Answering a call to cut the vendor base_2
17 August 2012
Q: Our procurement director has been charged by the board with halving our vendor base over the coming three years, and has set the buyers, including myself, the same objective. I’m not sure if this is would be a sensible approach in my particular area.
A: Mike Buchanan, managing director of LPS, writes: Vendor base reduction (VBR) should not be regarded as an end in itself, but as one option that can support the delivery of one or more objectives. These are generally held to include:
• cost reduction - higher business volumes with a few vendors;
• improved support from the vendors (technical,...