Assignment Description This assignment immerses the student in a real life situation that actually takes place in businesses who are trying to evolve/grow to the next level of professionalism. It clearly demonstrates the demands put on purchasing and supply chain practitioners. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of the impact of purchasing and supply chain management on the bottom line of evolving organizations. This assignment has two parts. In part one, the role of the student is that of a Sault College graduate who is employed by the company as an Assistant MRO Buyer. In part two, the student is completing a RFI to implement a supplier management outsourcing or 3PL/MRO system. Students will be required to complete all steps in the assignment including a completed RFI.

After graduating from Sault College, you accept a position with Best Auto Parts in the purchasing department as the Assistant MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) Buyer. Your new employer is a large international manufacturer of automotive parts and has sales are over $500 million per year.

When you accepted the job you were advised by HR that the Senior Manager of Procurement is Barry Harris and you will be working very closely with Susan Nottingham who is the MRO Buyer. This is an important job because MRO keeps the plant running and annual MRO purchases represent 1.86% of the companys revenue.

Barry advised that a major area of responsibility of supply chain management is to reduce total costs while increasing productivity. The cost reduction goal for the Assistant MRO Buyer for this year is $100,000 and your ability to meet this goal has a direct impact on the annual bonus. Barry advises, I know $100,000 sounds like a lot of money, but with Susans help I know you will successful. Susan nods her head and smiles confidently.

The first week went by very quickly and you learned more than you thought you would. Susan was anxious to have you working with the requisition system. Susan spent a few hours with you on the requisition process and then a millwright, Paul Bartman, came into Susans office to request a purchase for next week. Susan asked you to work with Paul to complete the requisition.

Paul advised, I already did all the research on what we need and the best supplier, so this should be easy for you. I need a Baldor gear motor, Part # GF1524BGD15 for next Wednesday night for preventative maintenance. Its stocked at our preferred supplier, Toronto Factory Supplies (supplier code TO3290) just a few miles away at 520 Industrial Road. The gear motor costs $2883.00 USD. No need to expedite this item, just process the requisition and we pick it up ourselves with the company van. With the company van we can get things quickly and with no delivery costs. Just make sure the supplier gets the PO a few days ahead of time.

The company purchasing guidelines state:

Purchase order signing authority: if total dollar amount is under $500, Assistant Buyers signature is required, $500 to 2,500 Buyers signature is required, and over $2500 Managers signature is required

Requisitions can be sent via interoffice mail for additional signatures or walked through the system if it is a rush order

Requisitions are to be sent to the department administrator to produce a hard copy using the companys customized software after it is signed according to the signing authority guideline. The administrator will send the purchase order to the supplier.

MRO items purchased locally are picked up with the company van 24 hours prior to the due date. Items to be picked up should be consolidated where possible.

Wednesday arrives; Paul is looking for the gear motor since maintenance overtime is scheduled for changing the gear motor on the machine tonight. Paul comes into your cubicle and asks about the status of the order; unfortunately you have no idea what the status of the order is. You panic and go straight to Susan, who advises that the first thing we have to do is find the requisition. Susan knows she signed it the same day it was produced and she put it in interoffice mail for the next signature per the signing authority guidelines.

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Your next stop was the administrators office who issues the POs. The authorized requisition has not made it to the administrator for processing yet. Therefore, the requisition has not been completely authorized. Unknown to you, Barry, took some last-minute time off due to a family emergency. The administrator checks Barrys in-basket and finds the interoffice envelope with the requisition waiting for his signature. Due to the urgency of the purchase request and Barrys absence, the secretary advised to take the requisition to the Financial Controller for a signature. The administrator produces the PO immediately and Susan calls the supplier. Everything is set up. Fortunately they had one of the items in stock.

Susan passes the PO back to you and suggests you should go with Paul to the suppliers location so you can meet the Sales Manager at Toronto Factory Supplies and give them a hard copy of the PO (which the millwright does not have the authority to do).

Assignment steps:- Assignment instructions

1. Read handouts (articles) to provide further insight to the services provided by third-party logistics suppliers.

2. Summarize five key facts of the case.

3. Describe the roles of Barry, Susan and the Assistant MRO Buyer. Also research the job titles (Senior Manager of Procurement, MRO Buyer, and Assistant MRO Buyer) to help you describe the roles.

4. Describe how the Senior Manager of Procurement, MRO Buyer, and Assistant MRO Buyer positions can contribute to the importance of Purchasing and Supply Management.

5. Using the templates provided, complete the requisition and the purchase order based on the information in the case.

Case 1 Assignment Steps Part 1 Evaluation Breakdown (out of 60) Criteria Marks (60 total) To Achieve Top Marks Key Facts /5 Five key points are listed

Describe roles /15 Provide detailed description of roles: Senior Manager of Procurement, Buyer, Assistant Buyer, and identify five responsibilities per role

Purchasing Importance /10 Discuss at least 4 ways that each position can contribute to the importance of Purchasing and Supply Management link each one to the purchasing roles. Reference Page 8-10 in text

Complete Requisition /15 Complete all fields including price in Canadian dollars

Complete Purchase Order /15 Complete all fields including price in Canadian dollars.