Assessment On Factors For Adoption Of E Procurement In Public Sector

RESEARCH REPORT

ON

ASSESSMENT ON FACTORS FOR ADOPTION OF

E-PROCUREMENT IN PUBLIC SECTOR

A CASE STUDY OF MINISTRY OF WATER AND IRRIGATION

BY: MONGEZA, MYOBHOZI

BBA PLM III 2015/2016

A Research Report to be submitted to the school of business at Mzumbe University in Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Bachelor Degree in Business Administration- Procurement and Logistics Management-BBA PLM

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This Research Report is copyright material protected under the Berne Convention, the Copyright Act of 1999 and other international and national enactments, in that behalf, on intellectual property. It may not be reproduced by any means, in full or in part, except for short extracts in fair dealings, for research or private study, critical scholarly review or discourse with an acknowledgement, without the written permission of the Dean, of school of Business, on behalf of the author and Mzumbe University.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many people have provided me with material and moral support throughout the preparation of this research report. The preparation of this report would not be possible without valuable support of several individuals; I have tried to mention some of them, though the list is exhaustive.

I am particularly grateful for the almighty God for making me healthier throughout the preparation of this research report. The love of God cannot be explained in a single piece of paper.

I would like to express my very great appreciation to Mr. David Njovu, my research supervisor for his patient guidance and constructive suggestions. His willingness to give his time so generously has been very much appreciated.

I would also like to offer my special thanks to Mr. Lameck Mbeya, my local supervisor at the ministry of water and irrigation for his daily assistance and advice in keeping my schedule on progress.

My special thanks are extended to the staff of PMU, special mention to Georgina Linuma, Kunda Tunutu and Ramadhan Mziray for helping me observe their daily operations.

Finally I wish to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout my study.

ABSTRACT

E-procurement is not just a system of making purchases online; it is more than that as it involves practices like online advertisement of tenders, online receiving submission of proposals for tenders and online short listing of suppliers among others. This study has been carried out to assess the factors on the adoption of e-procurement among public organizations, case study of ministry of water and irrigation. The study had three objectives: to ascertain the extent at which public organizations have adopted e-procurement, to determine the factors influencing successful adoption of e-procurement and to establish challenges that face adoption of e-procurement in public sector. The study adopted descriptive approach in assessing the factors for adoption of e-procurement in public sector. Sample size of 46 respondents was selected from procurement professionals, information technology specialists and suppliers. Data was collected from respondents through questionnaire and interview and data analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) and presented in tables. The study shows that majority of public organizations has adopted e-procurement where the following procurement practices are common; online advertisement of tenders, request for expression of interest (EOI) and award to the winner of that particular tender. The study has revealed successful factors for the adoption of e-procurement as follows; technology, training of staff, ongoing monitoring and evaluation, involvement of stakeholders and reliable information. Additionally the study has identified challenges facing adoption of e-procurement which includes resistance to change from staff, poor technological infrastructure, and inadequate funds for capital investment, limited training, and incapable suppliers, shortage of technical knowhow and support and security of data transaction

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

BBA PLM Bachelor of Business Administration-Procurement and Logistics Management

EDI Electronic Data Interchange

ERP Enterprise Resource Planning

HIV Human Immune-deficiency Virus

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IT Information Technology

LGAs Local Government Authorities

MOWI Ministry of Water and Irrigation

PPA Public Procurement Act

PPR Public Procurement Regulations

PPRA Public Procurement Regulatory Authority

P.E Procuring Entities

UWSSAs Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 0 Introduction and background

The first chapter of this report consists of historical background of the ministry, mission and vision statements of the ministry, historical background of the topic, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, and scope of the study.

1.1 Introduction and background of the ministry

The ministry of water and irrigation is located at Ubungo maji opposite TANESCO headquarters. The ministry has undergone various changes to its name where formerly was known as ministry of water and irrigation but later irrigation merged with other ministry and remained with ministry of water, however now it is called ministry of water and irrigation.

Core values of ministry of water and irrigation:

Ministry of water and irrigation is guided by the following core values;

Team work: to ensure team spirit in the provision of quality services to the clients.

Timeliness: to ensure adherence to work schedule and work plan.

