Discusses the increasing power of company buying departments. Various factors have been responsible: supply shortages in the 1970s put emphasis on continuity, not price; at a time of rampant cost and wage inflation, consumers would pay any price asked; but after the recession of 1989-92, in a low inflation economy, consumers will not accept price rises.
the rise and rise of
the purchasing director
Tony
ScoullerRPM Ltd
When
I joined a marketing department as a trainee in the 1960s, there was a very
polite gentleman on the executive committee who had the title of buying
director.
I
was told that he...
