Quote:
Originally Posted by sspade
Yep. Sporting events, fancy dinners, small(ish) gifts, etc are all part of the corporate shmooze. We never let those sway our decisions though  |
I was a purchasing agent for years and always enjoyed the "try our product kick backs." The benefits of that position were great. Enjoyed my job, not a fan of how the company was ran or how the employees were treated.
Now days it seems that accepting "gifts" is against company policy in most places. I'm not so much a purchasing agent now, but my position does require me to purchase things for project completion. Anything that I am gifted these days, it must be turned in to the company and used as company "giveaways" at picnics or company Christmas parties. I was quite surprised when I was given a tub of popcorn at Christmas time and was told I wasn't allowed to have it, then watch it be given out as a gift for a drawing at the Christmas party.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pukicabuki
Having been on both sides of the coin, supplier management at a major OEM and an account manager at a tier 1 supplier, I can tell you that 90% of purchasing people are morons. Very few of them have even a basic understanding of what they're buying, let alone any idea of what it takes to actually make it.
Two weeks ago, I had a customer tell me we should buy a $2,000,000 CNC mill so we can provide them with $5 widgets faster. He even offered to give me a guaranteed PO for 10,000 pieces over the next two years.
Vetting/developing new suppliers requires some talent to do it effectively, but the people slinging POs and purchase reqs all day are monkeys at best.
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Wow. These monkeys are what keep you in business. Seems like someone has a failed logic in how business actually works. I will somewhat agree that some of those cutting purchase orders may not understand what they are buying, but they don't have to. They aren't getting paid to understand how your manufacturing process works and probably don't even care. They are simply people who get paid to get stuff delivered that their supervisor asked for. As far as the widget/CNC conversation goes, they need a product; supply it or don't....pretty simple, but to label those who send you PO's as monkeys at best is laughable. Do you honestly think that purchasing agents have time to research and know every single detail of what they are buying? No, they don't care. Their frame of mind is "I sent you the PO, send me my shit." Anything outside of that mindset just makes you look and sound like an ass....but you've already managed to cover that yourself.