Transparency: to deliver quality service to the clients with openness.

Excellence: to execute duties with merits

Integrity: strive to deliver quality services to the clients honestly

Accountability: To perform duties in compliance with the agreed rules and standards.

Selflessness: to deliver services to the clients without discrimination.

1.1.1Divisions of MOWI;

-Administration and Human Resource Management division

-Policy and Planning division

-Rural Water Supply division

-Urban Water Supply division

-Water Quality Services division and

-Water Resources division

1.1.2 Units of the Ministry;

-Finance and Account unit

-Government Communication unit

-Information and Communication Technology unit

-Internal Audit unit

-Legal Services unit

-Procurement Management unit and

-Program Coordination unit

1.1.3 Vision of MOWI

The vision of the ministry is to have sustainable management and development of water resources for social and economic development.

1.1.4 Mission statement

The mission of the ministry is to ensure that water resources are developed and managed sustainable in collaboration with all stakeholders.

1.1.5 Function of the ministry

The Ministry has the following functions:-

1. Formulation and revision of the National Water Policy, policy implementation strategies, legislation and regulations;

2. Promoting the development, management and use of the nation’s water resources, provision of commercial water and sewerage services, and provision of community water supply and sanitation services in accordance with the national water policy and strategies;

3. Monitoring the implementation and performance of rural water supply and sanitation as well as urban water supply and sewerage development programs;

4. Providing technical and financial support to the UWSSAs and LGAs;

5. Coordinating the Ministry’s participation in national and international dialogue initiatives on projects pertaining to the management and development of water resources;

6. Providing strategic guidance, technical and operational support to Basin Water Offices to enable them carry out their mandated functions including water resources assessment, monitoring and regulation;

7. Collecting information and providing such information and associated services to other government institutions and the public;

8. Providing sector-related information and guidance to stakeholders;

9. Mainstreaming cross cutting and cross sectoral issues such as gender, HIV/AIDS, environment, health and land; and

10. Promoting the use of ICT in the water sector.

1.1.7 Water basins of MOWI

The ministry of water and irrigation has nine water basins namely:

Internal drainage Basin

Lake Nyasa Basin

Lake Rukwa Basin

Lake Tanganyika Basin

Lake Victoria Basin

Pangani Basin

Rufiji Basin

Ruvuma and southern rivers

Wami/Ruvu and its associated coast rivers

1.1.8 AGENCIES UNDER MOWI

The following are the agencies under ministry of water and irrigation:

Drilling and dam construction agency

Maji central stores

Water development and management institute

Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA)

1.1.9 National Water projects

There are numerous national water projects under the ministry as follows:-

Wangin’gombe national project

Handeni trunk main project

Makonde national project

Mgango – kiabakari national project

Maswa national project

Masasi – nachingwea national project

Chalinze national project

Kahama- shinyanga national project

UWSAs under the ministry

The following are UWSAs are under the ministry

ARUWASA

MWAUWASA

AUWASA

MBEYA

BAWASA

UWASA

BUWASA

SHUWASA

DAWASA

SOUWASA

DAWASCO

SUWASA

DUMASA

TUWASA

IRUWASA

KUWASA

LUWASA

MOROUWASA

TangaUWASA

MTUWASA

MUWASA

MUWSA

1.2 Background of the problem

The emergence of e-procurement can be traced back in the late 1990’s as the rise of e-business led to the development of new opportunities related to procurement such as e-procurement, spend management, outsourcing and joint product design ((Lancioni, Smith, and Oliva, 2000). The development of ICTs especially the internet has changed services, business models, quality and efficiency of information sharing and service delivery. The ICTs particularly internet enables the application alliances used by organizations to be more effective with the integration of organization’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and one among the information systems that helps to revolutionize the supply chain activities is e-procurement.

1.3 Statement of the problem

The PPA and PPR has stipulated the use of e-procurement in public organizations, where PPR 2013 part XI, provides objectives and usage, application and scope of e-procurement where sec.341 (1) states the objective of e-PPs is to enhance the efficiency and ensure transparency in public procurement through the implementation of a comprehensive e-PPs solution to be used by some or all public bodies in the country for carrying out e-procurement. And sec.342 (1) details on the scope and application that the e-PPs shall be implemented by all procuring entities in full or partial in parallel with conventional manual procedures. However the objectives and usage with the said application and scope of e-procurement have not achieved as it was stipulated. Therefore this study will assess the factors for successful adoption of e-procurement with challenges facing it and provide possible solutions.

