{"id":3060,"date":"2023-03-31T16:29:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T14:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grantalexander.com\/en\/?p=3060"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:53:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T13:53:14","slug":"history-illuminates-transformation-brice-malm-director-of-the-purchasing-supply-chain-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grantalexander.com\/en\/our-news\/history-illuminates-transformation-brice-malm-director-of-the-purchasing-supply-chain-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"History Illuminates Transformation \u2013 Brice Malm, Director of the Purchasing & Supply Chain Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n


The evolution of Purchasing practices, the challenges, socio-economic contexts, training, and knowledge developed by researchers and key figures are essential for developing a function suited to the contemporary world.
By Brice Malm, Director of the Purchasing and Supply Chain practice at Grant Alexander, expert in human capital and Purchasing transformation<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


“In truth, these are only various facets of the same complex reality, so diverse are the profiles of professional buyers and the tasks entrusted to them”<\/em> (Barreyre, 2010). Pierre-Yves Barreyre emphasizes that the Purchasing function and the role of buyers are constantly evolving. Initially focused on cost reduction and operational improvement, buyers then participated more actively in implementing new management models and developed a culture of supplier performance, contributing to the extended enterprise\u00b9.
Today, buyers are actors in an ecosystem including consumers, suppliers, associations, and NGOs, all at the same level in addressing major challenges. The challenge for the function is to continue progressing, maintaining responsibility while integrating new forms of work, business models, and awareness of individual and collective responsibility.
Hence, this new column will offer a selective chronological review of key milestones that have shaped the Purchasing function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


1887: First book dedicated to Purchasing<\/strong>
Authored by M. Kirkamn, head of the audit department at Chicago and North Western Railway, it demonstrated the importance of Purchasing for companies involved in building U.S. railway lines\u00b2.
1916: Henri Fayol<\/strong>
The famous French mining engineer identified purchasing as one of six essential operations for business success. For him, Purchasing is as important as Sales\u00b3.
1945: Creation of the CDAF<\/strong>
The Compagnie des Acheteurs de France (CDAF) was established, driving the development of professional buyers. In 1949, it created the ESAP, \u00c9cole Sup\u00e9rieure des Acheteurs Professionnels, now the Conseil National des Achats (CNA), with over 18,000 members. In 1974, in partnership with a Grenoble university institute, a continuing education program for Purchasing engineers was launched, leading to the first Master in Strategic Purchasing Management (DESMA).
1964: First Public Procurement Code<\/strong>
Public Procurement adopted its first code, establishing rules for awarding and executing contracts, based on three principles: free access to public procurement, equal treatment of candidates, and procedural transparency.
1965: Structuring of Scientific Research<\/strong>
Buyers discovered the first issue of the Journal of Purchasing<\/em>, specialized in Purchasing and Supply Management, created by NAPA (National of Purchasing Agents), later NAPM, now ISM (Institute for Supply Management).
1975: Michael Porter repositions Purchasing<\/strong>
Michael E. Porter\u2074 highlighted the evolution of Purchasing beyond administrative roles to become strategic. Purchasing is now the company\u2019s pivot, contributing to value creation and competitive advantage.
1983: Kraljic\u2019s seminal article<\/strong>
Harvard Business Review published KRALJIC\u2019s major article, \u201cPurchasing must become supply chain management,\u201d introducing the famous Kraljic matrix. Purchases are classified along two axes: impact on profit and procurement risk level.
1993: First French professional magazine dedicated to Purchasing<\/strong>
In May 1993, La Lettre des Achats<\/em> appeared, focusing exclusively on Purchasing management and supplier relationship best practices. Four years later, D\u00e9cision Achats<\/em> was launched. That same year, F. De Champeyrol published Les Achats<\/em> in the Que sais-je<\/em> series\u2075.
2009: Creation of the SAE<\/strong>
Decree No. 2009-300 of March 17, 2009, established the SAE: the French State Purchasing Service\u2076.
2015: Nobel laureates report on public procurement<\/strong>
Public procurement was highlighted by St\u00e9phane Saussier and Jean Tirole, Nobel laureates in Economics, emphasizing the need to \u201cStrengthen public procurement efficiency.\u201d Representing 15% of GDP, it is a major budgetary concern.
Through this selective chronology, the history of Purchasing offers an inexhaustible source of development, allowing buyers to reinterpret the present and envision the future.
Excerpt adapted from Brice Malm \u2013 Fonction Achats et management des ressources externes \u2013 \u00c9ditions EMS, Pratiques d\u2019entreprise Collection.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Article by Brice Malm, Director of the Purchasing and Supply Chain practice, for Profession Achats<\/em> of the Conseil National des Achats.<\/strong>

\u00b9 The extended enterprise revolves around a pivot organization connected to aligned subcontractors within the same value chain.
\u00b2 As early as 1850, railway development revealed the key position of this function (Fearon, 1968).
\u00b3 Henri Fayol (1841-1925), civil engineer and author of Administration industrielle et g\u00e9n\u00e9rale<\/em> (1916), recognized that \u201cknowing how to buy and sell is as important as knowing how to manufacture well.\u201d
\u2074 \u201cBuyers and suppliers are two of the five forces shaping industrial competition\u201d (Porter, 1975).
\u2075 The modernity of Purchasing reflects the modernity of the enterprise, affirming it as a management and operational responsibility function.
\u2076 The DAE (ex-SAE) aims to optimize state purchases while respecting sustainable development and social objectives, fostering innovation access, and supporting SMEs.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The evolution of Purchasing practices, the challenges, socio-economic contexts, training, and knowledge developed by researchers and key figures are essential for developing a function suited to the contemporary world.By Brice Malm, Director of the Purchasing and Supply Chain practice at Grant Alexander, expert in human capital and Purchasing transformation “In truth, these are only various […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"activity":[6],"topical-themes":[],"news-type":[36],"class_list":["post-3060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHistory Illuminates Transformation \u2013 Brice Malm, Director of the Purchasing & Supply Chain Practice - Grant Alexander<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.grantalexander.com\/en\/our-news\/history-illuminates-transformation-brice-malm-director-of-the-purchasing-supply-chain-practice\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History Illuminates Transformation \u2013 Brice Malm, Director of the Purchasing & Supply Chain Practice - 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