Robert J. Trent

Supply Base Strategies to Maximize Supplier Performance

Competing in the mid‐to‐late 1990s will require world‐class firms to rely increasingly on their suppliers while at the same time developing more aggressive and executive supported purchasing, supply base and sourcing strategies, because suppliers′ performance is not meeting expectations of purchasers. This finding was one result of a research effort with over 100 different firms over a five‐year period to determine the importance of the supply base, current supplier performance and emerging supply base/sourcing strategies being used by leading firms to contribute to competitive advantage. It was further determined that significant opportunities exist to accelerate development of supplier capabilities and performance. Identifies and discusses continuous improvement and breakthrough supply base and sourcing strategies to achieve supply base improvement.

Understanding integrated global sourcing

The ability to satisfy customer demands while responding to relentless competitive pressure requires creative and often complex approaches to managing a firms supply chain. Perhaps more than any other area, executive managers increasingly believe that a concept called globalization offers the best opportunity to achieve major performance gains. One area where many companies can begin to capture the benefits of globalization is global sourcing, which involves the worldwide integration of engineering, operations, and procurement centers within the upstream portion of a firms supply chain. Unfortunately, capturing the benefits potentially offered by globalization is often limited by a lack of understanding concerning how to pursue this important topic. To help overcome this limitation this article presents a five‐level continuum that illustrates the differences between international purchasing and global sourcing, examines the factors that are the most critical to global success, and concludes with a brief discussion of future global sourcing directions.

Achieving world-class supplier quality

Not long ago, most North American and European companies believed that how they influenced and managed suppliers made little diff erence in their overall performance. This perception changed, however, when global competitors showed that working with suppliers could create competitive market advantages in cost and cycle time reduction, on-time delivery, and access to product and process technology. Nowhere has the benefit of progressive supply chain practices become more evident than in supporting product and service quality, which remains a core requirement for competing successfully on a global basis. This article addresses the increasing importance of suppliers, particularly in supporting product and service quality requirements, and presents a series of questions concerning how well purchasing and sourcing activities contribute to total quality. It also provides a profile of organizations that are best positioned across four enabling areas to pursue advanced supplier qualityrelated activities.

Evolving Sourcing Strategies for the 1990s

Evolving purchasing/sourcing strategies necessary for competitive success during the 1990s are identified. The strategies, identified by purchasing executives of leading‐edge Fortune 100 firms during field interviews and a Delphi process, reflect purchasing′s growing contribution to firms′ overall competitive performance. Also included is a discussion of supply base optimisation and total quality management at the supplier as necessary prerequisites for the implementation of increasingly sophisticated strategies which follow a progression to achieving an integrated set of purchasing strategies. There is also a discussion of the linkage between corporate and purchasing strategy.

Planning to use work teams effectively

Few studies have definitively established a clear connection between teaming and higher performance, and even fewer have quantitatively assessed the impact of teaming on corporate performance. If using work teams is not a guarantee of greater effectiveness, then the challenge becomes one of creating an environment that increases the likelihood that teams will be successful. This article presents a work team planning guide that identifies the critical issues and topics that organizations should consider when planning to use work teams effectively. Primary research, training and development experience, and an integration of team‐based literature all contribute to the ideas presented here.

Understanding Integrated Global Sourcing— A Framework and Case Study

Most firms compete in industries that demand continuous, and often dramatic, improvement across a variety of performance areas, including cost, quality, delivery, and cycle time. Exceeding customer demands requires creative and often complex approaches to managing a firm’s supply chain. One area where many companies can begin to realize a new source of benefits is global sourcing, which involves the worldwide integration of engineering, operations, and procurement centers within the upstream portion of a firm’s supply chain. For executive leaders who are under intense pressure to achieve continuous improvement, the development of global sourcing processes and approaches may well offer the next generation of performance breakthroughs. Capturing the benefits potentially offered by globalization is often limited by a lack of understanding concerning how to pursue global sourcing. To help overcome this limitation this article summarizes the international purchasing and global sourcing literature, defines the differences between international purchasing and global sourcing, details the global sourcing process and experience of a leading company, and summarizes global sourcing excellence characteristics and trends.

Team leadership at the 100‐foot level

Since teams continue to be an important part of an organizations design, understanding how to enhance their success should be a primary objective. Research consistently shows that team leaders exert a disproportionate effect on the success or failure of organizational work teams, making leadership an area that managers cannot ignore. While creating an organizational vision or inspiring others to follow are important leadership traits when viewing leadership at a very high level, the reality is that most team leaders work at a demanding operational level, which requires specific knowledge and skills. This article presents the topic of team leadership by discussing why team leadership should be of interest to organizational managers, presenting various knowledge and skill areas where leaders should demonstrate proficiency, and providing an assessment tool that helps organizations evaluate leader effectiveness.