Peter Kraljic biography and books
Peter Kraljic (1939) was a former director in the Düsseldorf office of McKinsey at McKinsey & Company, Inc. where he held different management positions until his retirement. Peter Kraljic has also created the Portfolio Purchasing Model (1983), which is a model/ tool to analyse the purchasing portfolio of a company.
Biography of Peter Kraljic
Peter Kraljic obtained a Master’s degree (MSc.) in metalworking from the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. He obtained his doctorate (Ph.D.) at the Polytechnic University in Hanover, Germany. He later went on to earn a Master’s degree (MSc.) in business management from the INSEAD business school in France. This combination of technical depth and business knowledge clearly forms the basis for his later ideas on procurement, supply chain, and strategy.
Peter Kraljic, born in Slovenia and later a Dutch citizen, spent much of his career as a director and senior partner at McKinsey & Company in Europe. In that role, he mainly advised large industrial clients in the pharmaceutical and automotive industries and in the steel and aluminum sectors. In addition, he was intensively involved in personnel development within McKinsey itself, including training young consultants and helping to design leadership programs.
In 1983, he developed the Kraljic matrix, a model and tool for analyzing a company’s purchasing portfolio and positioning purchasing as a strategic activity. Peter Kraljic elaborated on this concept in the well-known Harvard Business Review article “Purchasing Must Become Supply Management”. In this article, he makes one point very clear: purchasing should not be a purely operational function at the back end of the company, but should evolve into a strategic activity that directly contributes to competitive advantage. According to Peter Kraljic, companies that see purchasing only as price pressure and order processing are taking unnecessary risks and missing opportunities.
In the same article, he introduces the Kraljic matrix. With this portfolio analysis, he shows that not all purchasing categories are the same. Some product groups require strict cost control, others require long-term partnerships, and still others require risk management.
Plotting purchasing categories according to profit impact and delivery risk creates a clear overview that helps managers make decisions. Peter Kraljic thus provides organizations with a practical tool for strategically positioning purchasing. The article is still considered a turning point in thinking about purchasing and supply management. Many modern concepts, such as Supplier Relationship Management and strategic supplier segmentation, build on the insights that Kraljic introduced in 1983.
In addition to his position as director, Peter Kraljic published several scientific and business articles for publications including Harvard Business Review and Le Figaro Économie. As a side activity, he supervised various special projects in Germany and France in the field of economic stimulation and job creation. In doing so, he linked his consulting work for large companies to broader social issues.
Peter Kraljic retired as a partner at McKinsey in 2002, but his model and publications are still widely used in education, training, and purchasing organizations worldwide.
Publications and books by Peter Kraljic
- 2011. 5. Proceedings of the 17th CEEMAN Annual Conference: Management Education in a Changing World: Are We Ready for the Challenge?-Panel: Emerging Markets and the Changing Business Landscape. In CEEMAN Conference Proceedings (Vol. 19, p. 22). CEEMAN-Central and East European Management Development Association.
- 2010. What it takes to be globally competitive; education, innovation, values. In CEEMAN Conference Proceedings (Vol. 18, p. 52). CEEMAN-Central and East European Management Development Association.
- 2002. Moderene Dienstleistungen am Arbeitsmarkt. Vorschläge der Kommission zum Abbau der Arbeitslosigkeit und zur Umstrukturierung der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit.
- 1998. Managing transformation in Central and Eastern Europe: retrospective and perspective. Innowacja, 311-325.
- 1990. The economic gap separating East and West. Columbia Journal of World Business, 25(4), 14-19.
- 1988. Zukunftsorientierte Beschaffungs-und Versorgungsstrategie als Element der Unternehmensstrategie. In Handbuch Strategische Führung (pp. 477-497). Gabler Verlag.
- 1986. Gedanken zur Entwicklung einer zukunftsorientierten Beschaffungs-und Versorgungsstrategie. Beschaffung—ein Schwerpunkt der Unternehmensführung. Landsberg, 72-93.
- 1985. Versorgungsmanagement statt Einkauf. Harvard Manager, 7(1).
- 1984. From purchasing to supply management. The McKinsey Quarterly, 2, 17.
- 1983. Purchasing must become supply management. How Managers Can Guard Against Material Disruption by Formulating a Supply Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 107-117.
- 1977. Neue Wege im Beschaffungsmarketing. Manager Magazin, 7(11), 72-80.
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