The Board of Management, through its Finance Sub-Committee, is advised to establish a set of procedures governing purchasing and should set out the arrangements for buying, receipt of goods and accounting for same.
A purchasing policy needs to strike a balance between quality and cost, (as the cheapest is not necessarily the best) and between cost-effective bulk purchasing and inefficient overstocking. Registers of known suppliers may be built up for frequently required items but occasional comparative checks should be made with prices of other suppliers.