Purchasing Services

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Business economics - Supply, Production, Logistics, grade: 1,0, European Business School - International University Schloß Reichartshausen Oestrich-Winkel, language: English, abstract: The continuous increase in the amount of purchased services, in relation to the total procurement expenditures, should at first glance lead to the assumption of a corresponding strategic relevance in theory and practice. However, this is not always the case and will be further explored within this paper. By elaborating the context of purchasing services in theory, the focus is placed on the differences between goods and services, existing and resulting difficulties within the services procurement, and suitable processes. This framework will attempt to show that even with compiled service models, a frictionless transfer from theory to practice cannot be entirely warranted. In practice, the realization of the acuteness to implement approaches, and thus to profit from savings via more transparency and especially collaboration efforts along the entire supply chain, is certainly possible. However, due to a general long-lasting process in implementation and the present backwardness of theory in this field of research, the procurement in practice is still more operative than strategic. This situation is further examined by an interview with the XXXX department at XXX. The dialogue confirms the present willingness to adapt new approaches, but also reveals the former anticipated backwardness in procuring service performances. Primarily, practice still serves as a basis for new strategies. Best practices serve as an orientation for companies to adapt this strategic approximation since their own developed concepts are namely based on theoretical ideas and benchmark activities stemming from practice. Therefore, theory and practice are interlocked. In order to profit from uncontested positive outcomes of the strategic purchasing of services, one must realize that theory and practice are dependent on each other and build a certain entity. Solely an explicit stringent cooperation between academics and practitioners will offer valuable future potentials in purchasing services.