The “make or buy” decision is central to bundling resources where they create the greatest added value and to relieve routines as much as possible.
In modern purchasing departments, the fundamental question is regularly asked: Which activities create real strategic value and which are more part of the operational burden, which slows down rather than strengthens purchasing? This “make or buy” decision is central to bundling resources where they create the greatest added value and to relieve routines as much as possible.
Purchasing today has two major tasks:
These tasks have a direct impact on a company's competitiveness. They bring better conditions, greater transparency and sustainable stability to the supply chain.
These recurring process steps often tie up enormous capacities without having any strategic influence on corporate goals. One-off requirements in particular lead to a flood of operational work that paralyzes many teams. Traditional operational purchasing often works against itself here. Each new order can mean that a supplier must be created, tested and supported with a great deal of time and personnel that does not directly contribute to added value.
The make-or-buy decision in operational purchasing involves systematically evaluating which tasks should remain internal and which can usefully be outsourced. A central criterion is the strategic importance of an activity. Should it remain anchored in the company, it helps to optimize the supply network, enables sustainable cost savings beyond the mere procurement process, or influences risk and sustainability strategies. If this strategic lever is missing, outsourcing is often the more efficient solution.
The degree of repeatability and standardization also plays an important role. Regular, clearly structured processes are particularly suitable for outsourcing or automation, while one-off or strategically sensitive decisions are better taken care of by the core team. Closely related to this is the question of complexity and required specialist knowledge. Tasks such as supplier development, demanding negotiations or designing compliance strategies require in-depth expertise and should therefore be responsible internally. On the other hand, routine and administrative activities can be outsourced to free up internal capacities.
The resource and capacity situation in purchasing is just as decisive. If operational tasks regularly block valuable time for strategic issues, consistent outsourcing must be considered. A scenario analysis that looks at how external processing affects quality, speed and risk is helpful.
This is exactly where a 1-creditor model like Pedlar's comes in. It specializes in operational processes that typically tie up large portions of purchasing capacity without creating strategic added value. Instead of maintaining numerous individual suppliers in the system for unstructured or one-off requirements, Pedlar is created once as a supplier. All corresponding requirements then go through this one vendor, from the order to the processing of the invoice.
External strategic partners such as Pedlar are particularly useful because they noticeably relieve the operational sector. Routines such as supplier creation, offer processing or invoice verification are time-consuming, but hardly contribute to the strategic development of purchasing. Outsourcing creates scope for innovation and important strategic projects. At the same time, process costs per order fall significantly in the event of irregular and indirect demands. Another advantage lies in higher process compliance within the company. Instead of specialist departments switching to unofficial procurement channels, structured and auditable processes are supported. In this way, purchasing remains controllable and transparent.
By reducing operational load, purchasing departments also gain time for key future topics such as the development of supplier strategies, the management of sustainability and supply risks, and the digitization of procurement processes. A 1-creditor model thus enables the change from a heavily administrative settlement purchasing to a function that actively creates strategic value.
Modern purchasing must not be permanently tied to administrative routines. The key success factors lie in strategic work on supplier relationships, risk minimization, sustainability and digital processes. Make or buy is therefore not a theoretical question of principle, but an operational adjustment with a direct effect on efficiency, cost structure and strategic effectiveness. External Partners such as Pedlar help to find the right balance by freeing up internal resources for value-adding tasks and handing over operational activities where they do not generate any strategic added value. Operational purchasing is thus becoming a real partner of corporate strategy.
