Case Rockhurst Company

Jim Crane was just named the manager of Global Strategic Sourcing for the Rockhurst Company that produces carrying cases and protective covers for electronic devices such as laptops and tablets. Some challenges have arisen related to quality, costs, and delivery reliability of raw materials used in the production process. As a result, the company has received $500,000 in returns in the last three months. Rockhurst is a small company, and this amount represents 10 percent of sales. In the Monday morning planning meeting, the chief executive officer stated, "Jim, it is your responsibility to develop a plan for dealing with these challenges." Jim needs to develop a plan addressing specific issue.

Questions

You are to assist Jim in developing the following:

1.Describe the steps related to a world-class supplier management process.

2.Define the desired buyer-supplier relationship. Should a transactional relationship or a collaborative relationship with suppliers be used?

3.Identify a process for reviewing existing suppliers and evaluating potential new ones.

4.Identify alternative sources for identifying new suppliers.

5.Develop a model for supplier development.

6.Discuss how a supplier scorecard should be developed to provide supplier feedback.

7.Define measurements that can be used to improve supplier performance.