APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017

ELE 3771 Purchasing

Responsible for the course
Lena Bygballe

Department
Department of Accounting - Auditing and Business Analytics

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
7,5

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
In today’s society, cost pressures and increasing customer demands push firms and other organisations to find new and better ways of utilising and developing their resource bases. Purchasing represents a key means to achieve profitability by cost reductions and increased value. It can help reducing direct and indirect costs by mobilising and activating resources both internal to a company or an organisation and the resources of suppliers in a more efficient way. Similarly, purchasing can help in creating value by mobilising and activating resources both internally controlled and those resources owned by suppliers in a more effective way.

Students participating in this course will learn to understand the role and function of purchasing and supply management in today’s society, both from a profit-seeking company’s point of view and from other organisations, including the public sector. They will learn about a purchaser’s key tasks and responsibilities, and strategies and tools for dealing with key issues, particularly with regard to handling suppliers.

Learning outcome
Acquired knowledge
After completed course students shall:

• Understand what purchasing is about in terms of roles, responsibilities, functions and processes in today’s society.
• Understand and appreciate the differences in the operational, tactical and strategic levels of purchasing, and how purchasing can be organised.
• Gain knowledge of central purchasing models, in relation to segmentation, insourcing/outsourcing, sourcing, and negotiation models.
• Understand the importance of managing supplier relationships.

• Undertake purchasing tasks and responsibilities with regard to the purchasing process: specification, search, negotiation, relationship handling, and evaluation.
• Apply key purchasing models, such as segmentation models and managing high and low involvement supplier relationships.
• Communicate in the range of purchasing professional roles, e.g. in terms of terminology.

• Trends, definitions and key tasks and responsibilities, including ethical and environmental considerations
• Purchasing’s role in business strategy and the value chain
• Purchasing in different settings, including service and public sectors

• Specification and selection
• Negotiation and contracting
• Performance evaluation and KPIs

• Outsourcing and insourcing
• Supply base management and segmentation
• Sourcing strategies - international and global purchasing

• Purchasing organisation structures in different business settings
• Decentralisation vs. centralisation of purchasing

• Developing resources with suppliers for innovation and productivity