Abstract
To conduct my buyer interview, I have contacted a French company named Alimentation Fine de France (AFF), which means French Fine Food. My contact was Marie-Dominique X, the key buyer of the company. I asked her a few questions about her company, the general buying process, and the people who are involved. The buying process consists in determining the need, selecting the supplier, reaching the appropriate terms and conditions, issuing the contract, and then controlling the delivery. The first part of this report is focused on how AFF deals with its purchases, from the description of the need to the evaluation of goods and suppliers. Then, a few recommendations are listed in order to understand how AFF could improve its buying process and how suppliers can get business from this organization. Alimentation Fine de France (AFF) is the second largest company on the French fine food and wine market. The central warehouse is located in Bergerac, at 90 kilometers from Bordeaux, Périgord. The company buys 1600 different products from 200 suppliers around the world and then resells them to about 2500 clients, which are mainly gourmet shops and department stores in France and Europe, such as Lafayette Gourmet and Harrod's.
