Global sourcing is an important strategy for Swedish businesses since it is a mean to gain competitive advantage which is important on the global market Swedish businesses act on. Consequently it is interesting to investigate the importance of the perceived benefits and challenges with global sourcing since these factors affect the global sourcing decision. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Swedish large businesses perceive the benefits and challenges with global sourcing. To be able to fulfil the purpose primary data was used which was collected through an Internet based questionnaire where the respondents were asked to rank and rate the importance of the benefits and challenges with global sourcing. The data collected was in a quantifiable form and thus quantitative tools were used to analyse the collected data. The result of the study regarding the benefits was that price clearly was perceived as the most important benefit, while counter-trade obligations were seen as the least important benefit. Regarding the challenges, longer lead times and cultural issues were seen as the most challenging aspects, while customs regulations, tariffs and quotas and discrimination from the supplier were perceived as the least important challenges. However since too few responses of the questionnaire were obtained, these results is not generalizable on other Swedish businesses than those that are represented in the sample.

In the environment of globalisation, international purchasing is the strategy most commonly adopted by enterprises to obtain or maintain competitive advantages. The region encompassing Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China is a global manufacturing centre, providing a variety of price-competitive products to entice multinational enterprises to purchase from this area. The international purchasing office (IPO) is the intermediary of international purchasing, which connects international clients with regional suppliers to establish win-win strategic partnerships, improving competitive advantages for both parties and maximizing the value of the supply chain. International merchandisers directly contact clients and suppliers, playing the roles of buyer and sales people simultaneously, which is the essence of providing excellent service and creating value in IPO. This study investigates small-sized IPOs. The objectives of this study are to conduct an exploratory survey of the necessary competencies of current international merchandisers and provide concrete classifications and basic behavioral descriptions thereof. This study interviewed current international merchandisers in case IPOs in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China through behavioral event interviews. The subjects provided critical cases and described their behavior, thoughts, and how the cases were handled. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. This study coded, analysed, and identified the competencies according to the transcripts, and referenced the five types competence characteristics given by Spencer and Spencer to classify the competencies. This study concludes that among the five competencies of international merchandisers, the competencies of motives, traits, and self-concept at the base of the iceberg model are the fundamentals of good work performance. The five competencies are motives, traits, self-concept, knowledge, and skill. The motives include achievement orientation and incentives; traits include customer service orientation, a positive and active disposition, and great adaptability; the self-concepts are self-affirmation and optimism; knowledge includes product development, pricing, compliance, market trends, and international transportation; and the skills are influence, relationship building, analysing and thinking, information seeking, negotiation skills, and language competence. The conclusions of this study propose suggestions for managers of small-sized IPOs, personnel in human resource management, and international merchandisers, in the hope of providing a reference concerning management measures or career development for these parties.

The need to achieve competitive advantageous among companies have made international purchasing an attractive option. Acting on international markets could be beneficial from many perspectives; one of the main driving forces is to cut costs. However, there are also a lot of challenges related to international purchasing. CSR and Sustainability issues seems so becoming increasingly important in society and this will of course affect companies work with international purchasing. This paper investigates the driving forces and challenges related to international purchasing and the role of CSR and Sustainability in this context. The findings are then applied on the construction industry and the case company NCC. The methods used are both a literature study and an empirical study. The empirical study is based on interviews with representatives from varying industries. The study indicates that the importance of CSR and Sustainability is rapidly increasing. Companies must balance the driving forces in terms of e.g. cost and quality with CSR issues and other challenges that distance causes. Supplier relationships have turned out to be a crucial factor for the success of international purchasing and CSR. Building supplier relationships is therefore suggested as a strategy for NCC to embrace.

<p><strong>Introduction </strong>As the world is becoming increasingly integrated, many firms search for partners overseas with hope to find benefits. Internationalization is today the industrial norm, and in this new and ever-expanding environment, international purchasing has become a major challenge that firms have to face in their daily operations. Yet, despite the growing importance of international purchasing by retailers, previous studies have mainly focused on international purchasing by manufacturing firms, and as the authors have acknowledge the retailers' significance on the national markets, a gap has been identified.</p><p><strong>Purpose </strong>The purpose of this thesis is to examine and map out the current state of Swedish retailers' international purchasing activities.</p><p><strong>Method </strong>In order to fulfill the purpose, a quantitative research was chosen. In total, 74 telephone interviews have been conducted, resulting in a response rate of 80 percent. The sample was based on the 120 largest retailers in Sweden, with regards to turnover.</p><p><strong>Conclusion </strong>Swedish retailers have been grouped into four distinctive clusters; the Veterans, the Freshmen, the Cravens, and the Intellectuals. Each cluster showed clear and specific characteristics that distinguished them from each other. One common feature existed; regarding what risks that were connected with international purchasing. Almost everyone highlighted the loss of control, due to long distances, as being the main risk with international purchasing. The different clusters had diverse suggestions for how to overcome this; the Veterans focused on long-term relationship-building, the Freshmen spread their purchasing activities on multiple suppliers, the Cravens contracted trade companies to take the risk, and the Intellectuals invested in a high level of integration among all actors involved.</p>

Background:Scholars tend to view global sourcing as a one-way street, whereby multinational manufacturers from developed countries purchase low-cost materials and products from developing countries. Undoubtedly, one of the purchasing bases for them is China because of its abundant resources and cheap labor. That is why China is aptly called the “Global Factory.” Conversely, few Chinese manufactures currently adopt a global sourcing strategy. However, the higher demand for technical quality and an increase in manufacturing cost is driving more Chinese manufacturers to adopt a global sourcing strategy in order to improve their competitive advantage. This would help them to optimize the use of global resources. Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze what problems and challenges Chinese manufacturing companies face in the implementation of a global sourcing strategy. Research Method: Our study shall analyze the situation and problems encountered when Chinese manufacturers implement a global sourcing strategy. To achieve this deep understanding we need to perform a qualitative investigation of some Chinese manufacturers. Hence, we chose qualitative research as our methodology of this thesis. Conclusion:Pursuing global sourcing is a process which takes a long time and involves many obstacles to be overcome. In this complicated situation, there is not a universal compass to pursue global sourcing. Inexperienced Chinese manufacturers have to deal with each problem in order to develop an advanced level of global sourcing and to face the challenges from logistics capabilities, selecting foreign sources, protectionism, regulations, and so on.

Introduction As the world is becoming increasingly integrated, many firms search for partners overseas with hope to find benefits. Internationalization is today the industrial norm, and in this new and ever-expanding environment, international purchasing has become a major challenge that firms have to face in their daily operations. Yet, despite the growing importance of international purchasing by retailers, previous studies have mainly focused on international purchasing by manufacturing firms, and as the authors have acknowledge the retailers' significance on the national markets, a gap has been identified. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to examine and map out the current state of Swedish retailers' international purchasing activities. Method In order to fulfill the purpose, a quantitative research was chosen. In total, 74 telephone interviews have been conducted, resulting in a response rate of 80 percent. The sample was based on the 120 largest retailers in Sweden, with regards to turnover. Conclusion Swedish retailers have been grouped into four distinctive clusters; the Veterans, the Freshmen, the Cravens, and the Intellectuals. Each cluster showed clear and specific characteristics that distinguished them from each other. One common feature existed; regarding what risks that were connected with international purchasing. Almost everyone highlighted the loss of control, due to long distances, as being the main risk with international purchasing. The different clusters had diverse suggestions for how to overcome this; the Veterans focused on long-term relationship-building, the Freshmen spread their purchasing activities on multiple suppliers, the Cravens contracted trade companies to take the risk, and the Intellectuals invested in a high level of integration among all actors involved.

