing managers, but to all corporate executives, any of whom will glean some invaluable pointers about how to save money in day-to-day operations.

About the Authors

Dave Nelson  a vice president at Deere and Co., previously led the growth of Honda’s purchasing division, which received the Medal of Professional Excellence from Purchasing Magazine. Patricia Moody  was profiled by Fortune as one of the 10 pioneering women in manufacturing and is a consultant to such companies as Cisco, Honda and Solectron. Jonathon Stegner  is a director of supply management at Deere and a 20-year supply management practitioner.