Enterprise Purchasing Process - Essay Sample

Introduction

Purchasing is a central task in a with and the objectives of obtaining goods and services in response to internal needs. The restaurant that I worked for was often involved in purchasing products. Some of the products it purchased included uniforms, cutlery, and restaurant furniture.

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The restaurants acquired products and services by calling for competitive bids from selected suppliers. The firm considered this process because it had not established a viable relationship with suppliers. The competitive bidding option is good for companies that want the lowest price or best value and are not familiar with the companies that would be bidding (Boariu, 2018). The purchasing process involved various steps. The first step involved identifying potential suppliers. The company kept a list of resources it used in establishing a robust pool of potential suppliers. The list included supplier's websites, catalogs, trade registers and directories, mail advertisements, contacts of company personnel and contacts of former supplies. After developing a comprehensive list of potential suppliers the next step involved evaluation of each supplier individually. The type of evaluation varied with complexity, dollar value and nature of the purchase to be made. For restaurant went for cheap cutlery and its evaluation of the cutlery suppliers only a cursory evaluation was employed. So most of the evaluation process involved a review of the supplier website or a look at the suppliers on Mergent OnLine for relevant information. The restaurant insisted on high-quality furniture of hardwood. The evaluation of the furniture was time-consuming. The company asked for advice from third party evaluators who narrowed down the supplier to only three. Then a facility visit was conducted. The evaluation was stricter as the previous furniture supplied was not of quality and the design was poor. The evaluation thus shunned the former supply. Since the suppliers had been reduced to just a handful, the next process focused on selecting the suppliers. The purchasing manager at this stage invited potential to suppliers to submit bids. The process then settled with the most appropriate bid suitable the restaurant's budget.

Other business in the industry had different purchasing procedures from ours. Some of the business had already established a relationship with the supplier and all that was required was to make an order. I observed that cultivating a supplier relationship was essential as it cultivated into a healthier bottom-line. The mutually beneficial relationship not only deliver on cost saving, but they also reduce availability, delays and quality issues. Other business took a straightforward option by visiting the supplier and trying bargaining for the products. This was particularly true for the small scale business in the same field as us. Since they were only concerned with the price, they would identify supplier and engage them directly. The consequence is that they saved on time and bargained for a price suitable to them.

Obtaining the products was characterized by a few challenges especially in the purchase of furniture. The purchase was complicated, time-consuming and frustrating. For example, the initial furniture supplier canceled the purchase on grounds that the last remaining oak furniture had been purchased and requested for more time to source for the same type of furniture. Due to the time constraint on the restaurant's side, the management could not offer another chance and had to select another supplier only this time on negotiation ground rather than bidding to reach the price announced by the former. Another challenge arose in the purchase of uniforms which was conducted online. Though communication was done online and body measurement sent to the supplier, the uniforms were large in size and had to be returned for correction. Moreover, the pricing was confusing in that various suppliers gave largely varying figures in their bids. This is surprising in that they were all supposed to supply the same items. The process can be improved by employing more facility visits. In site visits, a considerable amount of information can be gathered within a few hours on a facility tour (Utting, 2012). Moreover, it can be beneficial to visit the actual place than viewing photos and advertisements on internet searches, company website and sale material in the proposal. The adverts and sales material have been completed by the supplier and are subject to bias and economies of truth. The difficulty of implementing site visits in the procurement is that it is time-consuming and second visit on the promise that items will be ready can be annoying especially when they are the only potential supplier.

In the essay, I have analyzed how the restaurant I worked for purchased cutlery, uniforms and furniture. I have given a summary of what the process involved as well as how the similar business did their purchasing. Their purchasing involved making a direct purchase and others purchased from their trusted suppliers. The essay has also analyzed the challenges faced in obtaining the products and has advocated how the process can be improved. Moreover, I have pointed at the difficulty that can arise in my recommendations such as site visit.

References

Boariu, N. (2018, February 21). Difference between Competitive and Non-Competitive Procurement. Retrieved from https://blog.procurify.com/2015/05/01/procurement-processes/

Utting, M. (2012). Site visits should be 'insight? visits. Retrieved from https://www.springtideprocurement.com/blog/2012/site-visits-should-be-insight-visits/