Purchasing and supply management (PSM) are crucial for the effective and efficient operation of manufacturing firms, now more than ever. The PSM function has evolved from being routine and mechanical to a function that delivers true competitive advantage. The trend toward increased globalization...

This research explores procurement strategies for multi-item RFQs in business-to-business (B2B) markets using responses from 825 purchasing professionals. The study first establishes procurement strategies that differ based on their level of strategic emphasis, i.e. the importance that is placed...

Purchasing professionals in today's business-to-business (B2B) markets can choose between conducting bid solicitations and negotiations using an online or offline process. One dominant type of online procurement has been the online reverse auction, which has received both praise and criticism....

Purpose – Eighteen Mittelstand companies are studied in Germany to develop a better understanding about drivers of enterprise systems complexity (ESC), as well as its multi-faceted conceptualization. Dimensions and measures for complexity and its antecedents are derived using a grounded theory...

In industrial procurement the buying organization usually initiates and sets the stage for purchase negotiations by sending out a request for quotation (RFQ). The business tendered in the RFQ most often does not consist of just a single item, but of a group of different stockkeeping units...