The Purchasing Chessboard: 64 Methods to Reduce Costs and Increase Value with Suppliers

The approach used on a given spend item should largely depend on the balance between supply power and demand power. That is the logic behind the bestselling Purchasing Chessboard®, used by hundreds of corporations worldwide to reduce costs and increase value with suppliers. The 64 squares in the Purchasing Chessboard provide a rich reservoir of methods that can be applied either individually or combined. And because many of these methods are not customarily used by procurement, the Purchasing Chessboard is also the perfect tool for helping buyers to think and act outside the box and find new solutions. A well-proven concept that works across all industries and all categories in any given situation, it is little wonder that business leaders and procurement professionals alike are excited by, and enjoy strategizing around, the Purchasing Chessboard.

This second edition of The Purchasing Chessboard addresses the new realities of a highly volatile economic environment and describes the many―sometimes surprising―ways in which the Purchasing Chessboard is being used in today's business world. Yet despite all of the great achievements of procurement executives and their teams, they do not always receive the recognition they deserve. In response, the authors have developed and outlined within the book an unequivocal approach to measure procurement’s impact on a company’s performance―Return on Supply Management Assets (ROSMA®).

Christian Schuh is the leader of A.T. Kearney’s European Supply Management Practice and is based in Vienna, Austria. He joined A.T. Kearney 17 years ago and has since then led multiple projects for clients in the automotive, construction equipment, defense, high tech, packaging, and steel industry in Austria, China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, Ukraine and the USA. His areas of expertise include strategic sourcing, product development and organization. He is the author of various books, monographs and articles. Before he joined A.T. Kearney he had worked several years for Unilever. Christian Schuh studied aeronautical engineering at TU Graz (Austria) and holds a doctorate degree in business administration. He lives in the historic city center of Vienna.

Joseph L. Raudabaugh is the founder and global leader of A.T. Kearney’s Procurement and Analytic Solutions Practice and is based in Chicago.  He joined A.T. Kearney 27 years ago and has since led projects for clients in the brewing, construction equipment, consumer products, direct marketing, food ingredients, healthcare, industrial products, pharmaceutical, and specialty retail industries in North America, China, Europe, India, Japan and South America.  His areas of expertise include supply management, strategy and organizational development.  He is the author of various monographs and articles.  Joe is also the co-founder of A.T. Kearney’s Student Lab program that engages over 45 clients with students and faculty from Carnegie Mellon University, Chicago Booth School of Business, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, MIT and UCLA’s Anderson School of Business to address operations and strategic business projects in an experiential learning model.  Before joining A.T. Kearney he worked several years for Air Products & Chemicals.  Joseph Raudabaugh studied economics and operations research at N.C. State University and holds and masters in business administration from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Robert Kromoser has been with A.T. Kearney for 13 years. He is based in Vienna, Austria, however gained most of his consulting experience abroad in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain and the USA. He is a member of the Operations Practice with a focus on strategic sourcing, procurement transformation and supplier driven innovation. He has led multiple projects in the automotive, construction equipment, building materials, mechanical engineering, and steel industry. In several studies, he analyzed the role of strategic sourcing and procurement as a value-adding factor and is author of several books and articles on procurement. Robert Kromoser studied business administration at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (Austria) and Carnegie Mellon University (USA). He lives close to Vienna’s famous baroque Augarten.

Michael F. Strohmer  is member of A.T.Kearney's Operations Practice and leader of the European raw material competence team.  He is based in Vienna, Austria. In his eleven years with the firm, he has led projects at a broad range of international clients, mainly in post merger situations. His work encompassed the utilities sector, automotive, defense, consumer goods, packaging and steel. He is an expert on raw material strategies, procurement transformation, post merger management and large-scale CAPEX projects. He has published several books and articles and is a frequent speaker at international conferences. Michael F. Strohmer holds a doctorate degree in business administration and law. He lives in Austria's picturesque lake region near Salzburg.

Alenka Triplat is a member of A.T. Kearney ‘s Operations Practice. In eight years with the firm in Vienna, Austria, she has carried out and led multiple projects on supply management topics in construction equipment, packaging, and steel sectors. She has worked with international clients based in Austria, Germany, Italy and Eastern European countries, and spent longer periods of time working and living in the USA. Her areas of expertise include supply management topics, such as negotiation strategies and global sourcing. She is a trainer in sourcing strategies and negotiations and has published multiple articles on these topics. Alenka Triplat studied economics at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and business administration at Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (Austria). She currently lives in Vienna and Ljubljana.