Building collaborative and cross-functional procurement operations in a global technology company

Abstract

This Thesis deals with building collaborative and seamlessly cooperating procurement operations between the service business unit procurement and its frontline units at the case company. The starting point for the development project was the precisely given need by the case company. In the past, its frontline units independently managed both purchasing and sourcing operations in the past. This was an effective arrangement earlier in time but after introducing more ambitious growth targets in 2022, it became clear that procurement and the supply base must be managed in a more controlled and compliant way. Therefore, the target for development was to support the building of collaborative cross-functional procurement operations.

The theoretical framework of the thesis was built on the topics of organizational behavior, change management and procurement competence development. The theoretical framework also touched on understanding the enablers and prerequisites for a trustful collaboration between different organizations in a multinational virtual environment. The thesis utilized qualitative research and development methods, such as themed discussions, interviews, and observation. To get insight into the perception of collaboration, an online survey was conducted at the end of the project.

No organizational change impacts were in the scope of the thesis, but the target was to create a framework for a well-working network between the business unit procurement and the selected pilot frontline. The development work managed to deliver partly the target of a model for building a collaborative network and offered some best practices for setting up a network. It also emphasized the importance of building trust among the stakeholders and having the management support clear as a prerequisite. The thesis also resulted in approaching the frontlines to understand procurement maturity.