From the article: "Project execution in the construction industry faces major challenges, e.g. difficulty in coordination and cooperation. Operational procurement during project execution is no exception. In this paper we construct a maturity model, based on earlier work, consisting of six dimensions (goal, control, process, organization, information, technology) and five maturity stages (transactional-oriented, commercial-oriented, coordination, internal-optimized, external-optimized). The model can be used to determine the level of procurement maturity for each of the dimensions, and for the determination of a strategy for growth in the construction industry. With input from a major construction firm in the Netherlands, through simulating tooling, the model is evaluated for its contribution to growth in operational excellence. Results of the simulation show support for a relation between maturity growth and increased operational excellence." Recommended Citation Xing, Xiaochun; Versendaal, Johan; van den Akker, Marjan; and De Bevere, Bastiaan, "Maturity of Operational Procurement in the Construction Industry: A Business/IT-Alignment Perspective" (2011). BLED 2011 Proceedings. Paper 22. http://aisel.aisnet.org/bled2011/22 Affiliation: Xing Xiaochun - Swets Information Services, Netherlands; Johan Versendaal - Utrecht University, Netherlands; HU University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands; Marjan van den Akker - Utrecht University, Netherlands; Bastiaan De Bevere - Ballast Nedam, Netherlands.
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This paper provides guidance for developing risk-based management tools to improve the procurement (purchasing) performance of SMEs. Extant academic literature only offers little support on developing such tools and does not consider the wide variety of SMEs. The paper defines a procurement tool for SMEs as any structured managerial aid that one or more persons use for analysing, structuring or influencing the management and effective execution of activities within SME procurement processes. In the context of this research such tools are directed at identifying risks or uncertainties in procurement processes and at improving such processes through effective analysis and decision-making. The paper draws from SME and entrepreneurial literature related to strategy, sustainability, innovation or risk management, and from literature related to procurement management and maturity grids.It discusses literature on developing management tools and criteria on assessing the quality of such tools. It discusses key aspects and organisational variables related to the application and adoption of such tools. It then presents a five-step instrument with guidelines and criteria to develop risk-based procurement management tools for entrepreneurs and SMEs. These guidelines are described as to be used in action research with student researchers and company research participants.
In Germany, public transport organizations are mainly owned by public authorities. Procurement in Hamburg involves the buses and infrastructure instead of transport services. The procurement process for buses and infrastructure is performed by the transport companies. Such processes must meet German and European public regulations. Therefore, public tender and procurement procedures for buying buses by German Public Transport Operators (PTOs) can be more complex and lengthier than procurement by private PTOs in other countries. As a result, the public transport companies are not primarily driven by profitability, but also by obligations towards the public and political aims. Obligations can comprise to provide affordable, environmentallyfriendly transport services for the citizens. In Hamburg, the public authority incorporates obligations (requirements) for the e-buses in their tendering documents. In Utrecht, as well as most of the rest of the Netherlands, public transport is carried out by private companies, under an operating contract (concession) with a public transport authority. In Utrecht, this authority is the province of Utrecht. The e-buses are the operators’ private property and they are obliged to account to the province of Utrecht for their implementation of public transport. When the province of Utrecht procures the operation of public transport services by means of a European tendering process, private transport companies can offer a bid for this tender. Both, the authority and operators, want to provide good public transport for their customers, but they both have different goals. The operators want to earn a reasonable profit margin on public transport, while the authority wants to fulfil certain public policy goals. The tendering process is where these two come together. It is a strong mechanism to get the best ‘value for money’ out of the market – for example, the most public transport, or the highest number of e-buses running in the area, within the available budget of the public transport authority.
