April 21, 2014
Kimberly Kokenakes
Director, University Services

• Supports the local economy
• Fosters local job creation
• Reduces environmental impact through decreased transportation requirements
• Reduces greenhouse gases—particularly for key products such as produce
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August-Picked
Coated in petroleum wax
SOLD
December-in supermarket
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No universal standard exists today
• Local buying is generally defined by the organization
• Requires an understanding of the upstream aspects of the supply chain
• Requires an understanding of existing buying patterns
• Can be defined at city, county, state, regional levels, by mileage from destination, or other parameters
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• Can the local market meet our needs? For which products?
• Is buying from local distribution really buying locally?
Are there instances when it might be?
• Are there commodity or product considerations for expanding the definition beyond immediate locale?
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2011 data from the National Service
Center for Environmental Publications
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• Tracking in-state spend, regional spend, and local spend
• Partnership with the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation and Pure Michigan Business Connect to increase spend in Michigan
• MSU Residential and Hospitality Services procures food from suppliers in five regionally local states
• Michigan, 165 suppliers
Ohio, 15 suppliers
Indiana and Illinois, 12 suppliers
Wisconsin, 6 suppliers
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• University Research Corridor (URC)
• MSU, U of M, Wayne State
• $15.5 billion annually in economic impact statewide
• MI Spartan Impact demonstrates MSU’s statewide and local region spend.
• Last year, MSU spent $396 million in-state http://mispartanimpact.msu.edu/
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Academic/Operational Research Projects Funded
• Buying locally—exploration of best practices and recommendations for
• Identifying a common definition of buying locally
• Development of a set of metrics to reflect efforts
• Standard method for measuring economic impact of local buying and related savings
• Identification of transportation impacts and develop method for measuring environmental impact from reduced transportation
• Executing a pilot program
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Academic/Operational Research Projects Funded
• Product Trace Backward Project: Using a sample of products, analyze path back to raw materials and determine impact on procurement decisions.
• Anticipated outcomes include:
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• Increased understanding of supply chain for improved decision making and risk mitigation
Development of a standard tool to perform future trace-backs for
• high-volume or high-risk products
Reduced reputational and financial risk for MSU
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What local buying activities are your organizations engaged in?
How are your organizations viewing local buying? Is it a priority?
What motivated your organization(s) to focus on local buying?
What challenges have you or your counterparts faced in building the business case for buying locally?
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