From Purchasing to Supply Management

For more than 20 years, researchers and practitioners claimed a transition from traditional purchasing to strategic supply management. However, very few companies actually have been able to make this transition happen. Given the fact that most of the actual practices applied by world-class companies are well known, the question remains why so many companies failed along the way. What does it take to overcome the barriers of purchasing evolution - and what are the benefits?


Based on more than 200 interviews with Chief Purchasing Officers around the world and statistical analyses, Michael Stolle presents a new perspective on the challenges of organizational change. The empirical results reveal a complex hierarchy of organizational factors that have to be developed to increase purchasing performance. "Visible" purchasing best practices are only the tip of the iceberg and are based on a profound shift of mindsets of the entire organization. The insights offered by this book will help to understand the mechanics and success criteria of purchasing evolution to supply management.