Dependency of Sales on Procurement in SPAR d.o.o.

In the diploma thesis, they set the following objectives: to demonstrate the synergistic connection between procurement and sales, to determine the extent to which procurement can follow sales promotions, to determine the level of satisfaction of sales employees with the procurement department, and where the problems are in the connection between procurement and sales. They found that procurement and sales are synergistically well connected and that sales staff are generally satisfied with the procurement department.

Problem

In the diploma thesis, they set the following objectives: to demonstrate the synergistic connection between procurement and sales, to determine the extent to which procurement can follow sales promotions, to determine the level of satisfaction of sales employees with the procurement department, and where the problems are in the connection between procurement and sales. They found that procurement and sales are synergistically well connected and that sales staff are generally satisfied with the procurement department. Sometimes deviations occur because procurement is dependent on suppliers.

If a supplier does not have the required item in stock, procurement cannot meet the demand, they are time-limited because promotions typically last a short time and are planned several months in advance. Sales staff are the first to face customer demands and it is normal that they want to accommodate them and wish for the possibility of additional delivery of promotional items during the promotion. However, this cannot always be met because procurement is limited by the flexibility of suppliers.

Additional delivery of ordered items during promotions depends on this. Sales staff wish to enable more frequent ordering of certain items and the possibility of expanding the product range regarding organic products and domestically produced products, as well as a greater selection of caught fish rather than farmed fish. The trend of returning to nature is also evident in customers' consumption habits.

Sales staff also wish for greater influence on the product range and even greater adaptation to customers, which also increases customer satisfaction. The assistance that the company provides to small entrepreneurs who are just starting their business journey is encouraging, by enabling them to sell on their shelves in cooperation with the Štartaj Slovenija programme. In this way, they brought domestic produce and products closer to a wider mass of consumers and gave small entrepreneurs the opportunity for recognition.

In the diploma thesis, they researched and answered the following questions: RQ 1: How does the procurement department adapt according to customers' wishes and needs? The procurement department generally tries to adapt to customers' wishes and needs, although they cannot always fulfil all wishes because they are dependent on suppliers. Generally, however, they agree with the supplier for a special order and open an internal code so that the sale can be executed. However, there are special requests for smaller consumption, in these cases it is necessary to assess the sensibility of procurement and sale of the required item by looking at its past sales or recording the frequency of enquiries for this item. ** RQ 2: How does procurement staff cooperate and consider the wishes and comments of sales staff?** What the cooperation between procurement and sales is like depends on the current situation and items, as well as the supplier's ability to deliver this.

Sometimes deviations occur regarding sales expectations and procurement's ability to deliver such items. In most cases, sales staff are satisfied with the cooperation and fulfilment of procurement department expectations. RQ 3: How is the procurement department prepared for additional delivery of promotional items during promotions and Loyalty Points promotions? The procurement department is almost always prepared for additional deliveries of promotional items. This depends on how prepared the supplier is for additional deliveries of goods.

There are cases when additional delivery of goods works flawlessly, but it happens that the supplier does not deliver additional stock because they cannot keep up with such large sales – e.g. Loyalty Points, or it is not possible to additionally order items at all because the sales plan and order are made several months in advance and the variable part of sales is not calculated in order to minimise stock – e.g. in crossdocking and distribution systems. RQ 4: What is the company's cooperation with suppliers like and how flexible are suppliers regarding additional needs for stock of sales items?

The company's cooperation with suppliers is very good regarding item stock, only sometimes delays in sales occur due to extremely increased sales – e.g. promotions and holidays. In these cases, e.g. Loyalty Points, sales staff record customers' contact details so they can notify them about the arrived item, whilst in cases of other promotions, they can only apologise to customers.