Press Release

Kotler Introduces New Program for Purchasing & Sourcing Professionals

Washington DC -  The Kotler Group announced the launch of a comprehensive, first-of-its kind package of sourcing tools and training, designed specifically to enable purchasing and sourcing professionals in the automotive, commercial and heavy duty industries to quantify the full economic impact of sourcing decisions.

Increasingly, progressive purchasing organizations are looking to award business based not necessarily on low costs and low price, but on the basis of real value. “Many of the leading OEMs have announced plans to take a more fair and balanced approach with suppliers. They want to better understand the ways in which suppliers can add value to the vehicle design and manufacturing process.” says Steve Rose, Practice Lead at Kotler.

In order to determine how much value a given supplier can bring, purchasing and sourcing professionals need to be skilled at identifying the total cost of a transaction; not just the landed costs. For example, slight differences in the quality of a sourced component can often have a profound impact on homologation and manufacturing costs, as well as the value of the finished part. In other cases, suppliers may offer a host of services, such as design and engineering support, the value of which is often not well understood. “Whether you are responsible for purchasing raw materials, components or advanced technologies, the objective should be to identify suppliers that will be able to help your organization to reduce its manufacturing and production costs or increase revenues and profit on sales,” says Rose.
 
The new training program, Driving Value™, builds upon Kotler’s years of experience working with procurement and sourcing organizations at OEMs and Tier I component manufacturers to broaden their evaluation of supplier proposals, bids and capabilities.

The Driving Value program teaches procurement and sourcing professionals how to go beyond the piece price or “landed” costs and:

• Understand the total cost of a sourcing decision
• Understand how sourcing decisions can affect revenues and market share
• Identifying opportunities to expand and broaden the current purchasing “scorecard”
• Critically assess and validate supplier’s benefit claims

Purchasing executives familiar with Kotler’s programs say the training offers value for both suppliers and purchasing teams. “The approach creates value for the OEMs. It promotes win/win, fact-based negotiations,” says Ralf Hunerfeld, Executive Director of Purchasing, HVAC, GM.

For more information about the Driving Value™, as well as program dates and registration, click here.

About Kotler: The firm is a global consulting and training firm, specializing in helping companies document and identify value.  Our mission is to help clients achieve profitable growth. Over 650 OEMs and suppliers in the automotive and commercial vehicles industry have attended Kotler’s programs and benefited from our training, tools and industry research. For more information, visit: www.kotlermarketing.com