Procurement’s contribution to the strategic alignment of an organisation: findings from an empirical research study

The primary objective of this paper is to investigate procurement’s strategic alignment from two distinct views. The first focuses on top-down, vertical, alignment of procurement with organisation strategy and business strategy (OBS), by drawing from the procurement personnel’s awareness or perception of OBS, therefore establishing the connection between the strategic nature of procurement and the operational objectives, goals, reached by procurement. The second focuses on the horizontal integration and alignment of procurement strategy with the supply base (SB), finance, as well as, marketing and sales (M&S) strategies. The researchers followed a qualitative research methodology and employed semi-structured interview questions to interview ten procurement representatives of enterprises ranging from Small, Medium, and Micro to multinational organisations, operating within South Africa. The research findings reveal the strategic role of procurement is to manage the inter-departmental, functional, strategic alignment and integration to ensure the strategic goals of cost reduction, quality, and delivery complement OBS.