Nowadays, spot purchases represent a large part of productivity in the purchasing area.
Unlike long-term contracts with suppliers, with recurring and high-value purchases, spot purchases are one-off and have low added value for the business.
Below, check out everything about this purchasing term, processes and negotiation.
Spot purchases = immediate purchases
In English, the word “spot” has many different meanings and can be used in many situations. For the shopping world, the closest expression is “on the spot” which, when translated into Portuguese, means “immediately”.
Typically, the full corporate purchasing cycle is complex and time-consuming, with contracts that need to be drawn up in advance. In addition, costs are directly linked to the company's core business. This does not happen with spot purchases, precisely because they involve non-strategic items with lower values.
Both the purchase and delivery of products are made within shorter timeframes, as many of the items purchased are necessary for the maintenance or expansion of activities. Despite their more sporadic nature, spot purchases need to be made strategically, so as not to generate excessive costs and harm the results of the department and the entire company.
How does the spot purchasing process work?
The spot purchasing process is similar to regular purchasing: the buyer receives a purchase requisition, requests a quote from suppliers, with one or more suppliers – this depends on each company's policies – approves the order and finalizes the purchase.
The difference is that in this modality there is no need to sign a contract and formalize the partnership with a specific supplier. Most of the time, spot purchases are made with suppliers from the base, thus facilitating the entire process. Another way to find suppliers to meet spot purchasing demands is through a marketplace.
Spot purchase orders are usually flagged in the category selection itself, at the time of the request. Thus, upon receiving the order, the buyer identifies that it is an indirect purchase order with low added value.
Even if it is less complex and the need is more immediate, it is essential to detail the item to be purchased.
Spot purchase negotiation
When compared to a strategic purchase, that is, one with high added value to the company, the spot purchase negotiation process is agile. This is because the buyer understands that they do not need to spend as much energy on a non-strategic item.
However, the purchasing department faces the challenge of reducing company costs, after all, R$1 saved means R$1 in profit. For this reason, the ideal is for spot purchases to be negotiated with suppliers in order to obtain the best offers and savings.
To save time and increase the chances of securing good deals, companies can opt for an outsourcing service. Recently launched, BPO Free is Mercado Eletrônico's solution for spot purchases.
Spot purchases vs. KPIs
For some time now, the purchasing department has ceased to be a support department and has become a key player in business strategy. As a result, it is necessary to constantly measure its performance.
Despite being one-off and sporadic purchases, the performance of spot purchases needs to be monitored so that the sector achieves the desired performance. The most commonly used KPIs in spot purchases are:
- Savings: shows the savings achieved in acquisitions, the buyer's gain in the negotiation.
- Lead Time: calculates the total purchase time, from the moment of the request to the delivery of the product.
- TMA: indicator of the average service/interaction time to complete a purchase.
Having access to these indicators allows purchasing professionals to make more assertive decisions in a short space of time.
Now that you understand what spot purchases are and their characteristics, continue browsing the ME Blog and improve your knowledge in the sector.
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