Mergers put spotlight on supplier capability.

Purchasing, November, 1998 by Avery, Susan

As corporate buyers well know, winnowing down the supply base so that requisitioners order office supplies through one distributor helps to reduce purchasing costs. What may not be readily apparent is that a single supplier also can help ease the transition a centralized buying operation goes through when the company acquires a number of smaller businesses in a short period of time.

Such is the case at First Union Corp., Charlotte, N.C. Purchasing office supplies through a single distributor helps Cyndi Joiner, senior vice president and director of strategic sourcing, to better manage the purchasing processes of the banks First Union has recently acquired. In the past 10 years, First Union has acquired more than 80 banks, growing to more than $234...

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