By Dennis Quick
Senior Staff Writer

Purchasing outsourcer William Summerhill calls himself a “garbage man.” His five-employee, North Charleston-based company, Alternative Procurement Resources Inc., undertakes for purchasing departments those tasks they find tedious and time-consuming: the procuring and paperwork-processing of the “small stuff,” items that are not components of the manufacturer’s product.

“Companies make a high percentage of low-dollar, miscellaneous purchases,” said Summerhill, APR’s president. “And sometimes they have different people ordering the same equipment.”

Inexpensive, non-production items often account for 75% to 80% of a company’s purchases, and redundant ordering of these items creates more purchase orders and drives up costs. By handling the purchasing of these low-end items, APR helps companies save money by improving procurement efficiency and enabling companies to concentrate their purchasing efforts on high-end parts needed for product manufacturing, according to Summerhill.

Founded in 1999, APR is a minority-owned company that received and continues to receive a big boost from automotive parts manufacturer Robert Bosch Corp., where Summerhill worked as a procurement specialist before starting APR, and with whom APR has its primary contract. Summerhill credits Bosch for its commitment to working with minority-owned companies.

“We have resources in our corporate group that are dedicated in the identification of capable minority-owned suppliers,” said Steve McLawhorn, purchasing director for Bosch.

The nation’s automotive industry in general has made a concerted effort to do business with minority-owned companies, Summerhill noted.

Supplier diversification

In 1993, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford set out to include in their supply-chain community minority-owned supply companies. The General Motors North America Supplier Diversity Program purchases goods and services from qualified minority suppliers registered with the National Minority Supplier Development Council. GM’s program also provides managerial and technical assistance to minority-owned supply companies when needed or where the minority company shows significant growth potential.

In 2004, GM spent $6.6 billion with minority-owned supply companies. That figure represented more than 9% of the auto giant’s $46 billion in U.S. supplier purchases, according to the company’s Web site, www.gmsupplierdiversity.com.

Locally, APR is on track to do about $300,000 worth of business this year, processing about 425 purchase orders per month, Summerhill said.

For Bosch, maker of fuel injection systems and anti-lock brakes, APR procures cutting equipment, gauges and other special tools.

“They offer Bosch an alternative in purchasing items that could be one-time buys or low-dollar values. Being in the automotive industry, our products must be competitive and the product life cycles are getting shorter. The purchasing activities in the indirect materials group can vary depending upon the number of new products being manufactured at our plant. Therefore, we must be smart in the way we utilize our resources,” McLawhorn said.

“By utilizing APR for one-time buys and the small-order values, our purchasing associates are able to focus on areas where we can add value. We also utilize APR for other procurement services such as expediting and order acknowledgements.”

Construction course

In the Charleston area, the Lowcountry Graduate Center, the Noisette Foundation and construction industry professionals formed the Lowcountry HUB Contractor Business Academy to help increase the competitiveness of minority contractors by increasing their knowledge of the construction industry. HUB stands for Historically Underutilized Businesses.

In June, the academy graduated its first class, consisting of 14 minority-business owners. The academy, which began in March, is South Carolina’s first HUB Contractor Business Academy, a concept launched three years ago in North Carolina by the Charlotte-based Carolinas AGC.

While the academy aims to help minority businesses land more contracts, some minority-owned companies find little trouble getting construction work.

“I stay busy year-round,” said John Stephen Butler, president of Z & Z Inc., a masonry company based in Cross. Butler’s 30-employee company does brick- and block-laying services for homes throughout the Lowcountry.

In the U.S. automotive industry’s drive to bring more minority-owned suppliers into the supply chain, more auto companies are finding that they are doing business with minority companies not just out of a social obligation to help redress past discrimination practices, but because qualified minority suppliers help cut business costs, Summerhill said.

“When do you know your minority supply-development program is working?” Summerhill asked rhetorically. “When you’re not looking at the business as a minority business anymore, just as a business.”

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