<p>Background:Scholars tend to view global sourcing as a one-way street, whereby multinational manufacturers from developed countries purchase low-cost materials and products from developing countries. Undoubtedly, one of the purchasing bases for them is China because of its abundant resources and cheap labor. That is why China is aptly called the “Global Factory.” Conversely, few Chinese manufactures currently adopt a global sourcing strategy. However, the higher demand for technical quality and an increase in manufacturing cost is driving more Chinese manufacturers to adopt a global sourcing strategy in order to improve their competitive advantage. This would help them to optimize the use of global resources.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze what problems and challenges Chinese manufacturing companies face in the implementation of a global sourcing strategy.</p><p>Research Method: Our study shall analyze the situation and problems encountered when Chinese manufacturers implement a global sourcing strategy. To achieve this deep understanding we need to perform a qualitative investigation of some Chinese manufacturers. Hence, we chose qualitative research as our methodology of this thesis.</p><p>Conclusion:Pursuing global sourcing is a process which takes a long time and involves many obstacles to be overcome. In this complicated situation, there is not a universal compass to pursue global sourcing. Inexperienced Chinese manufacturers have to deal with each problem in order to develop an advanced level of global sourcing and to face the challenges from logistics capabilities, selecting foreign sources, protectionism, regulations, and so on.</p>

At present, the construction industry is growing in the worldwide, which means that business andagreements between companies can occur with any complications. International purchases have shownan increase by construction companies to reduce financial expenses in a construction project. In aninternational purchase of prefabricated concrete elements, more aspects need to be maintained for theproduct to be used in Sweden. Although international purchases are a way to reduce project costs, newobstacles and risks arise that must be managed correctly.The purpose of this report is to examine on how a certification body and construction company worksto ensure international purchases of prefabricated concrete elements reach existing Swedishrequirements. As well as highlighting the method for meeting the requirements and the environmentalimpact caused by international purchases.The certification body Nordcert, which is represents certification of products, and the constructioncompany PEAB, which is the biggest representative for international purchasing, have contributed tothis report. Through the subject reference framework, regulations, standards, certification, control andenvironmental impact have been highlighted as the basis for an international purchase to be carried outin a correct manner.The results showed a way to ensure the quality and ability of a concrete product with the help of BBCcertification and procedures for product fulfillment that are set for the Swedish market. But also,difficulties with imports such as "just-in-time" deliveries that are there to reduce the cost of aconstruction project. As they create environmental footprints at an early stage in the manufacture ofconstruction products until delivery, values between domestic and imported goods are presented usingdiagrams. Increases in imports show lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to domestic ones, butin turn cause increased emissions in the country that produces the goods.The current process for meeting the Swedish requirements for prefabricated concrete elements fromabroad is at a good level, but it also has development opportunities that will help reduce costs andenvironmental footprint. The environmental impact of the construction sector in Sweden hasdiminished from a domestic production perspective, but at the expense of increasing the environmentalfootprint of import trade, which has increased gradually.

