THE INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF PURCHASING IN TRANSPORTATION DECISION MAKING

Abstract

In the last decade organizations have placed more importance on the management of inbound freight and the movement of purchased goods and materials. A new area of transportation expertise has been developing in order to more effectively manage inbound freight movements and coordinate this function with other areas within the organization. It seems there exists today an increasing effort to integrate and strategically manage a coordinated inbound transportation and purchasing function. This paper attempts to identify the underlying causes for this integration push and summarizes the results of a recently published study that explores the integration efforts of the transportation and the purchasing functions.