For this assignment you are expected to prepare a presentation based on

information a buyer should have in order to make an informed purchase of an

important commodity for a company.

Depending on what company or industry you work for, there will usually be one or two

very important commodities that have the ability to affect the company strategically. For

example, steel would be an important commodity for Ford Motor Company, sugar and

cocoa would be an important commodity for Hershey, cotton would be an important

commodity for The GAP, and copper would be an important commodity for Great Lakes

Copper Inc.

There is no formula or check list which can be followed in determining the information

which a buyer needs for sound purchasing as it depends on the commodity or material.

The challenging part of this assignment will be to conduct research, not only on the

internet, but in the library as well. You may be required to contact companies and

suppliers for information.

Make reference to your various sources of information in your power point presentation.

You will need to decide which information will be important to guide a purchasing agent

or buyer of this material. Here are some areas to consider:

1.

Give an overview of the company you have chosen.

2.

The intended use of the commodity and the various requirements to be met

by the item purchased.

3.

Identify the different forms of the product including the various characteristics,

the different grades, classifications, and properties which distinguish one

product from another. From the available products, one may be selected for

detailed investigation. (i.e.

a

full specification)

4.

What is the typical way the product is packages and sold? Can you purchase

it in 500 ml containers, or 250 kg drums etc.?

5.

Identify at least 3 suppliers (both domestic and international) from which the

product can be obtained.

6.

Graphical pricing trends over a period of time, which can be accessed on

websites such as

www.propurchaser.com

or Index Mundi or equivalent

websites.

7.

What types of things can affect the pricing or availability of the product (i.e. for

an agricultural product a shortage of rain)?

8.

Pick a manufacturing company and a commodity that the company would use

in their manufacturing processes.

Please your company and commodity

(first come/first served). Submit the attached sheet before Monday 15

th

February.

See requirements for the second submission date.

Possible local London companies to choose:

3M

Arcelormittal Tubular Products

Autoneum

Brose Canada Inc.

CAMI Automotive Inc.

Cargill

Delta Faucet Canada

DYNA-MIG Manufacturing of Stratford Inc.

Formet Industries

General Dynamics Land Systems Canada

Great Lake Copper Inc.

Labatt's Breweries

McCormick Canada Co.

Meridian Lightweight Technologies Inc.

Presstran Industries

Startech.com ltd.

Trojan Technologies

Vuteq Canada Inc.

Starbucks

Tim Hortons

You can choose a company that you are familiar with, or from another country (State

which country).

PowerPoint Presentation Tips

You are required to make PowerPoint slide show

complete with typed speaker

notes.

Within a formal oral presentation, you will typically rely on a software package such as

Microsoft's Power Point. This package greatly simplifies the process of generating and

showing professional quality. However, it is equally easy to create confusing, poor

presentations using these same packages. To ensure that your Power point

presentations are effective, the following checklist has been developed.

Remember Keep it Simple

Minimize using cluttered, busy templates (keep the focus on the points, not the

background)

Use light backgrounds with dark fonts.

Use animation sparingly.

Limit the amount of text per slide (a good rule of thumb is no more than 6 lines &

per line)

Make references to all sources for your information

Prepare the appropriate number of overheads given the time period (a good rule

of thumb is to allocate about two minutes per slide)

Check the overheads for any typos or grammatical errors.

Use the points on the overheads as starting positions for your discussion

Include pictures and just key points