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CHAPTER 5
SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
organisation is engaged in local procurement as well as the depth of its
commitment. Three areas that can be included in the self-assessment process
are:
• Assessment of supporting structures, such as existing policies, alignment of
programmes and the extent of available human resources.
• Systems and processes that support local procurement programmes.
• Development support for local small to medium enterprises.
A questionnaire with a scoring system may be used for self-assessment. The
questionnaire should be completed by senior managers, managers in the
procurement department and end-users. This is because a commitment to local
procurement requires personnel across various departments to work together
collaboratively and to think creatively.
5.7.1.2 Determine the Rationale for Using Local Suppliers
At this stage, the basis for embarking on local procurement should be aligned
to the organisation’s business objectives. Commonly, these reasons are
known as the key business drivers. For instance, the primary motivation of
some organisations may be to meet a legislative, government or contractual
requirement. However, for other organisations, the reasons may be more
strategic, such as to optimise local economic benefits through corporate social
responsibility. When the rationale for local procurement is well articulated, it
encourages innovation within the organisation. It also illustrates to personnel that
this change in doing business is important for the success of the organisation.
Table 5.3 illustrates the dimensions involved in some of the most common
business drivers for local procurement programmes.
Table 5.3:
Key local procurement programme business drivers [24].
Local procurement
programme drivers
Benefits
Questions to consider
Government
regulations
or contract
requirements
• Company is compliant
with agreements,
contracts and/or
expectations.
• Increased government
support.
• Does the government
require local
procurement?
• Is local procurement
becoming an issue that
the government may
require of companies?
• Do the tender documents
require sub-contractors to
use local businesses?