Inköp har en direkt påverkan på ett företags lönsamhet, vilket gör att fokus på att reducera inköpskostnader kan leda till stora positiva effekter. Inköp i ett företag är i regel organiserad i en hierarkisk struktur som bör anpassas utifrån de utmaningar ett företag ställs inför. En av faktorerna som påverkar inköpsorganisationens struktur är vilken centraliseringsgrad som används. Tenhults Pressgjuteri AB hade år 2011 en omsättning på 90 miljoner SEK och 75st anställda. Företaget har nyligen expanderat kraftigt vilket har lett till strukturella problem i inköpsorganisationen. Dessa problem syns bland annat i ansvarsfördelningen av inköp är otydlig. Företagets ledning har upplevt att inköpsorganisationen har blivit svårare att överblicka och styra vilket har lett till att de överväger att centralisera inköpsorganisationen. Examensarbetets syfte är att utreda inköpsorganisationen på Tenhults Pressgjuteri bland annat genom att applicera teorier framtagna för stora företag. För att uppfylla syftet har följande tre frågeställningar formulerats: Vilka styrkor och svagheter finns i inköpsorganisationen? Vilka förbättringsmöjligheter finns i inköpsorganisationen? Vilken grad av centralisering i inköpsorganisationen är lämplig? Inköpsorganisationen på företaget är fördelat bland olika avdelningar. Totalt har 13 anställda intervjuats under examensarbetet. Att ansvarsfördelningen är otydlig har sin grund i företagets förändring sedan det grundades. Att centralisera inköpsorganisationen är ett beslut från ledningen och är inte en nödvändighet enligt de anställda. Företaget brister i många steg i inköpsprocessen. De största bristerna återfinns vid utvärdering av leverantörsprestationer och genomförda inköp. Val av leverantör baseras ofta på pris. Företaget har hög teknisk kompetens bland de anställda. Företaget behöver skapa en struktur över inköpsorganisationen. De behöver utveckla strategi och taktik vid inköp och börja utvärdera genomförda inköp och leverantörernas prestationer. De bör använda de inköpsverktyg som finns tillgängliga och använda rätt kompetens vid rätt köp. Slutligen så rekommenderas företaget att fortsätta utveckla de områden som har bedömts som bra för att undvika att dessa blir förbisedda. Med hänsyn till Tenhults Pressgjuteris mål att växa 15 % varje år och de förutsättningar som företaget har bedöms den blandade centraliseringsgraden vara mest lämplig. Vissa av företagets inköp flyttas till en central inköpsavdelning medan tekniskt svåra artiklar köps in av lämpliga anställda. Detta alternativ ger god möjlighet för företaget att arbeta strategiskt med inköp och anses vara genomförbart. / Purchasing has a direct impact on a company’s profitability, which means that focusing on reducing purchasing costs can lead to large positive effects. The purchasing function in a company is usually organized in a hierarchical structure which depends on the challenges the company faces. One factor that affects the organization structure is what degree of centralization that is being used. Tenhults Pressgjuteri AB had the year 2011 sales of 90 million SEK and currently employs 75 people. The company has recently expanded significantly which has led to structural problems in the purchasing organization. Company directors have experienced that the purchasing organization is becoming more difficult to monitor and control and are considering a centralized purchasing organization. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the purchasing organization at Tenhults Pressgjuteri which also includes applying theories developed for large companies. To fulfill this purpose, the following three questions have been formulated: What strengths and weaknesses are there in the purchasing organization? What opportunities for improvement are there in the purchasing organization? What degree of centralization for the purchasing organization is appropriate? The purchasing organization is spread among several departments. A total of 13 employees have been interviewed during this thesis. Responsibilities within the purchasing process are unclear due to changes in the company since it was founded. The decision to centralize the purchasing organization is made by management and not a necessity from the view of the employees. Many steps in the purchasing process are not performed properly. The main inadequacies are found where evaluation of both supplier performance and the purchase is made. Supplier selection is often based on price. The company has a high technical expertise among the employees. The company needs to create a structure in the purchasing organization. They need to develop strategies and tactics for purchasing and start evaluating purchases and supplier’s performance. The company should make use of the purchasing tools that are available and use the right competence for the right purchase. Finally, we recommend the company to continue to develop the areas of the purchasing that have been estimated to be acceptable to avoid that they are overlooked. Considering Tenhults Pressgjuteris goal to grow 15 % each year and the conditions that the company has, the mixed degree of centralization is estimated to be most appropriate. Some of the company’s purchases are moved to a central purchasing department while technically difficult items still remains at appropriate staff. This option provides a good opportunity for the company to work strategically with purchase and is considered viable.

