2. Purchasing action areas

2.1 What are the different purchasing categories?

Company expenditure is classically divided between :

• direct purchases: for goods and services integrated into the company's products and services: raw materials, components, subcontractors, packaging, transport, etc. ;

• indirect purchases: current expenses not included in products: utilities, energy, specific tools, maintenance, etc. and overheads: office equipment, security, telecoms, insurance, travel, etc. ;

• capital expenditure: multi-year expenditure on machinery, buildings, vehicles, information systems, etc.

Not all expenses are managed by purchasing professionals, and some – less...