1.4 Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study were as follows;

1.4.1 General objective

(i) To study and assess the extent at which public organizations have adopted e-procurement

1.4.2 Specific objectives

(i) To determine the factors influencing successful adoption of e-procurement in public organizations

(ii) To establish challenges that faces e-procurement adoption in public organizations

1.5 Research questions

The following are the research questions addressed;

(i) To what extent has public organizations adopted e-procurement as per PPR 2013?

(ii) What are the factors that influence successful implementation of e-procurement?

(iii) From (ii) which factor has greater influence than others?

(iv) What challenges face public organizations in adopting e-procurement?

(v) what should be done to overcome (iv)?

1.6 Significance of the study

This study showed to what extent public procuring entities has adopted e-procurement so far and provides success initiatives to be adopted by public institutions but also showed some challenges with possible solutions. The study also will assist other researchers in the area of e-procurement technology since it will serve as a point of reference to other researchers as they conduct studies in this.

1.7 Scope of the study

This study focused in all public institution in Tanzania but ministry of water and irrigation as a case study.

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is about reviewing various literatures on the same topic under study. The purpose of viewing other literature is to have a critical look at the facts and views that already exist under research, to explain historical background of the topic, to identify weaknesses and strength of methods of inquiry used by other researchers and to suggest hypothesis and research questions. This chapter will have three parts; introduction, body and conclusion. The introduction provides structure of the review to the reader, identify general topic or area of concern, establish the writer’s point of view for reviewing the literature and provide organization of the chapter. The body has two parts namely theoretical and empirical review where theoretical gives relevant theories about the topic under study and empirical provides conclusions from previous studies and the last part of conclusion summaries major contributions of reviewed works, identifying research gap and provide conceptual framework that guides the study.

2.0 Introduction

Private and public organizations have been utilizing IT system in streamlining and automating their purchasing and other processes in the past years, though e-procurement has gained momentum in the past decade. While there is a debate on how recently e-procurement has started as (Dai &Kauffman, 2001) and (Koorn, Smith and Mueller, 2001) argues but there is no doubt that the use of internet in e-procurement is advantageous compared to former inter-organizational tools. For example Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) has been providing automated purchasing transactions between buyers and suppliers since its launching in the 1960s, followed by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in the 1970s, then came commercial use of internet in the 1980s. It was in the 1990s when the World Wide Web as a multimedia capability of internet that became widely and enabled and provided the essential resource for the automation of procurement (OGC).

2.1 Definition of terms

e-procurement; refers to the use of internet –based (integrated) information and communication technologies (ICTs) to carry out individual or all stages of procurement process including search, sourcing, negotiation, ordering, receipt and post purchase review (Croom and Brandon-Jones, 2004). There are various forms of e-procurement process such as e-tendering, e-marketplace, e-Auction/Reverse Auction and e-Catalogue/Purchasing.

Assessment; Refers to the evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality or ability of someone or something.

Electronic data interchange (EDI); Is the transfer of data from one computer system to another by standardized messages formatting, without the need for human intervention. Therefore EDI allows multiple companies in different geographical areas to exchange documents electronically.

2.2 Theoretical review

There is a theory to support the topic under research as follows;

2.2.1 Assessment theory

Assessment often focused on determining knowledge that is to demonstrate how knowledge can be applied, ultimately being able to perform appropriately without supervision in the workplaces. Therefore assessment primary tests knowledge, for instance examinations are of limited value in predicting what a graduate will do as an independent practitioner. Assessment can be cognitive domain (what they know), psychomotor domain (skills they have learned) and affective domain (attributes that they have been taught). Formative and Summative Assessment

Assessments can be either formative or summative.

Formative assessment; guides further learning, so it includes feedback on areas of strength and weakness. As formative assessment provides information on how learning is proceeding, it can be useful both to improve individual student learning and to improve teaching.

Summative assessment; usually occurs at the end of a course, and the results are used to grade students and determine whether they have achieved competencies and standards.

