Abstract
The objective of the study is to identify generic processes and activities for effective Supplier Development in best practice criteria. Primarily, it aims to compare the framework to an existing Supplier Development programme within a State Owned Entity (SOE) to realise if the existing programmes best equip Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and serves the Supplier Development objectives it sets out to achieve and to propose any improvements required. The target population for the research were professionals with a minimum of four years’ post-graduation experience, who were occupying middle and senior management positions and involved in the execution phase of infrastructure construction projects implemented within the SOE. The study focused on the SOE offices located in Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, East London, Durban, Richards Bay, Cape Town and Saldhana offices. The national economy growth is reliant on the construction sector output, due to the increased concentration of small businesses within the sector. However, due to the difficulty experienced in securing continuous contracts, most of the construction SMMEs operate at low capacity and are still encountering numerous diverse challenges and barriers, which prevent their own development and growth. This leads to poor performance that result in the failure to execute construction projects successfully, despite the intervention of government. An empirical study was undertaken; using both quantitative and qualitative approaches and information was gathered using a non-probability purposive sampling technique. The structured questionnaire was dispersed to one hundred participants for the study. A sum of 92 questionnaires were returned, which represents 92% of the total that was distributed. The results indicate that 32.76% of the respondents stated that the SMMES had not received any form of aid from the government. It is also shown that 56.90% of the respondents believe that the SMMEs lack knowledge about the existing Contractor Development Programmes (CDP), as they did not participate in these. Furthermore, the majority 33.85% of the respondents employed within the SOE, also stated that they themselves have very little knowledge about the Hubs within their organisation, while only 6.15% are knowledgeable regarding the Enterprise Development Hubs.
M.Phil. (Engineering Management)