HOW DOES UMMA AFFECT A MEMBERS PURCHASING DEPARTMENT?
It is a natural concern to the purchasing manager, but UMMA is nothing more than a tool. Our relationships with Member purchasing professionals are one of our most important resources since they, as a network, provide a national set of eyes and ears in the field. UMMA’s role is simply to accumulate data from all sources and negotiate and continually refine Master Purchase Agreements with suppliers, on behalf of the Membership. This is a continuing process and reduces the burdensome amount of time spent by purchasing departments to source items and allows them to focus on improved material handling and inventory control. Since as a group we can often secure more favorable terms, processing times, and return policies, the timesaving can be utilized by the builder to review alternative UMSA programs and to improve inventory turns.
It is a natural concern, but UMMA is nothing more than a tool. Our relationships with Member purchasing professionals are one of our most important resources since they, as a network, provide a national set of eyes and ears in the field. UMMA’s role is simply to accumulate data from all sources and negotiate and continually refine Master Purchase Agreements with suppliers, on behalf of our Membership. This is a continuing process and reduces the burdensome amount of time spent by purchasing departments to source items and allows them to focus on improved material handling and inventory control. Since, as a group, we can often secure more favorable terms, processing times, and return policies, the timesavings can be utilized to improve inventory turns. At the same time, since UMMA the cumulative Membership of UMMA represents such a significant portion of UMSA suppliers’ business, we demand and our Members receive the highest possible level of service.
