Mastering the MRO buy
By Staff -- Purchasing, 3/12/1998
There was a time in recent history when many U.S. companies spent more to buy, store, and handle their maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) goods than the goods themselves were worth. But when U.S. firms finally realized they were losing ground on the global playing field, a radical change began to take place in the way sourcing organizations approached MRO. Buyers began to scrutinize the costs and wastes associated with MRO purchasing and handling, and they began to consolidate their purchases with fewer suppliers. MRO suppliers, meantime, began to offer better and more customized service options.Purchasing Magazine has been tracking these dramatic changes over the last decade and has recently compiled its coverage into one volume on MRO Buying Strategies. The book is organized into nine sections:
* Part 1 explores the evolution of MRO buying and the forces that are at work in completely changing the way purchasing professionals regard MRO buying and the MRO supply base.
* Part 2 looks into the development of the distribution industry and the forces that are at work in thoroughly changing the face of industrial distribution.
* Part 3 scans the face of MRO buying and the testing that has been going on in purchasing offices around the country. The testing involves many of the basic premises around which MRO buying has traditionally been constructed.
* Part 4 takes the questioning one step further and looks at major reengineering of MRO purchasing at a number of companies around the country.
* Part 5 surveys another facet of the questioning going on in purchasing--the consideration of whether MRO buying should be outsourced.
* Part 6 samples some of the new selling strategies being introduced into the distribution function. In many ways, these strategies give purchasing new insights into how their distributor suppliers think and how they compete.
* Part 7 investigates how smart buyers can tap into distributor know-how. In many cases, distributors are only now revealing hidden talents that hold great promise to supply executives looking for long-term solutions to age-old buying problems.
* Part 8 examines an emerging distribution strategy--integrated supply. For many buyers, integrated supply strategies hold the promise of reduced transaction costs and technical back-up.
* Part 9 scrutinizes the world of the procurement card and how it promises to revolutionize the handling of small transactions by industrial purchasers.
To order your copy, send $35 (check or money order) to Purchasing Magazine, P.O. Box 497, New Town Branch, Boston, Mass. 02258. For credit card orders call (617) 558-4348 (Amex, Visa, and Mastercard accepted).
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
Now Playing:
