<p>Course:        Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 ECTS</p><p> </p><p>Topic:          The Impact of Strategic Purchasing on an Organization’s Profitability</p><p>                     A Case Study of Ghana Telecom Company        </p><p>                                         </p><p> </p><p>Supervisor:     Mats Viimne</p><p>Background:  The purchasing function contributes directly to the operating results and</p><p>                       profitability of an organization. It has been argued out that, the fact that</p><p>                       purchasing is responsible for spending more than 60 percent of an organization’s    </p><p>                       sales dollars highlights the profit-enhancing potentials of the purchasing on an</p><p>                       organization.</p><p> </p><p>                                 </p><p>Problem:       How can strategic purchasing affect the profitability of an organization?</p><p> </p><p>Purpose:       The purpose of this research is to describe how strategic purchasing impact on</p><p>                      the profitability of Ghana Telecom Company.    </p><p> </p><p>Method:      The author collected both primary and secondary data in order to fulfill the  </p><p>                    purpose of the paper; the primary data was gathered directly from relevant sources</p><p>                    in Ghana Telecom Company, through telephone and email interviews. The</p><p>                    secondary data was obtained from indirect sources, such as textbooks, articles, and</p><p>                    websites. The method used can be described as a qualitative.</p><p> </p><p>Conclusion: An organization’s purchasing strategy is becoming recognized as a strategic weapon</p><p>                    equal in importance to its marketing, conversion and finance strategies as pointed</p><p>                     out by Dobler et al. Ghana Telecom Company’s strategic approach to buying include</p><p>                    multiple sourcing, short-term contracting and competitive bidding as a measure</p><p>                    towards increasing its profitability by being able to source at the lowest cost, and</p><p>                    having other sourcing alternatives, which leads to cost reduction.</p>

Course:        Bachelor Thesis in Business Administration, 15 ECTS   Topic:          The Impact of Strategic Purchasing on an Organization’s Profitability                      A Case Study of Ghana Telecom Company                                                     Supervisor:     Mats Viimne Background:  The purchasing function contributes directly to the operating results and                        profitability of an organization. It has been argued out that, the fact that                        purchasing is responsible for spending more than 60 percent of an organization’s                            sales dollars highlights the profit-enhancing potentials of the purchasing on an                        organization.                                     Problem:       How can strategic purchasing affect the profitability of an organization?   Purpose:       The purpose of this research is to describe how strategic purchasing impact on                       the profitability of Ghana Telecom Company.       Method:      The author collected both primary and secondary data in order to fulfill the                       purpose of the paper; the primary data was gathered directly from relevant sources                     in Ghana Telecom Company, through telephone and email interviews. The                     secondary data was obtained from indirect sources, such as textbooks, articles, and                     websites. The method used can be described as a qualitative.   Conclusion: An organization’s purchasing strategy is becoming recognized as a strategic weapon                     equal in importance to its marketing, conversion and finance strategies as pointed                      out by Dobler et al. Ghana Telecom Company’s strategic approach to buying include                     multiple sourcing, short-term contracting and competitive bidding as a measure                     towards increasing its profitability by being able to source at the lowest cost, and                     having other sourcing alternatives, which leads to cost reduction.

Small and medium sized companies are important to the European economy and considered as the true backbone of the European economy, being primarily responsi-ble for wealth and economic growth. Further, the purchasing function of small and medium sized companies had become more and more important to firms within the creating of competitive advantages. Additional, former research emphasizes the need of companies to engage in closer relationships in order to survive in nowadays business environments. These three issues, - SMEs, its purchasing performance and the relationships the small and medium sized firms are engaged with are interrelated and therefore the essences of the thesis. The thesis is limited to the manufacturing industry due to the potential wide area of small and medium sized companies. The purpose of the thesis is to examine the purchasing practices of small and me-dium sized enterprises with a focus on strategic considerations and supplier relation-ships. The research project is developed with four single case studies. Participating companies were two small sized manufacturing companies and two medium sized manufac-turing companies, defined according to the definition of the European Commission. The study is built on a critical review of former literature and research findings within the purchasing area and the area of small and medium sized companies. The find-ings from literature review (frame of references) and the findings from the empirical study were connected in order to fulfill the purpose of the thesis as well as the developed research questions. In the analysis, the characteristics of SMEs purchasing process were outlined. Evi-dence for strategic consideration were found and the characteristics of the companies relationships where established. Small and medium sized enterprises have developed its purchasing performance po-sitively in the comparison to former research findings. By using business technology systems, strategic planning and deliberations and finally through building close and long-term relationships, manufacturing SMEs found a suitable ways to perform its purchasing activities successful and found its place in sophisticated supply chains.

Bakgrund &amp; Problemdiskussion: Inköpsfunktionen har på senare år fått en ökad strategisk betydelse inom organisationer och har idag en mer aktiv roll i att skapa och bidra till konkurrensfördelar. Inköpsfunktionen är en viktig del i kedjan från leverantör till kund och bidrar till att denna inte bryts. Inköpsfunktionen har därmed fått axla en mer komplex och strategisk roll som kan antas påverka inköpsfunktionens arbetssätt och struktur. Sambandet mellan dessa ses som komplext där roll anses vara en första bestämmande faktor som påverkar hur arbetssätt och struktur utformas. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att kartlägga en strategisk inköpsfunktions roller, arbetssätt och struktur samt utifrån denna kartläggning identifiera problem och förändringsmöjligheter. Metod: Denna studies resultat är baserat på en kvalitativ fallstudie för ett fallföretag inom verkstadsindustrin. Totalt genomfördes 15 intervjuer med medarbetare både inom och utanför fallföretagets avdelning för strategiskt inköp. Resultat: Studien visar på att en avdelning för strategiskt inköp utför arbetsuppgifter som är operativa, stödjande samt strategiska där det operativa arbetet inte är önskvärt av fallföretaget. Det är heller inte något som beskrivs vara del av en strategisk inköpares arbete enligt teorin. Tre roller har identifierats utifrån detta resonemang; Firefighter, Leverantörsansvarig samt Leverantörsutvecklare där den förstnämnda inkräktar på de andra två. En anledning till varför det operativa arbetet tar sådan plats är att gränserna mellan vad som är operativt, stödjande och strategiskt arbete inte är helt tydliga. Det finns arbetssätt som bemöter den oönskade rollen som Firefighter men det tar tid att införa rutiner. Vidare har studien även visat att strukturen bidrar till den strategiska inköpsfunktionens strategiska fokus. / Background &amp; Problem definition: In recent years the purchasing department has been the subject of increased strategic importance and has taken an active role in creating and contributing to competitive advantage. This due to the fact that the department is an important part of the supplier-customer-chain and contributes to make sure that it does not break. Consequently, the department has taken a more complex and strategic role and this can be assumed has had an impact on the department’s work practices and structure. The connection between role, work practices and structure is complex where the role is the determinant variable and affects how work practices and structure are designed. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe a strategic purchasing department’s roles, work practices and structure and to identify problems and potential changes from the description. Method: The result of this study is based on a qualitative case study of an organisation that operates in the engineering industry. In total, 15 interviews were performed with employees both at the strategic purchasing department and other departments in the organisation. Results: The study has shown that a department for strategic purchasing performs tasks that are operative, supportive and strategic where the operative work is not described in theory as part of the strategic buyer’s work description. It is also not wanted by the organisation. Three roles have been identified this; Firefighter, Supplier-Responsible and Supplier-Developer where the first of them intrudes on the other two. One reason for the existence of operative work is that the difference between what is operative, supportive and strategic work is not always clear. There are ways of undermining the unwanted role Firefighter but implementing routines takes time. Furthermore the study has shown that structure contributes to the strategic focus of the strategic purchasing department.

Titel: Competitive advantage through strategic sourcing: A SME perspective. SME: The size of an enterprise can be measured by its employment, sales, or profit (Tam etal, 2007). Small and medium sized enterprises range between 10 and 250 employees. FiveSwedish SMEs was used for the multi case study. Background: The competitive market situation has created a shift in companies’ strategythinking. Strategies focus increasingly on core activities and business development. Oneeffect of this is that companies choose to outsource activities they don´t consider to be corebusiness (Van Weele, 2010; Thrulogachantar and Zailani, 2011). Purpose: The purpose was to investigate strategic sourcing plans that SMEs can apply toincrease their competitive advantage. Methodology: The research was conducted through a qualitative study with a deductiveapproach. A multi-case study was made on five SMEs in Kronobergslän, Sweden, with twosemi-structured interviews at each company. Result and conclusion: The investigation resulted in a current view of SMEs sourcing andsuitable recommendations for SMEs to direct their purchasing activities to strategic sourcing.The process of implementing a strategic plan for SMEs can be seen as relatively difficult butthere are purchasing activities that can be improved by a strategic thinking. To keep in mind isthat supplier’s performance matter, but it is the resources of suppliers that are the maincompetitive advantage and it is in this area where supplier development and sourcingstrategies should focus. Further research: However further research could investigate strategic sourcing in adifferent approach, both from a supplier and customer perspective

<p>Small and medium sized companies are important to the European economy and considered as the true backbone of the European economy, being primarily responsi-ble for wealth and economic growth. Further, the purchasing function of small and medium sized companies had become more and more important to firms within the creating of competitive advantages. Additional, former research emphasizes the need of companies to engage in closer relationships in order to survive in nowadays business environments.</p><p>These three issues, - SMEs, its purchasing performance and the relationships the small and medium sized firms are engaged with are interrelated and therefore the essences of the thesis. The thesis is limited to the manufacturing industry due to the potential wide area of small and medium sized companies.</p><p>The purpose of the thesis is to examine the purchasing practices of small and me-dium sized enterprises with a focus on strategic considerations and supplier relation-ships.</p><p>The research project is developed with four single case studies. Participating companies were two small sized manufacturing companies and two medium sized manufac-turing companies, defined according to the definition of the European Commission.</p><p>The study is built on a critical review of former literature and research findings within the purchasing area and the area of small and medium sized companies. The find-ings from literature review (frame of references) and the findings from the empirical study were connected in order to fulfill the purpose of the thesis as well as the developed research questions.</p><p>In the analysis, the characteristics of SMEs purchasing process were outlined. Evi-dence for strategic consideration were found and the characteristics of the companies relationships where established.</p><p>Small and medium sized enterprises have developed its purchasing performance po-sitively in the comparison to former research findings. By using business technology systems, strategic planning and deliberations and finally through building close and long-term relationships, manufacturing SMEs found a suitable ways to perform its purchasing activities successful and found its place in sophisticated supply chains.</p>

