1. SMALL

Cannot afford professional purchasing, supply chain management, but need to get their cost base in line with or better than competitors. A one-off audit plus action plans are the normal requirements.

2. UNDER ACHIEVERS

Companies who may not have paid sufficient attention to the purchasing function in the past and hence need a complete review to establish a base camp for future action.

3. MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Companies often find in these circumstances that integration means that the day to day work of profit maximisation is prejudiced.

An implementation plan for integration is required to maximise current and potential advantages together with a listing of quick wins. The major plus is that there are no personnel hang ups when the plans are in place, since existing personnel can now easily absorb the work.

4. RE-ENGINEERING

When a company wishes to have a complete review of functional activities, then a first step is an audit.

The end result is normally a detailed purchasing functional strategy together with an operational plan.

5. PROJECTS

This requirement occurs when companies have special projects and need a set of skills that they do not currently have or when their staff is already busy. The end result is dedicated staff who will bring monitorability and the measurement of time and money to bear on the project.