This diploma thesis is concerned with a problem of strategic supplier relationship management in the context of a correct understanding of the strategic procurement function. The main goal of the thesis is to analyze Strategic procurement department and all activities related do its function. Identify the main differences between strategic and operational function within the enterprise purchasing. Below this paper the purchasing strategy and strategic supllier relationship management of the corporate portfolio of suppliers are discussed in detail. To solve assigned topic Czech and foreign literature and internal materials of the analyzed company was used. To achieve the basic objective of the work I used descriptive, literature search, analysis and synthesis. In the application part there are three case studies that discuss specific issues. Based on the data, it is possible to confirm that strategic procurement and developed strategic supplier relationship management brings many advantages and it can be considered as a form of competitive advange.

I tillverkande företag kan inköpskostnaden stå för 60–80 procent av den totalaproduktkostnaden. Det framhäver vikten av att identifiera en kostnadseffektiv inköpsstrategi som reducerar totalkostnad för inköp. En sådan inköpsstrategi kan vara inköp av större ordervolym för att erhålla volymbaserat pris. Tidigare forskning om volymbaserat pris centreras kring inköp av standardkomponenter i stora volymer, således finns en bristande forskning om volymbaserat pris för organisationer som inte tillämpar denna typ av inköp. Studien syftar därför till att med en explorativ fallstudie, studera hur ökad ordervolym med samkoordinerade inköp påverkar totalkostnad för inköp hos en organisation med hög kundanpassning och låg årlig ordervolym. En organisation som arbetar enligt engineer-to-order (ETO) med storskaliga projekt, hög kundanpassning och låg årlig ordervolym har således använts som huvudsaklig empirisk kontext för fallstudien. Datainsamlingen har i fallstudien bestått av en metodkombination som inkluderar en dominerande kvalitativ fas följt av en underliggande kvantitativ fas. Insamlade data användes sedan i en kostnadsanalys för att utvärdera hur identifierade faktorer påverkade organisationens totalkostnad för inköp och huruvida samkoordinerade inköp kan anses som en kostnadseffektiv inköpsstrategi i denna kontext. Resultatet från studien visar att inköpspris reduceras och lagerkostnad ökar vid samkoordinerade inköp för organisationer med hög kundanpassning och låg årlig ordervolym. Den köpande organisationen kan påverka faktorerna: ordervolym och utformning av artiklar, vilket skapar en kostnadsförändring för leverantörernas faktorer: tillverkning, material, transport och administration. Kostnadsanalysen visar att kostnadsreducering uppnås vid samkoordinerade inköp för den studerade organisationen. Viss osäkerhet kring resultatet uppstår då samkoordinerade inköp skapar en ny situation för lagerhantering där kostnadsuppgifter saknas. Enligt studien kan synergierna av samkoordinerade inköp förstärkas genom ett skifte mot single sourcing, centraliserade inköp och ökad grad av standardisering. Studiens främsta bidrag är en identifikation av de faktorer som påverkas i leverantörernas verksamhet vid en kombination av samkoordinerade inköp och karaktäristiken av ETO, samt hur dessa genererar volymbaserat pris. / In manufacturing companies, the purchase cost can account for 60-80 percent of the total product cost. The high purchase cost emphasizes the importance of identifying a cost-effective purchasing strategy that reduces the total cost of purchasing. Such a purchasing strategy can be to purchase larger order volumes in order to obtain quantity discounts. Previous research on quantity discounts is centered on the purchase of standard components in large volumes, thus a lack of research on quantity discounts for organizations that do not apply this type of purchase exists. Therefore, this study aims to examine how a larger order volume with coordinated purchases affects the total cost of purchasing for an organization with high customer customization and low annual order volume. It was done with an exploratory case study of an organization that operates according to engineer-to-order (ETO) with large-scale projects, high customer customization and low annual order volume. The data collection in the case study consisted of a mixed-method approach that includes a dominant qualitative phase followed by an underlying quantitative phase. The collected data was further used in a cost analysis to evaluate how identified factors affected the organisation's total cost of purchasing and whether coordinated purchases can be considered a cost-effective purchasing strategy in this context. The result of the study shows that the purchase price is reduced, and the inventory cost is increased by coordinated purchases for organizations with high customer customization and low annual order volume. The purchasing organization can affect the factors: order volume and design of items, which results in a cost change for the supplier’s factors: manufacturing, materials, transport and administration. The cost analysis shows that a cost reduction is achieved through coordinated purchases for the studied organisation. Some uncertainties about the result arises as coordinated purchases create a new situation for inventory management where cost data is missing. The synergies of coordinated purchasing can further be enhanced by a shift towards single sourcing, centralized purchasing and increased degree of standardization. The main contribution of the study is the identification of factors in the suppliers' operations that are affected by the combination of coordinated purchases and the characteristics of ETO, and how they generate quantity discounts.

