SPMA7066 Coursework with two Assignments: A Business Report and a Report (power point) 1. Business Report with a Word Limit of 3,000 Learning outcomes assessed: At the end of a module students will be expected to be able to: 1. Critically evaluate the main theoretical perspectives within Business Strategy
and relate these to practical situations within the area of procurement. 2. Critically evaluate the strategic role of the purchasing function within organisations. 3. Critically evaluate the sourcing options available to managers and understand the criteria that affect their suitability. 4. Critically analyse the factors affecting procurement management and leadership, and how these influence a firm’s long-term strategic planning and choices Report Assignment Brief A critical review and discussion of the role of strategic Procurement in contemporary organisations with global operations Background There are two ends of a spectrum when it comes to procurement management. On the one side, is the professional involved in all procurement decisions, from the first meeting to the last. At the other end of the scale, procurement as ‘buyers’, seen as a more clerical role with little or no involvement before or following the actual purchase. The alignment of procurement staff to the more professional end of the spectrum has long been predicted by the industry. The question is whether this has led to fundamental changes in procurement culture, or whether it is still in progress with little changes from the traditional role of the buyer. Report Assignment Task: Business Report (word-count limit of 3,000 words) Your task is three-fold. In a 3000-word report, you are required to critically analyse and discuss the following: • Firstly, provide a well-referenced definition of the role of the procurement professional (LO1). • Secondly, research and report on the current practice of several named organisations of your choice, providing a range of supporting evidence to show how the organisation works in this area (LO1, LO2, LO4). • Finally, following this investigation your report should evaluate the current situation and provide a detailed conclusion with recommendations for future development in your chosen organisations (LO2, LO3) 2. Presentation Presentation Assignment Brief Background Small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are looking to professionalise procurement at an early stage of the business’s growth, based on a survey conducted by Wax Digital, Supply Chain Digital reported. From a survey of 260 procurement experts, 77% stated that procurement was needed by the time the company had 500 supplier contracts, with 72% calling it necessary once 500 invoices per month needed to be processed. Procurious noted from the survey that procurement adaptation in SMEs is more likely to be reactionary, with 48% surveyed stating that implementation was due to a negative situation, while only 31% said they rolled out procurement as a proactive step. Rising costs (68%) and inefficient and labour-intensive processes (45%) were the highest noted reasons for adopting procurement, according to the survey. Source: Corcentric, J., U., Finding the Right Fit and Function for Your Procurement Vision, Available at: https://spendmatters.com/2019/05/29/finding-the-right-fit-and-function-for-yourprocurement-vision/, [Accessed: 06/06/2019] The Presentation Assignment Task (10 – 12 slides): You are working for a London based strategic consultancy organisation of your choice and have been asked to make a presentation for a small and middle size enterprise (SME) which is planning to review its procurement function and adapt it to fit the challenges it is facing in its markets. You will produce and record a 20 minutes Power Point presentation discussing the merits and limitations of embedding the procurement function at senior management level. This presentation must include the following elements: • A critical evaluation of the merits and limitations of both tactical and strategic procurement • A critical assessment of your selected organisation’s sourcing options and the related critical success factors • A discussion of current best practices and major developments in the procurement field • Bearing in mind your selected firm’s long-term strategic planning and choices, you are required to discuss how the selected procurement function should be redesigned for improved medium- and long-term efficiency.