ASSESSMENT OF PURCHASING PRACTICE AND ITS CHALLENGES IN THE CASE OF ETHIOPIAN CONSTRUCTION WORKS CORPORATION

Abstract

Purchasing is a means by which an organization acquire good and services in a scientific manner. In ECWC More than two third of the organization annual budget is spend through Purchasing. Every activity of the corporation is highly attached with the performance of procurement and property administration. Thus, failure of the purchasing activity has a direct impact on the failure of all other sectors performance. This study focused on the assessment of purchasing practice and its challenges in the case of ECWC. The purpose of the study was to assess the performance of procurement main department, the satisfaction level of the end users and the challenges that affect the practice of purchasing. For the accomplishment of this, the study was employed through descriptive designee in which the selection of respondents is carried out by using simple random sampling technique. 89 respondents are considered as a sample unit. Both primary and secondary data are used. For primary data, both structured and unstructured type questionnaires were prepared.The performance of the purchasing activity is poor. The workflow is too long and has bureaucratic nature which is not flexible for generation of new idea. The section or the department that is very responsible for the performance of procurement is not fully authorized to make decision in every purchasing stage and method. Besides, the qualification of the staff and training held is not well enough to fill the gap. The negotiation, specification and contract management are also too poor.However, some of the observed gaps should be filled. This needs commitment from leaders of the corporation to improve the purchasing practice and resolve challenges for sound purchasing performance.