Kräsnare kunder, snabbare modeväxlingar och billigt mode. I modeindustris globala klimatstår modeföretagen inför större konkurrens och tvingas agera snabbt för att kunna gekunderna det bästa erbjudandet. Inköpsstrategier har blivit allt viktigare för att kunnakonkurrera om pris, kvalitet och tillgänglighet vilket har resulterat i inköp mot internationellamarknader. I samband med produktion i billigare länder har konsumenternas krav på socialtansvarstagade ökat vilket gjort att det för företagen blivit allt viktigare att styra sina inköp moträtt marknad och rätt leverantörer. Många svenska modeföretag gör inköp från Kina ochdärför är syftet med denna studie att med Lindex som fallföretag skapa en förståelse för hurett svenskt modeföretag använder sig av ett produktionskontor och vad det har föransvarsområden i inköpsprocessen vid inköp från Kina. Syftet är även att skapa enuppfattning om produktionskontorets syn på leverantörsrelationer och vilka förutsättningarnaär för att modeföretaget ska kunna arbeta med socialt ansvarstagande i leverantörsledet.Studien har en kvalitativ undersökningsdesign då syftet är att skapa ett djup inom det valdaområdet vilket även var anledningen till att problemet applicerades på ett fallföretag. Studiensempiriska material bygger på tolv semistrukturerade intervjuer med anställda på fallföretagetsamt två observationer av fallföretagets leverantörer. Detta gjordes för att kunna skapa endjupare förståelse inom områdena Lindex inköpsprocess, leverantörsrelationer och socialtansvarstagande. Det fält som undersöktes var fallföretagets huvudkontor i Göteborg,produktionskontoret i Hongkong samt CSR-avdelningen i Shanghai. Studien påvisade attproduktionskontorets ansvarsområden berörde faktorer som pris, kvalitet, ledtider ochkapacitetsplanering. Genom resultaten som fallföretaget Lindex genererade kunde slutsatsendras att ett produktionskontor skulle kunna vara en användbar inköpsstrategi för ett svensktmodeföretaget då det för studiens fallföretag innebar lösningar till kritiska faktorer som pris,kvalitet, ledtid och kapacitetsplanering. Det har blivit allt viktigare att ha godaleverantörsrelationer i modebranschen och studien tyder på att fallföretaget värderadeleverantörsrelationer då tillit, engagemang och samarbete var nyckeln till att lyckas medovanstående faktorer. Förutsättningen för att ett modeföretag skulle kunna arbeta med socialtansvarstagande var att leverantören hade en förståelse för vad syftet med uppförandekodenvar, att företagets personal var väl utbildad och uppdaterad inom området för att i sin turkunna inspirera leverantörerna samt att det kontinuerligt gjordes leverantörsinspektioner somockså följdes upp. Studiens resultat kan inte generaliseras på alla svenska modeföretag dåfenomenet undersökts genom fallföretaget Lindex men studien är ändå relevant ochanvändbar för svenska modeföretag med liknande omständigheter att ta del av.Due to more selective customers, shorter fashion trend cycles and cheaper fashion, in today&apos;sglobal fashion industry companies face stiffer competition and they are forced to act faster toanswer customer demands. As such, purchasing strategies play a crucial role when it comes tocompetition in price, quality and availability of products, which in turn has forced fashioncompanies to introduce a buying strategy focused on the international market. As a result ofcompanies moving into cheaper production countries the demands on social responsibility hasincreased. This has pushed companies to drive their buying strategy toward the correct marketand supplier. Many Swedish fashion companies have decided to purchase from China andtherefore the purpose of this study with Lindex as the company in focus is to form anunderstanding of how a Swedish fashion company utilizes their production office and what itsresponsibilities are in the buying process when sourcing from the Chinese market. In addition,the authors want to describe what the view of the production office is in relation to supplierrelationships in the buying process and what circumstances are necessary for the fashioncompany to be able to influence social responsibility in the supply chain. The thesis has aqualitative research design since the purpose was to create a deeper understanding of theresearch topic, which also was the reason for the authors to study the problem through a casecompany. The empirical material is conducted by twelve semi-structured interviews withsome of the case company’s employees and two observations of the case company’ssuppliers. The purpose was to create a deeper understanding in the areas of Lindex’s buyingprocess, supplier relations and social responsibility and therefore the field study was carriedout at the case company’s head quarter in Gothenburg, its production office in Hong Kongand its CSR department in Shanghai. The result of the study showed that the productionoffice’s areas of responsibility involved factors such as price, quality, lead-time and capacityplanning. Through the results that the company in focus generated the conclusion that couldbe drawn is that the strategy of establishing a production office could be useful for a Swedishfashion company in terms of better prices, higher product quality, shorter lead time as well assetting the production capacity. It has become more important to build good relationships inthe fashion industry and the study has found that Lindex highly values their supplierrelationships. Factors such as trust, engagement and collaboration with the suppliers are thekey to succeed in addition to all of the factors mentioned above. To enable fashion companiesto work with social responsibility it is vital that the supplier understands the purpose of thecode of conduct and that the company’s employees are well educated within the subjectmatter to in turn be able to influence the suppliers. It is equally important that inspections aremade on a continuous basis with the necessary follow-up carried out. The result of this thesiscannot be generalized for all Swedish fashion companies since the problem has beeninvestigated through a case company, but the study is nevertheless highly relevant and usefulfor other Swedish fashion companies under the same circumstances to take note of. / Program: Textilekonomutbildningen

