There is a growing awareness in the global business environment of the importance of managing the supply side, also referred to as the input side, of an organisation or supply chain as a strategically important area. South African managers are certainly also aware of the potential of the supply side to contribute to strategic competitive advantage in an increasingly difficult and competitive business environment. This seventh edition of Purchasing and supply management provides contemporary insights into this dynamic field. Purchasing and supply management introduces current concepts and management tools to make purchasing and supply management more efficient in functioning within the broader concept of supply chain management. It covers not only basic principles, but also the activities incumbent on a purchasing and supply manager. It addresses the relationships between purchasing and concepts such as strategic sourcing, and areas of application. This new edition has been comprehensively updated and includes case studies and multiple choice questions. It is student friendly, while at the same time remaining a valuable aid to the purchasing fraternity in South African business. Some of the more prominent topics that are included in this edition are the following: Purchasing and supply policies and strategies; Purchasing price determination and cost analysis; Evaluation and selection of suppliers; The management of quality; Sustainability in purchasing and supply; Supplier development; Electronic commerce and electronic procurement applications Purchasing and supply management is aimed at students in this field as well as practitioners in business. The editors of this standard South African text, Prof. Hannie Badenhorst-Weiss, Dr Orpha Cilliers, Ms Winnie Dlamini and Prof. Marcus Ambe, obtained valuable contributions from authors from a number of institutions.

With the development of the integrative supply chain management approach, traditional thinking about concepts such as purchasing, materials management, distribution and logistics management has become outdated. Speculation on the reasons for dynamic growth of supply chain management in South African businesses ranges from the opening up of the domestic economy to the pressure of global competitors, and technology advancements. The astonishing success of progressive organisations such as SA Breweries (now part of the international group AB-InBev), Sasol, Iscor (now called ArcelorMittal SA), Sappi and a number of retail groups (e.g. Truworths) in the international marketplace, however, is in no small part a result of their early adoption of the supply chain philosophy (customer value creation, total cost of ownership, integration of processes and the reduction of cycle time) and they have contributed significantly to the unprecedented growth of supply chain management in South Africa. Supply chain management identifies the strategic impact and evolutionary direction of the field in a global market environment and emphasises the changes in processes and management thinking required to introduce supply chain management in South African organisations. It covers topics such as supply chain strategies, supply chain integration, performance improvement, customer service, quality and inventory management, total cost of ownership, green supply chain management, e-commerce and information technology, negotiations, transport and distribution management, the retail supply chain, global supply chain management and SCM in the public sector. Supply chain management is aimed at all supply chain, logistics and transport management students.

The global market of today is characterised by fierce competition which has heightened customer expectations and forced business enterprises to invest in, and focus attention on, their supply chains. This, together with continuing advances in information and communication technology, has motivated the continuous evolution of the supply chain and of the techniques to manage it effectively. In South Africa, the public sector is confronted with supply chain skill and capacity shortages. Hence there is a need for continuous learning and development of supply chain staff to maintain a feasible fit between government institutions' objectives, skills and resources and a changing procurement environment. Public procurement and supply chain management will help to accelerate much-needed transformation in the public sector in this regard. Public procurement and supply chain management provides new ideas, concepts, case studies and practical experiences regarding public sector supply chains. Public procurement and supply chain management will serve as a valuable resource for public procurement learners, government officials, academics, researchers, consultants, students and other concerned parties with interest in public procurement and supply chain management.

With the development of the integrative supply chain management approach, traditional thinking about concepts such as purchasing, materials management, distribution and logistics management has become outdated. Speculation on the reasons for dynamic growth of supply chain management in South African businesses ranges from the opening up of the domestic economy to the pressure of global competitors. The astonishing success of progressive organisations such as SA Breweries, Sasol, Iscor, Steinhoff and Sappi in the international marketplace, however, is in no small part a result of their early adoption of the supply chain philosophy (customer value creation, total cost of ownership, integration of processes and the reduction of cycle time) and they have contributed significantly to the unprecedented growth of supply chain management in South Africa. Supply chain management identifies the strategic impact and evolutionary direction of the field in a global market environment and emphasises the changes in processes and management thinking required to introduce supply chain management in South African organisations. It covers topics such as supply chain strategies, organisations, optimisation, performance improvement, customer service, quality and inventory management, total cost of ownership, green supply chain management, investment recovery, e-commerce, negotiations, transport and distribution management, the retail supply chain and global supply chain management. Supply chain management is aimed at all supply chain, logistics and transport management students.