Abstract
Purpose – Numerous research articles and industry reports are currently available that deal with global sourcing, however, few articles and reports can be specifically found on sourcing packaging materials in the consumer packaged food (CPF) industry. The purpose of this paper is to understand and develop the supplier selection process and overall cost modeling that facilitates the selection of a high-quality global supplier for low-cost packaging materials used in large quantities for CPF products.
Design/methodology/approach – To gain information relating to packaging material sourcing, a comprehensive literature search was conducted. Additionally, interviews with packaging material sourcing managers and directors were performed at a major global CPF products manufacturer. Knowledge gained from literature, industry interviews and available business data was used to develop a generic strategic outsourcing model and a closed loop business framework for selection of global suppliers of packaging material. This framework utilizes the proposed total cost of ownership model for global sourcing and weighted qualitative criteria matrix demonstrating how it is used in global supplier selection.