Supply Chain

Purchasing Services supply chain initiatives strategically impact the institution's bottom line. The supply chain has an enormous impact on the institution's financial performance; from internal process efficiencies, to total cost of products and services, to maximizing strategic business relationships. These opportunities fundamentally redefine the role and benefits of the supply chain at Penn.

The role of supply chain is characterized by the following:

• Business objectives that are in line with the Penn Compact
• A top business objective of the Executive Vice President
• An on-going institutional priority
• A clear and strong mandate to effect transformation and change in the institution's procure-to-pay practices
• Lead cross functional teams which cross internal boundaries between School and Centers and central administration
• A key role in identifying competitive opportunities and threats due to its unique position of interacting with many suppliers from many industries
• Lead the effort to tap the resources and competencies of current and prospective suppliers

The benefits of supply chain are a competitive advantage for the institution and can produce outstanding business performance improvements in the following areas:

• Cost Structure
• Organizational Discipline
• Return-on-Investment
• Risk Management
• Compliance and Governance
• Customer Satisfaction
• Process Efficiencies and Cycle Times