Key performance indicators (KPIs) in purchasing are an important instrument for representing internal development trends. For the interpretation of KPIs it is very important to understand the connections between some particular indicators.

The KPI survey of the BME Benchmark Service Department is the basis for measuring the efficiency of the processes and organisation of the purchasing department. They provide companies with the opportunity to compare themselves with 170 participants in the survey and to represent their own values in relation to the benchmark result.

The evaluation of the KPIs was carried out in two ways:

•  Average Values

The most important principle of the analysis is the comparison with similar companies. It is therefore crucial to ensure that the indicators can be allocated to the corresponding industry and turnover category as accurately as possible.

• Best in Class

The profile of a best-in-class company should not to be composed of characteristics of different companies that came out top in the various categories, but should rather reflect true corporate profiles the purchasing organisation of which can be rated as very efficiently based on the supplied figures. The practical benefit of such a list consists in the possibility to draw conclusions on how the best-in-class companies could reach their top position: how are their processes organised, what exactly do they do differently or better?

Finally, the best-in-class values provide even more significant information by comparison with the current average values.

The current survey shows that the recent economic recovery has a positive effect on the purchasing indicators. Many parameters showed even better values than in 2008!

The most significant changes related to the 2010 survey were:

• The costs of the purchasing order dropped by ten percent to € 108 on average. The best-in-class companies range between € 30 and 50 per purchase order.
• The purchasing costs according to the purchasing volume also dropped by ten percent to 1.41 percent. The cost recorded for the best-in-class companies was about 60 percent below the average.
• The use of automated purchasing processes, such as internet tenders and online auctions, has increased significantly from 35 to 44 percent. The purchasing volume realised via the Internet amounted to up to 80 percent for some best-in-class companies.
•  More than 75 percent of all participants stated that their purchasing departments were normally involved into the procurement process at an early stage. However, this also means that for a quarter of the volume, purchasing department is only responsible for order triggering and contracts.

The results of the BME evaluation show that professionalism and efficiency of the purchasing processes have gained in significance for many companies.

Last but not least, the purchasing performance can be effected by external factors, such as financial or raw materials market impacts, marketing or production planning. In all these cases, purchasing can only react, so that supply guaranty is often provided at the expense of their efficiency.

Participation fee

KPIs Average Values: 990 € + VAT (for BME members: 890 € + VAT)
KPIs Best in Class: 990 € + VAT (for BME members: 890 € + VAT)

For more information, please contact
Mr. Volkmar Klein
Phone: +49 (0)69-30838-301
Fax: +49 (0)69-30838-199
Email: volkmar.klein@bme.de