Aligning Corporate Strategy With Supplier Selection

This article aims to demonstrate if corporate strategy is deployed to purchasing function practices, specifically to select suppliers, considering purchasing categories. The article has a qualitative empirical approach, and it is characterized as descriptive in the specific context of a multinational life science company. Our findings indicate an alignment between corporate strategy and purchasing strategy regarding the elements of corporate strategy, such as innovation, quality, sustainability, delivery, flexibility, and costs. However, the hierarchical cascading of these elements for supplier selection practices does not always occur as in the literature. The results suggest that purchasing categories are determining factors in the strategy alignment. The main contribution of this article is to point out that there is an alignment between corporate strategy and purchasing strategy regarding the main elements of corporate strategy. However, the hierarchical cascading of such criteria for supplier selection practices does not always occur as previously described in the literature, as there are variables that influence this process. This article indicates that purchasing categories are key determinants of strategy alignment, as in each category a combination of criteria has been more relevant and not necessarily aligned with corporate or purchasing strategy. © 1973-2011 IEEE.