Whilst the role of the retail buyer and the tasks comprising the buying process have now evolved into areas traditionally regarded as the “commercial” or “operational” domains, the core element of the buying process remains the selection of products and suppliers. This entails a number of “traditional” retail buying activities essentially involved with product and supplier selection.
GATHERING BUYING INFORMATION
The assembling of data relevant to the buying task is a critical first step prior to determining the assortment of products to be bought or the sources of supply. All retail buyers need to have some form of system in place to gather data, especially prior to purchasing new lines. This part of the buying process will be conducted …show more content…
Swindley (1992) stated that most buyers were involved in product and packaging decisions, new product launches and quality control, but added that the broader issues of which product categories were to be carried were usually undertaken in conjunction with other functional departments within the organisation, such as marketing. Wills (1999) and Varley (2001) characterize the “modern” buying process as revolving around the broader concept of “product …show more content…
In New Zealand, Thomas and Marr (1993) exploring new product evaluation found that “hard” objective product orientated criteria (eg financial aspects, profit and sales, promotional activity, availability) dominated the list (56%) but that “soft” subjective non-product criteria (eg knowledgeable presenter, feel for the supplier) were more influential criteria (44%) than anticipated.
SOURCING AND SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP
Coopers & Lybrand (1996), highlighted how some of the typical characteristics found in
'traditional' more adversarial relationships needed to be transformed in new partnership-style relationships (Figure 2.2). This involves moving from:
adversarial to collaborative relationships;
a focus on price to a total cost approach; a short to a long term perspective;
• many to a few key suppliers;
• just in case to just in
GATHERING BUYING INFORMATION
The assembling of data relevant to the buying task is a critical first step prior to determining the assortment of products to be bought or the sources of supply. All retail buyers need to have some form of system in place to gather data, especially prior to purchasing new lines. This part of the buying process will be conducted …show more content…
Swindley (1992) stated that most buyers were involved in product and packaging decisions, new product launches and quality control, but added that the broader issues of which product categories were to be carried were usually undertaken in conjunction with other functional departments within the organisation, such as marketing. Wills (1999) and Varley (2001) characterize the “modern” buying process as revolving around the broader concept of “product …show more content…
In New Zealand, Thomas and Marr (1993) exploring new product evaluation found that “hard” objective product orientated criteria (eg financial aspects, profit and sales, promotional activity, availability) dominated the list (56%) but that “soft” subjective non-product criteria (eg knowledgeable presenter, feel for the supplier) were more influential criteria (44%) than anticipated.
SOURCING AND SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP
Coopers & Lybrand (1996), highlighted how some of the typical characteristics found in
'traditional' more adversarial relationships needed to be transformed in new partnership-style relationships (Figure 2.2). This involves moving from:
adversarial to collaborative relationships;
a focus on price to a total cost approach; a short to a long term perspective;
• many to a few key suppliers;
• just in case to just in