Purchasing and supply competency framework – a South African perspective

Abstract

The internal support function of purchasing and supply management has evolved into a strategically important human-centric discipline on which a business’s effectiveness is strongly dependent. In South Africa there is a dearth of suitably trained and competent purchasing and supply professionals (PSPs) and no current framework to assist PSPs to identify lacking competencies. Due to this shortage, the primary objective of this study was to make a contribution to the development of purchasing and supply competency framework for PSPs in the private sector of the South African business environment. The competency framework is based on the specific purchasing and supply objectives PSPs may be assigned, the purchasing and supply processes that they may be involved in and the different purchasing and supply management activities they are predominantly involved in. A theoretical framework was developed by the researcher through conducting a traditional literature review on purchasing and supply as an internal management function and the different purchasing and supply competencies. Subsequently, an anonymous online self-administered questionnaire was developed to gather primary quantitative data on the competencies PSPs use to perform their tasks and responsibilities efficiently and effectively. Through exploratory factor analyses and 60 structural equation models, the sub-category competencies that contribute significantly to the overall competence of PSPs were identified. The final framework of competencies will assist PSPs in identifying the technical-, internal and external enterprise-, interpersonal- and strategic competencies they require to perform their tasks and responsibilities efficiently and effectively.