Introduction to Purchasing and Supply Management – Term
Project
Questions for Interview and/or Organizational Analysis
1. Interviewee
/ Company
a. Name and
title
b. Educational
background, special training, certifications (Let the interviewee know that
this information is optional.)
c. Purchasing
background
d. Name of
department and the department the individual report to?
e. Current
duties, main responsibilities, and areas of concentration
f. Length
of time with company
g. Does he
or she recommend purchasing as a career, why or why not?
2. Company
a. Name of
Company (including any previous titles)
b. Type of
business: Non-profit, Public, private
c. Industry,
such as education, service, manufacturing, sales, distribution, construction,
etc.
d. Main
product or service and type of business
e. Core
competencies, e.g., engineering, consulting, etc.
f. Brief
history of organization, i.e., mission, number of years in business,
location(s), divisions, # of employees, key customers, etc.
g. Size of
company in terms of sales (if applicable)
h. Stock
exchange symbol if applicable
i. Website
address
j. Location
3. Purchasing
and Supply Management
a. Number of
local purchasing / supply chain employees and titles (organizational chart)
b. How are
job responsibilities aligned within the department (commodity, dollar amount
purchased, etc)?
c. Examples
of external memberships and affiliations
d. Website
address for purchasing and supply management
e. Type of
products or services purchased
f. Centralized
at corporate or decentralized?
g. Is
purchasing and supply management under same department, explain?
h. What are
the core competencies of the purchasing and supply management department(s)
e.g., sourcing, negotiating contracts?
4. Processes
a. What
processes and tools are used to make purchases:
procurement credit card (P-card), purchase orders, blanket purchase
orders, check requests, contracts, etc.?
b. Is cycle
time for processing purchase orders measured from receipt of requisition to
distribution of purchase order? If so,
what are some of the barriers to the goals?
c. What are
examples of processes that have been re-engineered within the purchasing or
supply management to improve efficiency? What are examples of successes?
d. Is there
a requirement for suppliers to contact purchasing prior to accepting an order
on behalf of the organization?
5. Suppliers
a. What is
the estimated total number of suppliers?
Name one to two key suppliers and provide examples of products and
services they provide?
b. How are
suppliers identified and selected?
c. Does
purchasing have a supplier evaluation program?
If so, how often are suppliers evaluated?
d. Does the
organization have a Small Business Enterprise (MBE) Program? If so, what is the title of the program; and,
what is the title of the person who manages it?
What are the primary objectives and goals of the program?
e. What
types of affiliations exist between the organization and small business
councils, etc., within the local community?
f. Where is
the organization’s main supply base, e.g., countywide, regional, national,
local, international, etc?
6. E-Procurement
a. Does
organization have an e-procurement / ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning System),
such as Oracle, SAP, Banner, PeopleSoft, etc.?
7. Policies
and Procedures
a. How are
purchasing policies and procedures implemented and controlled throughout the
organization?
b. If an
outsider were to inquire about purchasing policies and procedures, where would
he or she find this information?
8. Purchasing
Strategy
a. What
drives the overall strategy of the purchasing function and establishment of its
goals and objectives?
b. What
business unit does purchasing fall under?
c. What are
some examples of current and future purchasing strategies, such as cost
savings, supplier partnering, supplier catalog; and, how are the goals of these
strategies measured?
9. Teams
a. Does
purchasing personnel participate on internal and/or external cross-functional
teams? If so, what are some examples of
involvement?
10. Quality
a. Does
organization use a unified set of quality standards, such as ISO 9000, Malcolm Baldrige
National Quality Award, Six Sigma, etc. to control and measure quality?
11. Competitive
pricing
a. What is
the process for acquiring competitive pricing, such as, competitive bidding,
request for quotation or proposal (RFQ) or (RFP), negotiation, or other
methods?
12. Inventory
Control (if applicable)
a. What
inventory control systems are in place (just-in-time, Kanban, replenishment,
etc.)?
b. Does
purchasing use forecasting?
13. Recycling
and Green Initiatives:
a. Does the
organization have a recycling and / or sustainability program? If so, what are examples of products
recycled? Does the organization plan to
expand its recycling program? Explain.
14. Summary
(student only)
a. How was
interview conducted, e.g., face-to-face, phone, or email?
b. Did you
visit organization?
c. What
does the student view as the organization’s strengths?
d. What are
the organizations strength, problems, opportunities, or threats?
e. What did
the student learn from interviewing this particular organization and person?
f. What the
student’s recommendations?
