When it comes to the people paid to spend your money, are you getting your money's worth? According to a recent study, trendlines show that companies are hiring more purchasing employees, paying them higher salaries and spending more to train them.
CAPS Research, a supply management research organization jointly sponsored by the
W. P. Carey School of Business and the Institute for Supply Chain Management, created a purchasing benchmark by studying 20 industry sectors over a three-year period: aerospace/defense, chemical, computer hardware, computer software, diversified foods and beverages, Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration contractors, electronics, engineering/construction, financial services, health-care products, industrial manufacturing, leisure, lodging and restaurants, metals and mining,
petroleum, pharmaceuticals, retail, semiconductor, telecommunication services, transportation
services and utilities.
Some of the report highlights:
| Purchase spend as a percentage of sales dollars |
| 2006 | 42.74% |
| 2005 | 40.88% |
| 2004 | 47.60% |
| Purchase operating expense per purchasing employee |
| 2006 | $107,521 |
| 2005 | $106,869 |
| 2004 | $99,959 |
| Purchase employees as a percent of company employees |
| 2006 | 2.72% |
| 2005 | 1.45% |
| 2004 | 1.22% |
| Percent of purchase spend via eProcurement |
| 2006 | 20.47% |
| 2005 | 15.14% |
| 2004 | 17.30% |
See Also
