Efficient purchasing in make-to-order supply chains

Make-to-order supply chains which manufacture investment goods consist of many successive business units, such as sales, purchasing, manufacturing and assembly. Typically in this kind of business the share of purchased components of the product costs is 70-80%. Therefore, efficient purchasing is essential for the make-to-order companies. Traditionally, not adequate attention has been paid to the purchasing. This has resulted in bureaucratic and inefficient purchasing operations. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.