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Patricia Andrade Ferreira.pdf: 3727984 bytes, checksum: cecaa303ff5c15a27d4903ccb66ab117 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-01-28 / The globalization context stimulates many companies to search for new ways to obtain competitive advantage though International Purchasing. Nevertheless, in the global scope of Supply Chain operations, the complexity growth of financial and resources flows have increased the risks related to International Purchasing activities. The use of Risk Management tools for International Supply Chain together with a more strategic view of the Purchasing role for better understanding of the main steps for International Purchasing Cycle can be decisive for one company performance. This study aims to verify how the presence of risk can mediate the relation between International Purchasing and Perceived Performance in the energy and electric/electronics sectors in Brazil. In recent years, ABINEE, association which represents these sectors, has demonstrated growing concern about international crisis repercussion in exportation volume and importation growth. The research was developed in 02 steps. Initially, it was done one exploratory research based on depth interviews with Purchasing or Sourcing Managers which were analyzed using semantic content for an initial view of the risks perception and main ways to manage them. Further, it was done a descriptive research using quantitative method to analyze the simultaneous relation among the constructs based on 149 questionnaires obtained from network professional contacts in the relationship site Linkedin using Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling. The hypothesis which the risks, solely, mediate the relationship with performance was not validated. The results validated the hypothesis which indicates the bigger the likelihood of risks occurrence, the more effective the International Purchasing Management must be and also validated the hypothesis indicating that an effective International Purchasing Management can have positive impact in the Company Performance. The contributions of this study are relevant to the national context of both academic and practical aspects to add the risks for an effective International Purchasing Management in the energy, electric/electronic sectors, which are still dependent on foreign technology. / O contexto de globalização impulsiona muitas empresas a buscarem novas formas de obtenção de vantagem competitiva através de Compras Internacionais. Não obstante, no âmbito global de atuação da Cadeia de Suprimentos, o aumento da complexidade dos fluxos financeiros e de recursos, tem repercutido no aumento dos riscos relacionados às atividades das Compras Internacionais. O uso de ferramentas de gestão de riscos em Cadeias de Suprimentos Internacionais, em conjunto com uma visão mais estratégica da função de Compras para melhor conhecimento das principais etapas no Ciclo de uma Compra Internacional, podem ser decisivos para o desempenho de uma empresa. O presente trabalho busca verificar como a presença dos riscos pode mediar a relação entre a Gestão das Compras Internacionais e Desempenho percebido dos Setores de Energia e Eletroeletrônicos no Brasil. Nos últimos anos, a ABINEE, Associação que representa esses setores, tem demonstrado crescente preocupação com repercussão de crises internacionais no volume de exportações e aumento de importações. A pesquisa foi feita em duas etapas. Primeiramente, foi feita uma pesquisa de natureza exploratória constituída de entrevistas em profundidade com gestores de Compras ou Importação, as quais foram tratadas pela técnica semântica da análise de conteúdo para uma visão inicial da percepção desses riscos e principais formas de geri-los. Na sequência, foi feita uma pesquisa de natureza descritiva com método quantitativo para analisar a relação simultânea entre os constructos a partir dos 149 questionários obtidos da rede de contatos do site de relacionamentos profissionais Linkedin com uso de Análise Fatorial e Modelagem em Equações Estruturais. A hipótese de que os riscos, unicamente, mediam a relação com o desempenho não foi validada. Os resultados, contudo, validaram a hipótese que indica que quanto maior a probabilidade de ocorrência de riscos, mais efetiva deverá ser a Gestão de Compras Internacionais e também validaram a hipótese de que uma Gestão efetiva de Compras Internacionais pode ter impacto positivo no Desempenho da empresa. As contribuições do estudo são relevantes para o contexto nacional tanto em aspectos acadêmicos quanto práticos ao agregar os riscos para uma gestão mais efetiva de Compras Internacionais nos setores de energia e eletroeletrônicos, os quais ainda são dependentes de tecnologia estrangeira.