The purpose of the study was to identify how to implement a purchasing process in a small company and to investigate which means of transport is most suitable to use at the different delivery distances. The goal was divided into two research questions: • Research question 1: Which purchasing process and purchasing role should the company follow? • Research question 2: Which means of transport are most suitable to use in accordance with the needs of the company? The research method used to answer the goal and the research questions was a literature study and a case study. A literature review was made to understand the subject in a broader context and to gather a case study for empirical results. The case study was conducted at a small company in the construction industry in Södermanland in Sweden, which currently does not have a purchasing process. Based on collected empirical data, the company has encountered some problems. The first problem is that there was no purchasing process to be able to start after which it leads to the company buying in products and testing them if they are customizable and if they do or do not fit, the goods are saved in a containment unit. The second problem is regarding the choice of transportation method for purchased goods in relation to the distance and their needs. Students has, through literature studies, scientific articles and interviews with the company, produced an overview of how to structure and systematize purchasing work, and which means of transport are suitable for the company to be able to collect goods. / Syftet med studien var att identifiera hur man kan implementera en inköpsprocess i ett litet företag samt att undersöka vilket transportmedel som är lämpligt att använda i olika leveransavstånd. Målet var indelat i två forskningsfrågor: • Forskningsfråga 1: Vilken inköpsprocess och inköpsroll ska företaget följa? • Forskningsfråga 2: Vilket transportmedel är mest lämpligt för att använda för transport utefter företagets behov? Forskningsmetoden som används för att besvara på målet och forskningsfrågorna var en litteraturstudie och en fallstudie. Det gjordes en litteraturgranskning för att förstå ämnet i ett bredare sammanhang samt genomfördes en fallstudie för att insamla empiriska data. Fallstudien gjordes hos ett litet företag i byggbranschen i Södermanland i Sverige som inte har en strukturerad inköpsprocess. Utifrån uppsamlad empiri är det känt att företaget stött på några problem. Först och främst finns det ingen inköpsprocess att kunna utgå ifrån, vilket det leder till att företaget för tillfället köper in produkter och testar deras anpassbarhet, och ifall de inte kommer till användning så förvaras de undan. Det andra problemet angår vilket transportmedel som är lönsammast utefter deras behov och transportsträcka. Studenterna har genom litteraturstudier, vetenskapliga artiklar och intervjuer med företaget frambringat en överblick av hur man kan strukturera och systematisera inköpsarbete, samt vilka transportmedel som lämpar sig för företagets behov.

Purpose: The purpose is to investigate and analyse the impact of intra-organizational purchasing synergy on periodic price adjustment (PPA) process. Specifically, paper provides a view on how  purchasing process synergy through an operational IT platform can increase process reengineering opportunities within PPA.  Methodology: So, to fulfil the purpose of the research, the in-depth case study approach is chosen as a strategy that goes along with exploratory nature of the study, aimed at gaining rich insights in the context in which the phenomenon happens. Findings: The findings emphasize the importance of global process standardization and balanced governance among regional affiliates in successful implementation of PPA process synergy. We also identify a set of specific process reengineering needs  in PPA such as company wide information sharing,  standardization of part specifications and cost bases, and joint world-wide cost reduction activity within global buyer community (BGC). Then it is observed that all these process reengineering initiatives will not be possible without solid and flexible IT infrastructure  to improve buyer productivity and support their further development.   Research limitations/implications: Primarily, this study was conducted on single in-depth case study which makes it difficult to completely generalize the findings. Next, there are many factors impacting intra-organizational pricing processes besides global synergy projects. In fact, regional and organizational contexts are of high importance, which are addressed but not analysed in detail in the current study.   Practical implications: Together, the findings contribute to our understanding of the step-by-step pricing activity from industrial customer perspective and how buyers can improve cost competitiveness through various tangible and commercial part cost reduction activities.   Originality/value: Current study has addressed the pricing process from industrial customer perspective. It has two main theoretical contributions: (1) Detailed step-by-step description of PPA process between OEMs and their suppliers happening after SOP; and (2) groundwork for implementation guidance on intra-organizational price revision process synergy.

