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procurement is the process undertaken by the organisational unit that,either as a function or part of an integrated supply chain,is responsible for procuring or assisting users to procure in the most efficient manner,required supplies at the right time, quality ,quantity and price, and the management of the suppliers,thereby contributing to the competitive advantage of the enterprise and achievement of its corporate strategy. Therefore procurement is a wider term then purchasing.
procurement is the process of obtaining goods or services in any way.including purchasing , hiring,leasing and borrowing.therefore procurement is more accurate for what organisations actually do.
procurement reflects the more proactive,rational,strategic and integrated role of the function in modern organisations.
purchasing is the acquisition of supplies or input ( raw materials,component, goods and services) to the organisation's activities (conversion,consumption or resale).
in some organisations , there is purchasing department that has the responsibility to deal with this functions while others have an individuals or team team to carry out such functions.
A purchase is done when you pay for any goods or services.
You may acquire goods or services from your existing resources as well, now if you combine both Purchase + Acquire, you are doing Procurement.
It means you are not only paying for the goods & services but acquiring them from the existing inventory or resources as well.
I hope it clears the concept
English language is the combination of various words have origin from various places. I am quite sure Procurement & Purchasing have the same meaning , possibly would have origins of different countries or places.
Counter argument : Is that who have answered different meaning for both words, have ever experienced in any of their past / present organization having both nomenclature available in practical ? I have not seen so far.
both have the same meaning
Procurement and purchasing are similar in departments but procurement refer all the work from beginning till receiving goods for example,
Selection of a product
Authorizing P/O
Approval of Purchase Request Identification of Suppliers
Inquiries Receipt of the Quotation Negotiation Purchase Order Acknowledgement Shipment Work Goods Receipt Invoice Recording Payment to Supplier
And Purchasing refers subset of procurement simply buying a goods including payment and receiving
Even if we are using both interchangeably and there is a difference.
Purchasing is the formal process of buying goods and services But Procurement is concerned with acquiring (procuring) all of the goods and services and involves the process of selecting vendors, establishing payment terms, strategic vetting, selection and negotiation of contracts. And we can conclude that purchasing is a subset of procurement
Procurement - set of activities that need to be performed to acquire the right material from the right vendor at the best possible rate at just the right time to maximize benefits for the company.
Purchase is just the transactional part of the entire process called Procurement. Purchase is the most basic form of Procurement.
People use terms purchasing and procurement interchangeably,Similarly Packaging and Packing and also Supply Chain and Logistics also as one and the same but all these have differences.
Now to answer your question Procurement deals with the activities such as determining the requirements which starts from sales forecast then production budget and finally the purchase budget you get the exact requirement,Identify the vendors,vendor evaluation, request for quotation,Receipt of the Quotation,purchase requisition,then approval or authorization and finally purchase order.
Whereas Purchase mens the process of ordering such as Purchase Order Acknowledgement, Advance Shipment Notice,Goods Receipt,Invoice verification, Three Way Match and finally Payment to Vendor.
PROCUREMENT is the same as PURCHASING,the only difference is that procurement also deals with tendering.
Procurement & Purchasing both the same, under any name in the end lead to the process of buying materials, parts, supplies and equipment in a timely and cost effective way; timely manner while maintaining appropriate quality standards and specifications which required for the company/Establishment, in accordance with company policy and negotiated terms and conditions.
