Forrestal Consultants assists clients in improving purchasing performance. Some clients reduce the cost of purchased goods by having our specialists provide them with detailed appraisals of manufacturing costs, pricing structures, market price levels, value analysis and other types of data for cost-effective purchasing. Other clients use our studies to provide operating management and supporting staffs with definitive information and recommendations on such important issues as best-price buying; purchasing strategy; market, technical and economic trends; outsourcing and vendor analysis.

Industry and Market Studies

  • Industry data: industry and market overviews; capacity studies; assessment of import/export factors.
  • Competitive purchasing practices.
  • Suppliers: pricing methodology and structures; price-cost data; and vendor appraisals, including market share and sales strategy.

Economic Analysis

  • Business Cycles: influences of business cycles on purchase timing; economic changes affecting sources and materials.
  • Costs and profits: detailed appraisals of supplier/industry costs and profit.
  • Prices: long-term price forecasting, including the analysis of changes and trends.
  • International: tariff regulation studies; exchange rates; comparative inflation analyses; economic stability of countries; futures.
  • Outsourcing: audits; evaluations; implementations

Commodity and Material Studies

  • Supply/Demand: evaluation of supply, demand and usage trends, including international aspects.
  • Materials: sources for materials domestic and foreign; substitution studies, transportation analyses.
  • Technology and production methods: assessment of new materials, products and processes.
  • Price data and forecasts.

Strategy and Planning

  • Negotiating strategies: development of more effective negotiating strategies.
  • Purchasing methods: recommendations of optimum method – national contracts vs. direct purchase vs. indirect purchasing; contract alternatives and clauses.
  • Make-buy/lease-buy: evaluations.
  • Cost guidance: buyer guidelines; competitive bid analysis, including computers.
  • Vendor analysis: identifying, appraising and choosing new suppliers, including assessment of financial conditions.
  • Demand forecasting and smoothing techniques.
  • Value analysis