From Cost Reduction Image of Purchasing to Supply Chain Management: Competitive Challenges of the African Continent

The emergence of the purchasing function from a position of "corporate obscurity" to a role that is active and integrated is evident in highly developed economies. In the African countries, the tendency is for top management to be hesitant to acknowledge that in a cost competitive environment it would be prudent to develop purchasing’s profit generating potential. Central to the notion of developing purchasing as a competency center is the ability of purchasing managers to broaden their focus and think beyond the traditional role of the purchasing department. This implies a refocus of the purchasing department's effort to concern itself with more strategic considerations, away from those traditional and more tactical issues of buying the right products at the right price and right quantity from the right source. This entails moving from purchasing to Supply Chain Management (SCM). As SCM becomes streamilined and reaches new levels of intensity, Supply Chain Leadership (SCL) will become more important as a source of earnings. SCL has been coined by the author to reflect a more emotional intelligence in dealing with external supply resources in an understanding and sensitive manner which characterizes business conduct in the African