Just-In-Time Purchasing: In Pursuit of Excellence

If a firm has a historical profit margin of 10%, which would be better; (1) a 50% increase in sales, or (2) a 10% curtailment in the costs associated with purchased products and services? Would you believe either results in the same effect to the bottom line. It's true. Next question. Which is easier to attain?

That's an easy one to answer after you've mastered the methods contained in this book. At a time when costs related to purchasing account for over 50% of a product's total cost, shouldn't the attention paid to your company's procurement function be highly focused? We thought you'd say that.

Key Concepts: Supplier Cooperation. Provides the methodology for attaining long-term relationships with suppliers in which they are made to be partners, not victims. Total Cost Approach. Allows you to account for hidden costs, as well as those readily apparent. Total Quality Control. Shows purchasers how to supply the right material, at the right time, in the right place and in the right quantity. Theory Of One. Outlines the pull system of manufacturing versus its counterpart, push production.

Peter L. Grieco, Jr., is a Partner with Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group, an international consulting and education firm specializing in the areas of Just-In-Time, Total Quality Control, Automation and Systems Implementation. He was active in the development of Apple Computer's Macintosh Automated Focus Factory in Fremont, California. His industry experience encompasses both repetitive and discrete manufacturing processes. He has more than twenty-five years of experience as a practitioner and educator in the manufacturing environment. He has held numerous operation and financial positions, as well as having responsibility for numerous sales management and marketing departments.

Mr. Grieco presently serves on the Stanford Research Institute Advisory Board (SRI) and is a member of the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC), the National Association of Purchasing Management, and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) where he has held positions as: Education and Research Foundation Director, National Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President of Region I (New England), and Past President of the Hartford chapter.

Mr. Grieco is the author of several Purchasing and JIT/TQC textbooks: Purchasing Ethics, MRO Purchasing, Supply Management Toolbox, Supplier Certification II: A Handbook for Achieving Excellence Through Continuous Improvement, and World Class: Measuring Its Achievements. He has also coauthored of these latest JIT/TQC textbooks: Made In America - The Total Business Concept, Just-In-Time Purchasing: In Pursuit of Excellence, Behind Bars: Bar Coding Principles and Applications, and The World of Negotiations: Never Being A Loser. He attended Central Connecticut State University and Wharton School of Finance (Moody's School of Commerce). He is a frequent lecturer for numerous professional societies, seminars, conferences, and numerous university programs on Operations Management and Just-In-Time/Total Quality Control related topics. He is also recognized in Inventory Management for his contribution to education and training.