Estrategias

Aug. 2009, Volume 8, No.8 (Serial No.74)

China-USA Business Review, ISSN 1537-1514, USA

The impact of strategic sourcing and E-procurement on supply chain performance management
Kanyarat Thawiwinyu1,2, Ungul Laptaned3
(1. GSK Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Bangkok 10900, Thailand; 2. Japan Network Consultant (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Bangkok 10900, Thailand; 3. Logistics EngineeringDepartment, School of Engineering, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok 10400, Thailand)

Abstract: Major changes are currently taking place within purchasing functions of manufacturing firms. Purchasing is shifting its focus from daily procurement activities to long term, value-adding purchasing and supply chain initiatives. At the same time, it is responding to the challenges andopportunities of electronic procurement (E-procurement), which refers to the utilization of the internet to buy and sell products and services. The responsibilities of purchasing have changed markedly over the last few decades, purchasing focused heavily on the transactional elements of the procurement process. Purchasing was accepted as a support function that provides for the sourcing needs of otherdepartments. The development of materials management and introduction of new manufacturing technologies in the 1970s brought pre-and post-production flows closer together. The manufacturing-purchasing interface strengthened, creating a need to align the buying cycle with production requirements. Purchasing started to create a “culture” that could help it to attain a more proactive role in thecompany and start taking responsibility in product design and development activities. The research reported here was undertaken to understand the impact of purchasing on this thesis supply chain performance by (1) investigating current and emerging E-procurement practices, (2) identifying the critical elements of strategic sourcing, and (3) assessing the impact of strategic souring and E-procurementon firm and supply management performance through empirical investigation. Key words: supply chain; performance measurement; information technology; international procurement office

1. Introduction
The role of purchasing has also changed considerably due to the advances in information technologies (IT) and information systems (IS). Web-based information systems enable several purchasingrelated activities to be managed electronically. Internet purchasing, business-to-business (B2B) marketplaces, and reverse auctions provide possibilities for E-procurement applications. This has enabled purchasing to shift its focus from day-to-day activities to strategic tasks, which can help companies attain success in the marketplace. The changing role of purchasing coincides with the growingacceptance of supply chain management. A supply chain refers to “the network of facilities and activities that perform the functions of product development, procurement of
Kanyarat Thawiwinyu, Master, GSK Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Japan Network Consultant (Thailand) Co., Ltd; research fields: transport, logistics and supply chain management, marketing management. Ungul Laptaned, Ph.D., associateprofessor, Logistics Engineering Department, School of Engineering, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce; research fields: logistics and supply chain management, manufacturing and industrial engineering. 8

The impact of strategic sourcing and E-procurement on supply chain performance management

material from vendors, the movement of materials between facilities, the manufacturing ofproducts, the distribution of finished goods to customers and after-sales support” (Mabert & Venkataramanan, 1998). Supply chain represents all activities associated with the transformation and flow of goods and services from the sources of raw materials to end users (Ballou, et al., 2000). Consecutively, supply chain management is “the integration of key business processes from end user through...