Modeindustrin karaktäriseras idag av fluktuerande efterfrågan och snabbt växlande trender, vilket gör att modeföretagens effektivitet ständigt sätts på sin spets för att möta marknadens förändringar. Förmågan att ta snabba beslut och anpassa sig till marknaden är idag avgörande för att vara konkurrenskraftig. Detta har bidragit till stora förändringar, inte enbart inom produktion och logistik, utan även inom inköp vilket har fått en allt mer viktig roll. Inköp och Supply Management är idag en vedertagen term i modeindustrin, inte bara på grund av sin finansiella inverkan utan även sin ökade strategiska roll i företaget. Enligt tidigare forskning kan en integrering av strategiskt inköp leda till konkurrensfördelar. Däremot har en brist i litteraturen gällande strategiskt inköp i fast fashion-företag identifierats. Syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka inköpsfunktionens strategiska roll i svenska fast fashion-företag idag. Studien använder en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och resultatet baseras på empirisk data insamlad genom intervjuer. Intervjuerna har genomförts hos tre svenska fast fashion-företag med respektive fem respondenter vilka har omfattande kunskap och förståelse för företagets inköpsfunktion. Baserat på en analys av den empiriska datan gentemot insamlad sekundärdata från tidigare forskning drog slutsatsen att inköpsavdelningen i svenska fast fashion-företag har en viktig roll både ekonomiskt och strategiskt. Detta eftersom inköparnas beslut påverkar och kräver en kommunikation med stora delar av företaget. Vidare tyder studiens resultat på att strategiskt inköp faktiskt förekommer hos svenska fast fashion-företag, dock inte i sin helhet. Detta beror delvis på att strategiskt inköp såsom det definieras i litteraturen inte är ett vedertaget koncept hos de tre företagen. Avslutningsvis konstateras det att den tilltagande relevansen av strategiskt inköp kombinerat med den ökande globala konkurrensen tyder på att inköpsfunktionens strategiska roll kommer fortsätta växa. / Today’s fashion apparel industry is characterized by a volatile demand and fast trends. These toughened conditions have resulted in fashion companies constantly being put on their edge in order to follow the market changes. The ability to make quick decisions and adapt to the market is there fore crucial in order to stay competitive. This has led to extensive changes not only in production and logistics but also within purchasing operations, which in turn serve a more important role than ever. Purchasing and Supply management is nowadays an established termin the industry not only due to its financial effect but also its increasingly strategic role within the company. According to previous research, integrating a strategic approach towards the purchasing function might lead to competitive advantage. However, a shortage of research about strategic purchasing specifically in fast fashion companies has been identified. The purpose of this study was to examine the purchasing function’s current strategic role in Swedish fast fashion companies. The study uses a qualitative research approach and the result is based upon empirical data collected through interviews. These interviews have been conducted with five representatives of three Swedish fast fashion companies that have an extensive knowledge and understanding about the purchasing function. By analysing the empirical results in relation to secondary data obtained from previous research, it was found that the purchasing function in Swedish fast fashion companies holds an important role, both financially and strategically. This strategic importance is derived from the company wide impact of purchasers’ decision-making along with the need for communication between the purchasing function and other significant departments. Furthermore, the results indicate that strategic purchasing does in fact appear in Swedish fast fashion companies, although not to a full extent. This is partially due the fact that the concept of strategic purchasing, as the literature defines it, is not established within these three companies. At last it is concluded that the previously increased relevance of strategic purchasing combined with the cultivating globalisation indicates that the purchasing functions’ strategic role will continue to grow. The thesis is written in Swedish.

Subject of this master‘s thesis is evaluation of potential purchase of steel coils from Asian markets for automotive industry in EU. In the theoretical part are explained basic methods for market analysis and backgrounds, which are necessary for effective purchasing management. Practical part of the work is focused on the analysis of external and internal factors that affect company, comparison of delivery terms between suppliers and risk analysis which is joined with change of supplier. Contribution to this work and results of the study are summarized at the end of the thesis.

Many multinational corporations find themselves frequently in the dichotomous question of whether to make or buy a given component; but when those companies are operating with a global purchasing strategy, oriented to high levels of centralization and dealing simultaneously with the implications of purchasing and producing the same item, the approach to take the decision becomes difficult to find, even with the current literature and practitioners knowledge This master thesis addresses in a comprehensive proposal the way to undertake this kind of make-or-buy decisions. Through the literature review done, regarding global purchasing strategy, purchasing models, supplier selection methods and make-or-buy frameworks; it was found a convenient model to merge those concepts with the empirical experiences of a single case study in the Italcementi Group, one of the largest Cement producers in the world. The model proposed considers both strategic and economic elements and is designed as an iterative algorithm that evaluates several alternatives in order to arrive to the best make-or-buy approach. The methodologies selected and combined to solve the problem are mostly quantitative, but keeping the importance of qualitative elements within the analysis. The outcome of the thesis is a contribution to academicians and practitioners aiming to turn the existing knowledge about make-or-buy decisions into practical solutions for business management.

