Purchasing managers are in the front line to improve performance and play a more transversal role similar to a conductor of orchestra:

• On one hand, to better include suppliers in the company’s internal processes (ie: engineering, quality control, co-innovation…)
• Also, to ensure a sound relationships transparency using available internal and external data - Finally, to simplify suppliers’ administrative management in good cooperation with the accounting department (through dataflows dematerialization)

In addition to these challenges, new matters are today occurring when building supplier relationships : diversity, sustainable development, presence in emerging countries… It is therefore necessary to improve purchasing and to attract more talents. More powerful but also simple decision-making tools are necessary to help develop more collaborative methods. It remains to design a reactive organization which guarantee the best purchasing costs including all expenses.