Rockhurst Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Management Case Study

Rockhurst Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Management Case Study

For Rockhurst to effectively realize increased sales and heightened profit margin through world-class supplier management, the following steps must be put into consideration. The first Jim should evaluate and rationalize existing data to highlight the performance of various departments in the company. The next step entails maximizing the vendor incentive programs by paying them early and eliminating rebates, discounts, and other incentives. Subsequently, Jim should work on the implementation of vendor evaluation by examining metrics that could revolve around the quality of the items or even oversupply. The fourth step involves hiring skilled individuals to manage the purchasing process and maintain the supply chain. The next step includes reducing the number of vendors, so Rockhurst will not spend so much on operation costs but maximize sales through the skilled personnel hired. The final step comprises finalizing purchasing to avoid intermediaries and directly deal with the suppliers.

A desired buyer-supplier relationship is the relationship that exists between the suppliers and the buyers, and it can be based on mutual benefit or development of only a single entity. In the case of Rockhurst, they must assume a collaborative relationship with the supply. In this regard, everybody will be indebted to ensure that all parties involved make a profit. Consequently, the suppliers would also be involved in market research and other initiatives, knowing that any failure at Rockhurst will negatively impact their relationship.

The process of reviewing the suppliers and evaluating the existing ones could be undertaken through six different steps. The first identifying the need for supplier selection. The following step entails identifying the main sourcing requirements. Subsequently, Jim will have to determine effective strategies of sourcing, followed by identifying prospective suppliers. The subsequent step involves sorting the supplier within a selected pool. The sixth step entails coming up with methods for supplier evaluation and selection. The final step requires selecting a given supply and signing requisite legal documents.

The other alternative places for finding alternative suppliers require multiple efforts and are always online based. First, Jim would have to draw a profile of his desirable supply, outlining various attributes and ideal features that make individuals relatively distinctive and aligned to the policies of the company. This information could be placed online, or Jim can attend various conferences and other supply chain-related events to establish multiple people who can effectively match the profile drawn.

To improve its financial performance, Rockhurst should come up with a suitable model vital for improving supplier development. The ideal model could be the one that promotes one on one communication between the supplier and the buyer, where mutual benefit is encouraged, and responsibility and sustainability get priority. In that regard, Rockhurst must be involved in coming up with strong policies engaged in mutual interest between the company and the supplier.

In developing the scorecard of the suppliers, Rockhurst should come up with aspects that touch multiple elements in supply chain management. These include the financials that covers the cost savings and cost improvements. On the other hand, the scorecard should contain issues related to customer satisfaction through quality improvement and delivery performance improvement. The last part of the scorecard could include aspects of innovation.

Rockhurst could use multiple metrics for improving supplier performance. These measurements include quality-based metrics that involve a positive reply from the customers and the overall satisfaction of both parties. The other measure is performance-based metrics that consists of the use ascertaining the scale of deliveries and how the customers accept such shipments. The other parameter entails the cost-based metric that involves the affordability of the products and how such costs impact the return on investment of the company.