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Operationalizing Quality Considerations in the Purchasing Proces
Author(s) -
Perry James H.,
Perkins Charles A.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
international journal of purchasing and materials management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.75
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1745-493X
pISSN - 1055-6001
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-493x.1992.tb00551.x
Subject(s) - purchasing , operationalization , quality (philosophy) , product (mathematics) , procurement , quality costs , risk analysis (engineering) , process (computing) , computer science , business , purchasing process , marketing , process management , management science , economics , mathematics , philosophy , cost control , geometry , epistemology , operating system
This article examines the use of product quality information in capital equipment purchasing decisions. The authors incorporate specific quality factors in a simple analytical model designed to provide a buyer with the capability to appropriately consider quality differences in reaching a cost‐effective purchasing decision. Initially, dimensions of product quality are identified and discussed based on the parameters proposed by David Garvin. Using the Garvin framework, the article then reports the results of a study of procurement professionals in which the feasibility and desirability of explicit consideration of quality factors in the purchasing process are established. Finally, the article extends the consideration of specific quality factors by introducing and illustrating an analytical approach that effectively incorporates quality differences in a structured and auditable model. The model projects the cost implications to the firm of those quality differences identified. The analysis indicates that generally accepted dimensions of quality can be identified and applied operationally to assist a buyer in making the most effective purchasing decision.