Bakgrund/problem: Företag blir alltmer utsatta av tryck från intressenter att de ska agera hållbart vid inköp och därmed ökar kraven på att leverantörer ska följa företags code of conduct. Code of conduct är företagets formulering av strategiska risker som ska undvikas. Strategiska risker är beroende av företagets affärsstrategi och intressenter.  Företag måste övervaka att code of conduct följs av leverantörer, annars utsätts företag för risken att deras rykte och värdeskapande förmåga försämras. Inköpsprocessens olika steg är sammankopplade och beroende av beslut som tagits i tidigare steg.   Syfte: Vårt syfte var att utvärdera hur Andritz hanterar strategiska risker i deras inköpsprocess gentemot deras leverantörer samt ge förslag på hur Andritz kan förbättra hanteringen av strategiska risker i inköpsprocessen.   Metod: Vår forskningsansats var en fallstudie med utvärderingsdesign. Insamling av material har samlats in genom företagsdokument och intervjuer utifrån målstyrt urval.   Resultat/Slutsats: Andritz hanterar de ekonomiska riskerna; kvalitet och pris. Det finns förbättringar som Andritz kan göra med sociala och miljörisker. Andritz har tillskillnad från kvalitet och pris, inte specificerat vad de vill få ut av leverantören med arbetsmiljö, arbetssäkerhet, avfall och utsläpp. Andritz behöver tydligt specificera vad de vill få ut av leverantörer samt skapa rutiner för hur kontroller ska genomföras. / Background / problem: Companies have experienced an increased pressure from stakeholders to act more sustainable in their purchasing and therefor costumer demands of supplier compliance of code of conduct have increased. Code of conduct is a way for companies to manage strategic risks, which depends on the business strategy and stakeholders. Companies must monitor supplier’s compliance of code of conduct; otherwise the company will be exposed to the risk of reputational damage and decreased value creation. The different steps in the purchasing process are connected and dependent on decisions that have been made in the previously steps Purpose: Our purpose was to evaluate how Andritz manage strategic risks in purchasing process in relationship to their suppliers, in order to bring suggestions of improvements that Andritz can make to improve the strategic risk management in the purchasing process. Method: Our research approach is an evaluation case study. Collection of data has been collected through business documents and interviews based on target-oriented selection. Results / Conclusion: Our conclusion is that Andritz manage their economic risks as quality and low cost, but improvement can be made when it comes to social and environment risks. Andritz have not specified what they want from the suppliers when it comes to work safety, waste and emission and working environment, and because of the lack of clear social and environmental terms, Andritz have to create specifications of what they want of the supplier’s and also create routines of how controls will be carried out.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2017. / The world over, countries are burdened with existing and emerging diseases and while that affected all nations, sub-Saharan Africa carried the heaviest portion. This filtered to Zimbabwe where a myriad of health challenges are faced. Unavailability of medicines coupled with poor inventory management of these medicines has been prevalent. Insufficient financial resources and increasing cost of healthcare costs is one of the pressing matters. It is also important to note that these challenges are occurring at a time when government is realising the crucial role of procurement in addressing health challenges. Due to the extent, depth, breadth and nature of the health challenges and their criticality in establishing sustainable and affordable health system in Zimbabwe, a case study approach has been adopted where data from questionnaires, interviews, documents and observations were corroborated and triangulated in an effort to bring to the surface deep-seated procurement matters and how they are related to the challenges provided. Thus, in terms of the research findings, it was first revealed that the procurement legislative frameworks and processes are fragmented and not in one place resulting in multiple accountabilities. It was further shown that the framework is inappropriate in a healthcare set-up where issues of speed and flexibility in addressing requirements are paramount. It was also shown that procurement planning being a critical aspect is regrettably and detrimentally missing in procurements. In addition, the selection criteria as set out in the regulations and practiced by individual state health facilities indicated over-reliance on price and that being the case, key aspects such as quality and supply-lead time are missed and yet are very necessary in terms of evaluation among other factors. In the findings, the peripheral role of procurement staff with clinicians being also at the epicentre of purchasing decisions was presented. Perhaps related to that was the inadequacy of procurement skills and competences from the procurement personnel. Last on the findings, financing and the frequency of disbursement was unmatched with hospital requirements and thus resulting in unavailability of adequate medicines and equipment. / D