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. As such, it is in the public domain, and under the provisions of Title 17, United States Code, Section 105, it may not be copyrighted. / MBA Professional Report / In an effort to align sources with requirements, the Department of Defense has implemented initiatives that mirror industry's strategic sourcing practices. These initiatives include Consolidated Purchasing, Commodity Councils and Regionalization. This project will examine a successful Commodity Council (CC), a failed CC, and one in the early stages of development. We will seek characteristics common to both successful and unsuccessful councils, as well as characteristics that differentiate the outcomes. We will include a brief history of strategic sourcing as a long-term supply-chain management solution in the private sector, the impetus behind AF implementation of strategic sourcing through CCs; associated transactions costs, and finally, the resource management practices necessary to move beyond theory to practical application. The results are illustrated in a case study which will provide a template for successful implementation.

This study aims to investigate reasons for variation in accuracy between different forecast methods by studying the choice of methods, learning processes, biases and opinions within the firms using them; enabling us to provide recommendations of how to improve accuracy within each forecast method. Eleven Swedish and international companies that are regularly forecasting commodity price-levels have been interviewed. Since there is a cultural aspect to the development of forecast methods; the authors have chosen to conduct a qualitative study, using a semi-structured interview technique that enables us to illustrate company-specific determinants. The results show that choice of methods, learning processes, biases and opinions all have potentially substantial implications on the accuracy achieved. The phenomena’s individual implication on accuracy varies amongst method-group.

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.

Purchasing has gone from an administrative task to a strategic activity. As such, firms adopt purchasing as a corporate function to set up rules and processes in order to standardize how purchasing is to be carried out by business units. This has the benefit of consolidating spend towards a fewer number of suppliers to be used throughout the entire organization and achieve great cost savings on a corporate level. Not complying to these rules and processes, however, will offset the benefits associated with strategic purchasing. A consequence of non-compliance is a large supply base which should not be the case if established processes are followed. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the procurement process of a Swedish multinational organization in a case study setting, which applies strategic purchasing whilst reporting a large supply base. Hence, the authors aim to identify the main challenge in the procurement process. Additionally, this thesis seeks to find an explanation to the challenge by identifying the underlying contributing factors. The main challenge was discovered to be Maverick Buying, a phenomenon limited in research. Maverick Buying is the off-contract purchasing of goods and services and therefore bypass established processes, rules, and selected suppliers. At the case company four forms of Maverick Buying was found where the underlying factors contributing to them were communication, structures, purchasing tools, involvement, control mechanisms, and lack of understanding the procurement process. This thesis contributes to a greater understanding of the phenomenon and what causes its existence. / Inköp har gått från att vara en administrativ uppgift till att vara en strategisk uppgift. Därför inkluderas numera inköp som en funktion på koncernnivå hos företag för att utveckla och implementera en standardiserad process för hur inköp skall utföras genom hela företaget. Standardisering av inköp medför fördelen av att inköpskostnader konsolideras mot ett få antal leverantörer och därmed leder till stora kostnadsbesparingar på koncernnivå. Däremot, om inköp sker utanför den standardiserade inköpsprocessen kan fördelarna med strategiskt inköp aldrig att realiseras. Konsekvenserna blir därmed en större bas av leverantörer, vilket är motsatsen till om den tänkta inköpsprocessen hade följts. Syftet med denna uppsats är att, genom en fallstudie, undersöka inköpsprocessen hos ett svenskt multinationellt företag som utövar strategiskt inköp men samtidigt redovisar en stor bas av leverantörer. Författarnas mål är därmed att identifiera det huvudsakliga problemet i inköpsprocessen. Uppsatsen försöker även att finna förklaringar för varför problemet existerar samt de underliggande anledningarna till dessa förklaringarna. Författarna fann att det största problemet med inköpsprocessen var Maverick Buying, ett fenomen med begränsad forskning. Maverick Buying innebär att inköp av varor och tjänster sker utanför förhandlade leverantörskontrakt och etablerade inköpsprocesser. Specifikt hittade författarna fyra olika former av Maverick Buying, där de underliggande anledningarna var kommunikation, kontrollmekanismer och bristande förståelse för inköpsprocessen. Uppsatsen adderar till samt utvecklar förståelsen av fenomenet Maverick Buying och vad som orsakar det.