Robert Ward is one of them and is in charge of purchasing for Manitowoc Co.

, one of the world’s

biggest crane makers. His job is to ensure an unbroken flow of parts and materials from around the
globe, hunting industrial tires in China and scouring the Midwest for giant bearings. And he has broad
discretion over Manitowoc’s operations to make sure critical supplies aren’t held up.

“Buyers are the ones with the checkbook—and there’s a huge power in that,” says Mr. Ward.
Recently, he was in France, agitated, and meeting with two Polish suppliers that weren’t delivering all of
the metal chassis they had promised to Manitowoc’s big crane factory in Germany. No chassis means no
cranes.

The president of one of the suppliers—who had just driven 16 hours from Poland to meet with
Mr. Ward and other managers—announced unexpectedly that deliveries could actually slow further in
coming months. “I have a lot of angry customers, because I have not been able to deliver cranes,” said
Mr. Ward, gazing at the Pole over the top of his half-glasses.

1. Identify the problem that the company faces in terms of purchase management.
2. Give minimum a solution for the problem identified.
3. Identify minimum one strategy that the company uses in terms of purchase management.

1. The company faces challenges due to its suppliers. They are not getting all the metal chassis
from Poland they had promised to deliver to their factory in Germany. This led to delays, which
upset the customers in a great manner, causing bad reputation and losses for the company.
Robert Ward is even more agitated, because one of the two Polish suppliers announced that the
delays are more likely to increase, which of course, represents a very bad situation that hurts the
company and needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
2. A) A great solution for the company would be Vendor Development. This involves training,
support and resources to help suppliers meet the company’s requirements. So, by helping them
improve the production and other important processes, ensure quality and constantly support
and encourage the suppliers to reach the best level of service they provide, there will be a great
collaboration between them, and issues such as the one presented would be less likely to
appear.

B) Supplier Optimization is another solution, which involves selecting the best mix of vendors to
meet the company’s requirement. For the supply chain for this company, Manitowoc can select
the vendors who offer the best prices and terms, who meet the standards and the delivery time.
It can evaluate them based on price competitiveness, quality, and reliability. What is more, the
company should monitor constantly the process and ensure continuous improvement.

C) The last solution I could think of is to diversify the suppliers. This means that for the critical
components they need, such as metal chassis, the company should consider having multiple
supplier from different locations, which therefore makes the situation more safely, since not
 being dependent on one supplier, and help them keep the promise to their customers, of
delivering the products in time.

3. One strategy I noticed the company implemented is TQM, since it is customer-oriented. The firm
is very attentive in delivering the best product and provide a positive experience to their
customers. “I have a lot of angry customers, because I have not been able to deliver cranes” –
the manager is very agitated and unhappy due to the unpleasant situations the customers had to
go through, and no matter if it is the fear of profit loss behind it – in my opinion, there is
commitment and respect for their clients.

Another strategy is Global Sourcing, since “Robert Ward is one of them and is in charge of
purchasing for Manitowoc Co., one of the world’s biggest crane makers” + “to ensure an
unbroken flow of parts and materials from around the globe, hunting industrial tires in China
and scouring the Midwest for giant bearings.” – So, the company sources from vendors globally,
large multinational companies.

The third strategy is Risk Management, since the company “hunting in China and scouring in the
Midwest” – There are price advantages when it comes to these countries, but also negative
aspects due to human/natural disasters.