Our company is adding a professional buyer to process non-catalog requisitions, and we're curious what other companies do to route approved requisitions to buyers.
A. A Queuing Model
Approved lines go into a general queue which buyers must pro-actively go out and retrieve (presumably using some query to find the right type of lines for this particular buyer).
How do you guarantee that lines get addressed in a timely matter? Do lines ever fall "between the cracks" since they aren't assigned to a specific individual?
B. An Assignment Model
Approved lines get routed (through some mechanism like supplier or commodity) directly to a particular buyer. That buyer then processes only the lines specifically assigned to her/him.
Presumably some vacation re-routing mechanism would be needed to point it toward another buyer.
Are there other models that are in use? I'd be keen to hear what processes people are using and the pro's and cons of each.
Thanks.