Southfield, Mich. � M.L. Derry & Associates, an industry-leading Southfield, Michigan-based consulting firm specializing in business process improvement, announced the release of a research study, which examined the communication processes used by Sales and Purchasing personnel and their impact on corporate performance and profitability.

Through a series of interviews, focus groups, observations of over 1,000 customer/supplier meetings, and survey data compiled by the University of Michigan, Dearborn College of Business the six year study thoroughly examined the interaction of buyer and seller processes and how they impact product quality, organizational performance and the total cost of doing business.

�This study assesses the true impact of the communication processes currently utilized between customers and suppliers,� M.L. Derry & Associates President, Michael Derry, said. �Studying the specific processes utilized in the purchasing and sales functions and how they interacted allowed us to view and understand them as a complete system. The findings will ultimately lead to an increase in corporate profits and shareholder value for both customer and supplier. We believe the findings will provide companies a critical component to remaining competitive in today�s global business environment.�

Study findings also identified the knowledge and skills necessary to produce successful sales and purchasing systems for the future. This will enable customers and suppliers to jointly manage, measure and continuously improve their respective processes.

This research has identified the current practices at the interface between the seller and the buyer and revealed changes from an integrative systems perspective that can dramatically improve supply chain performance.

The M.L. Derry & Associates, Sales-Purchasing study results are now available. For a copy of the report, visit M.L. Derry & Associates�s web site, www.mgtdev.com.