4.2. Specific supply management activities
Based on the case studies, Fig. 4 summarizes the involvement of purchasing at each step of the target costing process. The greatest level of activity occurs at Steps 1, 4, 5 and 6. As discussed in other research (Cooper and Slagmulder, 1997; Ansari and Bell, 1997), it is essential to involve all key parties in the target costing process as early as possible. Supply management plays the key roles of identifying and qualifying suppliers, facilitating its involvement at the ‘‘concept’’ stage, and providing an interface between the supplier and research and development.