TABLE OF CONTENT
DECLARATION
APPROVAL ii
TABLE OF CONTENT iii
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Background of the Study 2
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Purpose of the Study 4
1.4 Objectives of the Study 4
1.5 Research Questions 5
1.6 Significance of Study 5
1.7 Scope of the Study 6
1.8 Conceptual Frameworks 7
CHAPTER TWO 8
LITERATURE REVIEW 8
2.0 Introduction 8
2.1 Supply Chain 8
2.2 UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT OF E-PROCUREMENT 9
2.3 Effects of e-procurement on the supply chain management 16
2.4 Limitations of e-procurement to organisations 22
CHAPTER THREE 25
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 25
3.0 Introduction 25
3.1 Research Methodology 25
3.2 Research Design 26
3.3 Population of the study and sample size 26
3.4 Sampling design and procedures 27
III
3.5 Data Analysis .27
CHAPTER FOUR 28
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS 28
4.0 Introduction 28
4.2 Background information of Respondents 28
4.3 Respondents relation 29
4.4 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 30
4.5 VERIFICATION OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 30
4.6 DATA COLLECTED FROM QUESTIONNAIRES 31
CHAPTER FIVE 46
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 46
5.0 SUMMARY 46
5.1 DISCUSSION 46
5.2 CONCLUSION 47
5.3 RECOMMENDATION 48
5.4 CONCLUSION 52
5.5 LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH 52
REFERENCES 54
APPENDICES 57
APPENDIX I: RESEARCH QUESTION 57
QUESTIONNAIRE TO THE RESPONDENTS 57
APPENDIX II 62
ACTIVITY PLAN OF SCHEDULES 62
APPENDIX III 63
BUDGET 63
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction A supply chain can be defined as three or more organizations directly linked by one or more of the flows of products, services, finances, and information from a source to a customer (Mentzer et aL, 2001). Management of the supply chain is essentially management of the relationships and activities among the member organizations. These relationships range from single transactions to complex interdependent relationships. As the business environment becomes more complex, organizations recognize that many benefits can be obtained from closer, long-term relationships (Ganesan, 1994). Day (2000) ventures to say that committed relationships are among the most durable of advantages because of their inherent barriers to competition. The goal of supply chain management is for member organizations to work together in close, long-term relationships to increase the competitive advantage of the supply chain as a whole (Mentzer et al., 2001). The phenomenon referred to as “the next business revolution” — the nexus of computers, networks, people, and business goals for purposes of selling goods, services, and information is an innovative way to cut costs, grow markets and profitability, and improve shareholder return relative to traditional business methods (Palmisano, 1998). This combination is the business phenomenon referred to as e-procurement: the trade of goods and services that takes place electronically such as over the Internet (Dolber et al., 1998). The ratio of online business trade to traditional channels is projected to vary greatly by industry, from a high of over 20 percent for computing to just over 1 percent for industrial equipment (Goldman Sachs & Company, 1999). While the downturn in e-procurement stock valuations in 2000 resulted in the failure of many e-procurement ventures, the growth in B2B e-procurement is still on track. In 2000, the value of worldwide B2B Internet commerce sales transactions surpassed $433 billion, a 189 percent increase over 1999 sales transactions (Pastore, 2001). The emergence of business on the Internet brings a new set of challenges to coordinating supply chain activities. Firms conducting business electronically face several differences in the e-procurement business environment that may have a significant impact on managing relationships in the supply chain.
