To Shop and Buy in L.A.: Mining Cost Out of Old Processes in Building a New Supply Chain for the City of Los Angeles

Abstract

This case study focuses on the modernization of purchasing practices and policies by a large city government. It hinged on harvesting savings from existing processes as the sole means of funding the introduction of a new enterprise procurement or supply chain technology system. The case demonstrates the essential role of changing organizational behaviors, re-engineering processes, assessing risk, and judging the level of bene?ts that can realistically be achieved through the introduction of new information systems.