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To understand one, of many, roles of the purchasing/procurement manager and how information associated with commodity pricing contributes to developing the overall business strategy of the firm. The context is the current trade wars.
- Select a commodity (any commodity besides cryptocurrency). Describe that commodity.
a. Explain reasons a commodity has historically fluctuated in price.
b. Summarize recent pricing of the commodity (include graphs in Appendix). In addition, provide future possibilities for price fluctuations and why you may/may not anticipate future changes.
i. Explain ways in which managers from various parts of supply chain (Manufacturing, Logistics, Warehousing, and Purchasing) could use the information that you have found/developed/analysed.
c. In your analysis, highlight any other interesting information or implications of your commodity you believe is important to help meet the firm’s operational or strategic goals. Please keep in mind that this is from a purchasing/procurement perspective and would complement the issues outlined in part b, above.
Sample Solution