Title: Purchasing category management: providing integration between purchasing and other business functions

Authors: Jussi Heikkilä; Riikka Kaipia; Mika Ojala

Addresses: Tampere University of Technology, Industrial and Information Management, P.O. Box 527, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland ' Chalmers University of Technology, Technology Management and Economics, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden; Aalto University School of Science, Industrial Engineering and Management, P.O. Box 15500, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland ' Tampere University of Technology, Industrial and Information Management, P.O. Box 527, FI-33101 Tampere, Finland

Abstract: Organising the purchasing and supply management (PSM) function has been changing due to the increasingly strategic role of the function requiring integration with other business functions and the entire supply chain. One solution is to organise PSM into categories, a common practice in today's manufacturing organisations. In this paper we explore how purchasing category management (PCM) affects cross-functional integration. We analysed purchasing category management practices through in-depth case-studies in four manufacturing firms in two types of industry. Our research contributes to the purchasing and supply management research in two ways. First, it addresses the role of purchasing category management in organising PSM in large manufacturing companies. Second, it elaborates on purchasing categories providing integration between purchasing and other business functions, suggesting how different mechanisms are needed for different contexts.

Keywords: purchasing; procurement; supply management; purchasing category; category management; purchasing category management; PCM; organisation; integration; organisational integration; cross-functional integration; case research.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPM.2018.094350

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2018 Vol.11 No.5, pp.533 - 550

Received: 15 Aug 2016
Accepted: 16 Jun 2017

Published online: 30 Aug 2018 *

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