Global sourcing is a definite advantage in this global market and as such, it is encouraged. However, not all efforts need to cross borders. As a senior purchasing manager explains, the marketing department had been printing brochures at the same place for 20 years. After an open bid was done, they awarded the contract to another printer. They were then able to reduce the yearly cost of the brochures by 1.2 million dollars. Although not common, competi- tive North American bidding has decreased costs in a few cases. The real savings is to take advantage of the global opportunities. An example of great cost saving is the one achieved by sourcing in China, as a purchasing manager explained. They replaced all the linen for the cabins, also called staterooms, for the entire fleet. They worked with a Chinese buying agent to help with the sourcing and bidding. When they compared North American bidding with Chi- nese for the same quality textile, the savings were fairly substantial:
$750,000 out of a total $10 million linen program.