Critical internal factors influencing the centralization of stock procurement processes in a South African municipality

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was threefold: 1) to examine the internal factors influencing centralization of stock procurement processes, 2) to assess the relationship between demographic factors and staff understanding of Information Communication Technology (ICT) with performance improvement, and 3) to examine the relationship between prevention of corruption with management commitment. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 82 members of staff from procurement division in a South African municipality, with specific reference from the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. A census sampling method was used and a Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) software was used to analyse the data. The results indicate that ICT, planning tools, communication tools, inbound logistics, and staff competency are the most contributing factors influencing decentralized procurement process of stocks in a South African municipality. Although a hypothesis between performance improvement and gender was rejected, the study showed significance relationships between performance improvement with qualification (p=.035), experience (p=.000), and age (p=.000). It further proved that there is a significance relationship between understanding the ICT and performance improvement (p=.031) and that prevention of corruption is significantly related with management commitment (p=.001). Based on the results, the study recommends that a supporting internal control should be established to ensure that the centralization of stocks by procurement is executed by individuals with clear understanding of inbound logistics, clear communication, commitment, and comprehensive planning. Since the findings of this study are based on 82 members of staff from one South African municipality, it is recommended that a larger sample size may be used in future studies in order to improve accuracy of the results.