The effect of late payments on suppliers' financial performance : a case study of a government department's supply chain in the Eastern Cape

Abstract

Using a case study of the government department supply chain in the Eastern Cape, the proposed study examines the effects of late payments on suppliers' financial performance. It does this by giving foundation information, such as the nearness of the issue to be investigated, the goals for performing the research, the research objectives, and the questions to be replied to through the research and the research methodology. The research goes into detail, discussing the appropriate framework, the conceptual framework of SCM within the public sector in South Africa, noteworthiness and inspiration to research, and the research's confinements. It wraps up by laying out the research's system. The research used conceptual and theoretical reviews to understand the nature of the problem. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used to determine how a late payment affects a supplier's financial performance. The data were analyzed using the latest SPSS software package. Convenience sampling was used. The population is 362 staff and the target sample consisted of 120 finance management and supply chain management department members and 70 chosen suppliers in the Eastern Cape Province. The study targeted a sample size of 190. The findings show that SCM has been fully deployed in all government agencies and that the SCM approach has been used to develop technologies, but the lack of swift payment is hindering their effectiveness. The study concluded that redesigning and integrating departmental procurement and finance training courses across departments to ensure strong SCM principles are implemented should be enforced. Moreover, there should be proper monitoring and evaluation of all tendering contracts because it affects service delivery. A well monitored contract process will ensure that the service providers complete their contracts as and when due. Also, it was concluded that most concerns in facilitating invoices are delays in submitting invoices by suppliers and submitting incomplete banking details by suppliers. Likewise, it is concluded from the findings of the study that there were contradictions in the information provided by suppliers at other times. Thus, the study recommends innovative policies that will enhance swift payments through automated invoicing and painstaking monitoring of processes for the supply chain department.