Files
Abstract
This research evaluates the main characteristics considered in commodity-procurement decisions made by food manufacturers. Procurement characteristics are examined and a framework is developed which classifies procurement characteristics into three categories: product constraints, company constraints, and service constraints. A case-study approach is used to determine the importance of various procurement characteristics and their impact on the buyer’s procurement-mechanism choice. The research also examines the strategic role that a commodity-procurement department plays within a corporation and how that role relates to the three commodity-procurement decision classifications.