Think of formative assessment as 'how am I doing?' and summative assessment as 'how did I do?'

2.3 Empirical review

Various literatures have written about e-procurement. The following writers have written on the topic as follows:

Aberdeen Group (2001), says that e-procurement has become one of the most successful applications of electronic commerce (e-commerce) having been implemented by many companies seeking better business processes. Also kalakota and robinson (1999) have identified some benefits of e-procurement such as cost saving, improved efficiency, measurement and single data entry; Consequently these are the three catalysts driving growth in the procurement area. This process leads to significant reduction in both cost and time. As recently quoted by Quinnox (2012) that e- procurement is comprehensive phenomenon which includes making strategic initiatives and it can be used to reorganize the entire purchasing process. A properly implemented e-procurement system can connect companies and their business processes directly with suppliers while managing all interactions.

Another study of Khanapuri Nayak,Soni and Sharma and Soni (2011) assert that there are a number of requirements relating to the adoption of e-procurement system. They include technology, objectives, information, staffing and skills. The aforementioned requirements make the adoption process challenging especially in public sector where challenges like compatibility, integration, adoption and regular use by the employees and lack of capacity by small suppliers.

Conceptual framework: conceptual framework this is the foundation on which the entire research project is based. It explains the relationship between the independent and dependant variables of the study. Therefore in this study the dependent variable is e-procurement adoption and it is considered dependent since the adoption of e-procurement system depends on the outcomes from several individual factors that have collective impact on the adoption of e-procurement in public institutions. These independent factors act as determinants of e-procurement adoption. Through various researchers such as Mose, J.M et al(2012) and khanapuri Nayak,Soni and Sharma and Soni (2011) have come up with factors that are considered determinants of e-procurement adoption .These factors includes but not limited to technology, training of staff, ongoing monitoring and evaluation, involvement of stakeholders and reliable information, the sketch diagram below illustrates;

Conceptual framework

2.4 Research gap

A gap exists on the factors that influence success of e-procurement adoption among public institutions especially in developing countries like Tanzania. Most developing countries lag behind in terms of technology. Therefore it will be prudent to address the factors that influence e-procurement adoption among public organizations in country like Tanzania.

Implementing e-procurement is expensive undertaking and requires heavy investments by organizations in equipments and automation to make it possible for adoption of e-procurement. The studies have not clearly brought out the implication of e-procurement on the costs of automation.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

This study involved a cross section survey of public organizations taking ministry of water and irrigation as a case study. The study adopted a descriptive approach in trying to assess the factors for the adoption of e-procurement in public sector. There were other designs but the researcher chose descriptive since it will enable him to study the elements in their natural environment without necessarily manipulating them.

3.1 Unit of inquiry/ Analysis

This study used organization as a unit of analysis to generalize findings of the research. The assessment of the study used ministry of water and irrigation as a case study to represent other public organizations because survey of all organizations is impracticable and needs a huge budget and time, therefore ministry of water and irrigation is taken as a population element.

3.2 Sample and Sampling procedures

The sampling technique that a researcher used is probability sampling where there is a known, equal and non-zero probability of selection of sample from the population. Stratified random sampling was used where the population was divided into three groups of procurement professionals, IT specialists and suppliers making 46 respondents as a number of samples.

3.3 Method of data collection

Both primary and secondary data was collected. Primary data was collected by the researcher directly from various sources through questionnaires and a little bit of interview so that a researcher gets first hand information. Also secondary data was gathered from various sources such as ministry of water records, PPRA website, literature on the same topic and other useful documentations on the topic under study.

3.4 Method of data analysis and presentation.

The collected data was analyzed using SPSS and results was presented in tables to show the assessed factors and the level at which public organizations has so far adopted e-procurement.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.0 Introduction

The presentation of findings for this research was in tables after making data analysis using statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) using mean scores as a measure. Researcher conducted quantitative analysis for this study.

