Relate the best value strategic procurement with the case study below (20 Marks)

CASE STUDY 4: PLUS SUPERMARKET

Van Heerde et al. (2020) indicate that on October 20, 2021, Albert Heijn, a Dutch supermarket, decided to severely decrease the prices for more than 1000 products across multiple product categories. Therefore, other supermarkets were forced to lower prices of most of their assortment to stay competitive leading to the so-called price war. Several supermarkets, including the Plus, faced decreases or losses in profit margins. Hence, Plus decided to declaim these losses in margin to the suppliers of these brands forcing them to provide lower prices. This demand for discounts can be seen as squeezing the supplier for the lowest prices focusing on the short term cost benefits creating an environment were the lowest bid will be seen as most beneficial.