RFQ and Purchasing Process

Understanding RFQ and Purchasing Process
Herman Miller has a centralized Supply Management Department that supports purchasing agents across our company. Our Supply Management team is divided into three specific teams: direct, indirect, and new product development.

Each commodity team is required to establish and meet an annual supplier diversity goal as a part of their performance measurements; annually attend at least one national and/or regional supplier diversity training event or conference; and include minority, small disadvantaged business, women, veteran, service disabled veteran, HUBZone, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender-owned businesses, and non-profit firms who employ the disabled in the bid inclusion process.

Each team has a slightly different RFQ process that is tailored to meet their specific needs. The three processes are outlined below.

Direct Commodity RFQ and Purchasing Process
The primary focus of Direct Supply Management is to manage the total cost
of ownership of raw materials, components and subassemblies used in the products sold by Herman Miller. This team is divided into small groups, each of which is assigned specific commodities. Each commodity team is comprised of a team leader and one or more team members. These are the people responsible for Sourcing, Supplier Performance, and Supplier Development. They work in close collaboration with Supplier Diversity, New Product Development, Quality, and Herman Miller Production System teams.

Indirect Commodity RFQ and Purchasing Process
The role of Indirect Supply Management is to procure all goods and services that do not go into the product we sell. We use a "come alongside" approach with our internal business partners to jointly identify new or existing suppliers to support the sourcing needs for the business partners' functional area. The "come alongside" approach reflects Herman Miller's commitment to training and educating our internal partners.

New Product Development RFQ and Purchasing Process
The role of New Product Development Supply Management is to strategically source components, assemblies, or complete products for Herman Miller's new product introductions. This team works with the Herman Miller commodity teams and Supplier Diversity to identify resources. It is often the case that a new product requires a new material, process, or technology that is not in our current supply base. At those times we search for new potential suppliers and work in concert with the commodity teams to approve the new source.