RESULTS OF RESEARCH

The research’s respondents were drawn from various stakeholders mostly suppliers who were 14, IT specialists who were 12 and procurement and supplies professionals 20 in number making a total of 46 as a number of sample. Out of 46 selected respondents, only 42 responded giving response rates of approximately 91% which is high response that suggests the findings can be used for generalization. The tables below shows response rate of respondents

Source; Researcher

The table below shows actual number of respondents who gave response from those sectors

Source; Researcher

E-procurement adoption level in public sector

Procurement involves a number of activities from when a need arises until completion of the process. Activities involved in the process includes making specification, advertisement of tender , issue and submission of tender documents, short listing of suppliers and award to the winner. Respondents were asked to indicate to what extent is the level of automation to the key procurement activities which will determine also the level e-procurement adoption in public organizations. Therefore questions were distributed to 46 respondents but only 42 responded giving response rate of approximately 91% which is good enough for making generalization of findings, the responses were based on five likert scale (1= Very small extent, 2= Small extent, 3=Moderate extent, 4= Great extent and 5= Very great extent) and results were as follows;

Question. To what extent has public organizations adopted to e-procurement?

Illustration: The table indicates to what extent public procuring entities has adopted to e-procurement. The bar graph below indicate e-procurement adoption level in percentage where the study revealed that only the adoption level to e-procurement is at moderate extent that 69% of respondents said so, 7% very small extent, 14% small extent and 10% at great extent. That is to say e-procurement is moderately practices in public institutions.

THE BAR GRAPH INDICATING E-PROCUREMENT ADOPTION LEVEL TO PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

Table 3 E-procurement practices adoption

At these e-procurement practices, respondents were asked to give response to what extent they have seen those e-procurement practices done during procurement process of various tenders and these questions were extended to only procurement officials of the ministry of water and irrigation and suppliers making 34 number of respondents but only 31 gave back response making approximately 91% response rate which is high and therefore can be used for generalization. The researcher used 5 likert scale (1= Very small extent, 2= Small extent, 3=Moderate extent, 4= Great extent and 5= Very great extent) and results are as follows;

(i) Making specification online

Illustrations: From the table above it shows that at moderate extent procuring entities makes specifications online when preparing tender documents to a large extent but still a good number of entities do not. The bar graph below indicates the findings in percentage where about 39% have come across with making specification online. The study revealed that public procuring entities have a long way to go.

THE BAR GRAPH INDICATING THE EXTENT AT WHICH PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS MAKE SPECIFICATION ONLINE

ii. Online advertisement of tender

Illustrations: The study revealed that to the great extent public procuring entities advertises tender online at this e-procurement practice most of procuring entities have adopted. This can be shown in percentage using bar graph where about 39 % of respondents responded that this is practiced to a great extent, 29% at moderate extent and 32% at very great extent.

THE BAR GRAPH SHOWING THE LEVEL TO WHICH PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS ADVERTISES TENDER ONLINE

iii. Issue and submission of tender document

Illustrations: The study revealed that at small extent of 48% procuring entities issues tender documents online and suppliers submit them online, 23% very small extent, 26% moderate extent and only 3% great extent .Below is the graphical presentation indicating findings of the above table.

THE BAR GRAPH SHOWING THE LEVEL TO WHICH PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS ISSUES AND SUPPLIERS SUBMIT TENDER DOCUMENTS ONLINE

Short listing of Suppliers

Illustrations: The process of short listing suppliers online is at moderate extent as the table above indicates. The graphical presentation below shows in percentages where 52% of respondents said the process is at moderate extent, 23% at very small extent, 19% at small extent and 6% at great extent.

THE BAR GRAPH SHOWING THE LEVEL TO WHICH PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS SHORTLISTS SUPPLIERS ONLINE

v. Award to the winner

Illustrations: At great extent the winners of various tenders and available at the website of the procuring entity as the table above indicates. The graphical presentation also indicates that at great extent 45% of respondents have seen procuring entities naming winners of different contracts to the entities’ website where 3% at very small and small extent, 19% at moderate extent and 29% at very great extent. The study revealed that some other procuring entities publish winners in newspapers and notes boards.

THE BAR GRAPH INDICATING THE EXTENT TO WHICH PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS PUBLISHES WINNERS OF VARIOUS TENDERS IN THEIR WEBSITES

vi. Request for expression interest

Illustrations: The table above indicates that at great extent procuring entities issues request for expression of interest at their respective websites that bidders can obtain such information. The graph below presents the findings in percentage where at great extent 39% indicates that this e-procurement practice is available at organizations’ web, where 6% at very small extent, 9% at small extent, 23% moderate extent and very great extent.

