Business English Pod / Purchasing

Purchasing

Learn business English for purchasing and sourcing products. These lessons look at how to source products and vendors as part of the corporate purchasing process.

BEP 415 – Purchasing 6: Managing Purchase Orders

Business English, Purchasing, Sales English /

BEP 415 LESSON - English for Purchasing 6: Managing Orders

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for purchasing. This lesson looks at language for evaluating proposals from vendors.

Business is all about buying and selling. And just as your company sells products to individual consumers or other companies, you also have to purchase goods and services to make it all happen. For ongoing purchasing relationships, this means evaluating different vendors to find the best match.

So, when you sit with your team to evaluate vendor proposals, what will you talk about? These discussions often involve comparing pricing, timelines, quality, and service. You might also talk about warranties, reliability, and risks. And just like any group process, the quality of the decision will come down not just to the facts in front of you, but your ability to communicate clearly about them.

In conversations about vendor proposals, there are several aspects you might consider. You might assess risk as well as vendor capacity. You might also evaluate the total cost and compare value, as opposed to the basic contract price. And finally, you might prioritize the different criteria you use to assess the vendors.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between managers at a fitness equipment company called xFit. Hazel, Adam, and Nick are evaluating proposals to choose a manufacturer of a specific part for their line of treadmills. In previous lessons on purchasing, we heard xFit choose a company called VinMech to produce a part for a different exercise machine.

Listening Questions

1. What does Adam say about SteelWorks production capacity?
2. What does Nick say adds value to VinMech as a possible vendor?
3. Which criteria does Adam say are the most important consideration in this decision?

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BEP 414 – Purchasing 5: Evaluating Vendor Proposals

Business English, Purchasing, Sales English /

BEP 414 LESSON - English for Purchasing 5: Evaluating Vendors

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for purchasing. This lesson looks at language for evaluating proposals from vendors.

Business is all about buying and selling. And just as your company sells products to individual consumers or other companies, you also have to purchase goods and services to make it all happen. For ongoing purchasing relationships, this means evaluating different vendors to find the best match.

So, when you sit with your team to evaluate vendor proposals, what will you talk about? These discussions often involve comparing pricing, timelines, quality, and service. You might also talk about warranties, reliability, and risks. And just like any group process, the quality of the decision will come down not just to the facts in front of you, but your ability to communicate clearly about them.

In conversations about vendor proposals, there are several aspects you might consider. You might assess risk as well as vendor capacity. You might also evaluate the total cost and compare value, as opposed to the basic contract price. And finally, you might prioritize the different criteria you use to assess the vendors.

In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between managers at a fitness equipment company called xFit. Hazel, Adam, and Nick are evaluating proposals to choose a manufacturer of a specific part for their line of treadmills. In previous lessons on purchasing, we heard xFit choose a company called VinMech to produce a part for a different exercise machine.

Listening Questions

1. What does Adam say about SteelWorks production capacity?
2. What does Nick say adds value to VinMech as a possible vendor?
3. Which criteria does Adam say are the most important consideration in this decision?

Premium Members: PDF Transcript | Quizzes | PhraseCast | Lesson Module

Download: Podcast MP3

BEP 358 – English for Purchasing 4: Negotiating Terms

Business English, Negotiating, Purchasing, Sales English /

Business English BEP 358 - Purchasing 4: Negotiating Price and Terms

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for purchasing and negotiating price and terms.

We’ve talked a lot about how important it is to find the right vendor. They can make or break your business. That’s why we put so much work into meeting, interviewing, screening, and qualifying potential vendors. But once you’ve found the right vendor, you still need to actually make a deal. Specifically, you need to agree on price and terms.

To set yourself up for success, it’s a good idea to do some research and preparation. If you know what things should cost, and you know what you need from a deal, and you can anticipate what the vendor needs, then you’ll be in a good position to negotiate.

In your discussion, you’ll likely make price comparisons in your efforts to get a deal. You’ll have to propose terms to the vendor, and show consideration for their position in the negotiation. Because things like delivery and quality are so important, you’ll also want to discuss penalties. And, like any negotiation, at some point you’ll probably suggest a compromise. With these skills, you should be able to get a price and terms that work for you.

In today’s business English conversation, we’ll hear Adam, a purchasing manager who works for a company that makes fitness equipment called XFit. He’s been talking with Jenny, a sales rep for a manufacturer that can make pulleys for XFit’s equipment. XFit has chosen Jenny’s company as a vendor, so Adam now has to negotiate the price and terms.

Listening Questions

1. What is the first issue that Adam brings up in the negotiation?
2. What does Adam first propose for delivery terms?
3. What is Adam willing to agree to if Jenny agrees to his suggestion about penalties?

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BEP 357 – English for Purchasing 3: Vendor Qualification

Business English, Purchasing, Sales English /

BEP 357 - Business English for Purchasing 3: Vendor Qualification

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for purchasing and qualifying vendors.

Whether you’re buying raw materials, equipment, or services, purchasing decisions are high stakes. Make a bad decision, and it’ll cost you time, money, and goodwill. Make the right decision, and you can increase your revenue, improve operations, and gain more customers.

Because purchasing decisions are so important, companies invest a lot of energy into the process of vendor selection. In previous lessons, we’ve looked at sourcing suppliers and discussing vendor criteria. Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you need and you’ve had some discussions with possible vendors, then you need to qualify them.

Basically, vendor qualification is about talking to a vendor to make sure they’re the right fit. And that’s best done during a visit to their facilities. Vendor qualification includes asking for documentation and getting samples, as proof of quality and a clean track record. As you talk, you may try to identify any inconsistencies between what you have heard and what you see. It’s also important to ensure comprehensive quality management and to probe for proof of consistency.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear Adam, a purchasing manager who works for xFit, a company that makes fitness equipment. Adam has just taken a tour of a potential vendor’s factory. He’s talking with the manufacturer’s representative Jenny, and asking questions to see if her company is a good fit to supply parts for xFit’s exercise equipment.

Listening Questions

1. Why does Adam want product samples?
2. Why does Adam mention that he didn’t see the equipment or a set-up for the “powder coating” process?
3. What does Adam want Jenny to provide in order to show proof of consistency?

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BEP 349 – Purchasing 2: Product and Vendor Requirements

Business English, Purchasing, Sales English /

BEP 349 - English for Purchasing 2 - Product Requirements and Vendor Criteria

Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on English for purchasing and discussing product requirements.

For purchasing managers, choosing the right vendor can be like choosing a business partner. After all, your company’s reputation is tied directly to the performance of your vendors. People judge you by the goods you use to run your business or build your products. If something goes wrong, your customers blame you, not your vendors.

But what makes the “right” vendor? Well, that discussion begins with your needs. If you’re in manufacturing or product development, you’ll be talking about design requirements. These design requirements, or product specifications, are going to help you determine whether a vendor can do the job. And the engineers or merchandizers in the room are going to have some strict technical requirements.

Once you have a sense of what you need, then you can discuss vendor criteria and qualifications. And because purchasing relationships are ongoing, you may also want to establish performance indicators to ensure everything goes well once you’ve selected a vendor.

In today’s dialog, we’ll hear a meeting in a company called xFit, which makes fitness equipment. Adam is a purchasing manager in Asia who has been looking for a new manufacturer of an important component. He’s on the phone with Crystal, another manager who is leading the meeting, and Jason, an engineer. The team is talking about the product requirements and vendor criteria.

Listening Questions

1. What does Jason emphasize as a “must” in terms of design requirements?
2. What does Crystal say is the most important criteria for evaluating potential vendors?
3. What other criteria does Adam want to discuss?

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