Companies lose billions of pounds daily in potential profit because of poor supply chain management practices. THE PURCHASING MACHINE is the key to eliminating those losses and to gaining a significant competitive edge. Every day, businesses leave hard-earned money on the table that could have yielded lower consumer prices, exciting new products, or fatter shareholder returns. These companies don't even notice that cash is slipping away at the far end of the supply chain- procurement, design and development. The key to saving this money is to become proficient in target costing, value engineering and supplier development- the new basics of supply management. THE PURCHASING MACHINE describes the costs, benefits, implementation and results of the twenty best practices that must be in place in order to achieve world-class supply management objectives. These include cost management, value analysis, delivery improvement, supplier quality circles and support services and purchasing systems.