THE GRAPH INDICATING THE EXTENT TO WHICH PUBLIC PROCURING ENTITIES ISSUES REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST ONLINE

The study revealed that various e-procurement practices such as online advertisement of tender, publication of award winners to the organizations’ websites and request for expression of interest are practiced at great extent, while online issue and submission of tender documents are practiced at small extent whereas making specification online and online short listing of suppliers are practiced at moderate extent. Therefore the study suggests that regulatory bodies such as PPRA should ensure public institutions make e-procurement practices mandatory.

PRESENTATIONS OF RESULTS FROM QUESTIONNAIRES.

The presentations below are the analysis from responses to questionnaires that were given to respondents. The results are presented in tables and bar graphs to show percentages.

a. Has public procuring entities adopted e-procurement as per Act and regulation?

Illustration: from the above table it shows a good number of procuring entities has adopted to e-procurement as per Act and regulation. The bar graph below shows the extent to which procuring entities has adopted to e-procurement as per Act and regulation in percentage where about 67% of respondents said that public procuring entities has adopted e-procurement as per Act and regulation.

THE GRAPHICAL PRESENTATION TO INDICATE IF P.E HAS ADOPTED E-PROCUREMENT AS PER ACT AND REGULATION

c. Has procurement officials trained enough to implement e-procurement?

Illustrations: the study revealed that training of e-procurement practices to procurement officials is not that much , its somehow done.

THE GRAPH INDICATING IF PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS HAVE TRAINED ENOUGH TO IMPLEMENT E-PROCUREMENT

d. Other key players (suppliers) are familiar with e-procurement?

Illustrations: The table above shows that other key stakeholders of e-procurement are somehow familiar with the system, though some of them are not, the graph below indicates in terms of percentage.

THE GRAPH INDICATING IF SUPPLIERS ARE FAMILIAR WITH E-PROCUREMENT

e. Is technology enough for all P.E to adopt e-procurement?

Illustrations: Also the research revealed technology for adoption of e-procurement for most of procuring entities is still low, problems of power supply, networks and others are key setbacks. The graph below presents the findings in percentage in the level of technology

THE GRAPHICAL PRESENTATION INDICATING IF TECHNOLOGY IS ENOUGH FOR ALL P.E TO ADOPT E-PROCUREMENT.

Factors for adoption of e-procurement

Through various literature and interviews that a researcher conducted to respondents, the study has come up with the following factors that, government, PPRA, employees, other stakeholders and public procuring entities should take into consideration for successful adoption of e-procurement. Therefore the factors below are the ways to go;

Technology: in the context of e-procurement success, technology is a big factor to the take very seriously since e-procurement requires technological infrastructure such as set of hardware’s, software’s, networks and other facilities. Therefore talking about e-procurement success factor technology should be taken into considerations and P.E should allocate adequate funds to make this possible.

Training of staff: Employees are end users of e-procurement practices, Therefore should be trained enough to implement e-procurement processes at fullest. Therefore bodies such as PPRA should conduct continuous seminars and workshop to employees to make them aware of e-procurement system. This will make them competent and capable. Training to suppliers is also important since they also concerned with e-procurement practices

Ongoing Monitoring and Evaluations; is another factor for successful adoption of e-procurement to public institutions. There should be ongoing monitoring and evaluations of e-procurement processes of public organizations since during monitoring and evaluations some deviations and challenges are discovered and when discovered they should be acted upon to prevent and make them right. Monitoring and evaluations help to track implementation and outputs of e-procurement and measure the level at which P.E has reached in implementing e-procurement practices.

Involvement of stakeholders; especially suppliers and bidders, need to be involved in e-procurement planning and implementation strategies. Therefore bodies like PPRA need to incorporate these stakeholders in designing and planning of e-procurement systems because the system needs these stakeholders to be successful.

Reliable information; The Information available to web context of P.E should be complete, relevant, easy to understand and trusted to people who view and read. Information should be in such a way that suppliers and bidders can initiate transactions through the organizations web without problem, that is to say the e-procurement system should be trusted by users.

