Strategic sourcing, including early supplier involvement and outsourcing, provides significant competitive advantage to companies and represents a fundamental change in the way firms drive the bottom line.

Building deep supplier relationships is a key facet of success for Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota. Through a supplier-partnering hierarchy, the two companies work with suppliers to reduce costs, increase efficiencies, and maximize market share.

In the event of a disease outbreak or bioterrorist attack, public health officials must make decisions about how to allocate finite medical resources — decisions that impact the spread of the disease and the number of lives lost.

Today's Chief Purchasing Officers are well-paid, well-educated, and well on their way to finally earning CEO respect, according to a new report from the W. P. Carey School's CAPS Research.

Quint Studer is CEO of the Studer Group, a health care consulting firm and recipient of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

For any shopper who noticed how the price of hamburger and lettuce jumped after gas prices soared last year, this should come as no surprise: Buyers eventually feel the pinch when their suppliers' expenses surge. The reason?

When times are good, expansion plans, future investments and revenue growth are the focus points in most industries. But during down times, organizations scrutinize spending. The current economic crisis is hitting the health care sector as hard as other industries.

When executed correctly, strategic sourcing — a multi-faceted approach to purchasing contingent on types of goods and services — yields many benefits for both buying companies and their suppliers.

Achieving environmental sustainability for supply management is a goal which may also help boost firms' overall competitiveness in these fretful economic times.

A case study on the green redesign of the U.S. Postal Service's expedited shipping products shows the importance of supplier collaboration in meeting sustainability requirements and keeping cost increases at bay.