According to Kraljic portfolio matrix, the low-value items with high supply risk are bottleneck items.

The purchasing strategy that is commonly recommended for these products is primarily based on acceptance of the dependence and reduction of the negative effects of the unfavourable position. An alternative strategy suggested by purchasing practitioners is to find other suppliers and move towards the non-critical quadrant.
- Accept dependence, reduce negative consequences: The main focus of this strategy is to assure supply, if necessary even at additional cost. Examples of this strategy are keeping extra stocks of the materials concerned or developing consigned stock agreements with suppliers. By performing a risk analysis firms can identify the most important bottleneck products and consider the implications. A possible action for dealing with unexpected bad dependence positions for certain products is to employ contingency planning.
- Reduce dependence and risk, find other solutions: This strategy is geared towards reducing the dependence on the supplier. The most common way to achieve this is to broaden the specifications of the product or to search for new suppliers.
The procurement team in the scenario has selected reducing dependency by finding alternatives. This is a right strategy for bottleneck item.
Reference:
- CIPS study guide page 82-84
- Purchasing strategies in the Kraljic matrix-A power and dependence perspective, Marjolein C.J. Caniels, Cees J. Gelderman LO 2, AC 2.1

Regression refers to a quantitative measure of the relationship between one or more independent variables and a resulting dependent variable. Regression is of use to professionals in a wide range of fields from science and public service to financial analysis.
To perform a regression analysis, a statistician collects a set of data points, each including a com-plete set of dependent and independent variables. For example, the dependent variable could be a firm's stock price and the independent variables could be the Standard and Poor's 500 index and the national unemployment rate, assuming that the stock is not listed in the S&P 500. The sample set could be each of these three data sets for the past 20 years.
On a chart, these data points would appear as scatter plot, a set of points that may or may not appear to be organized along any line. If a linear pattern is apparent, it may be possible to sketch a line of best fit that minimizes the distance of those points from that line. If no organizing axis is visually apparent, regression analysis can generate a line based on the least squares method. This method builds the line which minimizes the squared distance of each point from the line of best fit.
Line of best fit is one of the most important outputs of regression analysis.
Reference:
- CIPS study guide page 99-100
- Line Of Best Fit (investopedia.com)
LO 2, AC 2.3

There are two major types of specification: conformance and performance specifications. They have the following characteristics:

Since performance specification is often a list of outputs or outcomes, it usually takes less time to develop than conformance specification.

One of the biggest disruptors in retail has been e-commerce. According to a report by IDC, in the month of December 2018, which is also the holiday season in the west, the e-commerce sector globally, has grown by 20 percent.
LO 2, AC 2.2

Using Porter's value chain helps procurement professionals know what are direct and indirect costs of supplier. Information on direct and indirect costs will have been collected as part of the market analysis. Information sources that may help include the following:
- Company annual reports
- Market data
- Technical data
- Request for information
- Plan visits
- Discount lists
Market data is the information that is collected and analysed by specialist organisations like Mintel, Gartner, Forrester,...
Reference:
LO 2, AC 2.3