Purchasing

7. Reviewing Performance

7.1 Track suppliers' performance on a regular basis. List your key priorities and give each supplier a rating out of 20 in each area.

• Quality - get improvements in areas that affect the quality of your own product.
• Price - compare suppliers with their competitors and get them to explain their pricing policies.
• Delivery - including speed and reliability.
• Communication - including speed of response to your letters.

7.2 Review your own purchasing performance.

• Use a spreadsheet or cost control package to help you record and compare your purchasing costs on a regular basis (see Using accounting software).
• Send suppliers a form that invites them to rate you on issues that are important to them, eg prompt payment.

7.3 Set realistic improvement priorities, rather than trying to improve everything at once.