Challenges on adoption of e-procurement in Tanzania public institutions

Through responses obtained from interviewees, there are number of challenges facing P.E to adopt e-procurement, both organizational, technical and governmental challenges as follows;

Poor technological infrastructure; Most of the public organizations lacks technological infrastructure to make e-procurement adoption possible since moving from manual or analogue to digital/electronic needs supporting infrastructure such as combined set of hardware, software, networks and facilities. Therefore most of these organizations do not have these important technological infrastructures.

Inadequate funds for capital investments:- is another notable challenge facing e-procurement adoption for public organization, since it needs huge capital investment in buying technological infrastructures and some other kinds of assets that are necessary for adoption of e-procurement but most of public institutions have inadequate funds or have not priorities funds to e-procurement, therefore making difficult for e- procurement adoption.

Limited training: – public organizations have limited training for its staff. Staff who are end- users of e-procurement do not have formalized and ongoing training programs on e-procurement so as to keep them updated and make e-procurement adoption possible to public institutions. Limited training is sometimes caused by lack of funds to facilitate those training programs.

Resistance to change:- there is also resistance to change from old system to e-procurement to some officials some are used to old system but others delays to adopt e-procurement because regulatory bodies concerning with e-procurement has not put much emphasis on it.

Incapable suppliers; successful implementation of e-procurement need suppliers to be active or aware of it but a good number of suppliers are incapable to use and implement e-procurement the and the reasons are lack of knowledge on e-procurement (they are not much educated about it) and lacks access to electronic devices making if difficulty.

Shortage of technical knowhow and support; The study shows that some suppliers and some public organizations lacks technological knowhow such as services, repairs and technical advice on their organization due to absence of skilled staff.

Security of data transaction; – also the study revealed that there is insecurity of data to some supply chain partners. There is absence of data protection such as database, from destructive forces and from the unwanted actions of unauthorized users.

The way forward

The study has not put challenges of e-procurement adoption to public institutions in vain; however the study has brought its way forward as follows;

Government commitment to e-procurement:- the study revealed that despite legislation of e-procurement in PPA and PPR, the government bodied concerning with monitoring implementation of e-procurement has not put much emphasis on some e-procurement practices to the procuring entities, only few entities with enough funds manage to adopt.

Legal and technical support: – despite that, PPA 2011 and PPR 2013 and presence of ICT policy there is inadequate legislature framework for the application and harmonization of e-procurement in the , for example PPA (2011) has included some provisions mandating PPRA to initiate e-procurement in the county but these provisions are not adequate enough to fast track the process. Also some P.E lacks technical support due to absence of skilled or specialists on to field. Therefore there should come up with mechanism to regulate key activities of e-procurement such as sourcing, payment from manual to operation to e-sourcing and e-payment and tender documents be issued, submitted and evaluated online while maintaining confidentiality, data security and authentication

Supplier capability development; For effective implementation of e-procurement in the country the study revealed that there is a need to have a common system that will be harmonizing the procurement transactions between the buying organization and selling one. Therefore both sides of the supply chain must be equipped with the necessary e-procurement technology and techniques. Now most suppliers are not well capable of being integrated into the e-procurement practices in terms of their staff and technological well being .Therefore suppliers need to be developed technologically even to access the P.Es inventory reorder levels and stock updates online, to obtain request for quotation and submit them online, e-payment, review and approve procurement contract online and sharing other data through EDI.

Capital investment on technological infrastructure; The implementation of e-procurement require adequate supportive technological infrastructure such as network infrastructure, stable power supply, e-procurement software, hardware and servers and backups, however all these requires adequate budget to make it possible.

CHAPTER 5

Recommendations and Conclusions

The findings of this study indicate that there are good number of public proving entity that have not fully adopted e-procurement practices. There is a need of further studies to find out why organization have not improvete e-procurement practices as stipulated by PPA, PPR and PPRA,

Also there is a need for public institutions to learn from private organizations since private institutions practice more e-procurement system than public. That is to say a Comparative study is needed in order to establish whether there are any similarities or differences in the practice leading to successful implementation of e-procurement between public and private sections.

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