Having a practical accurate procurement unit within the Gozo general hospital

Abstract

In today's rapidly evolving business environment, the procurement function is continuously changing and is considered by management as a primary process of an organisations strategic plan. E-procurement continues to transform the procurement function. The move towards planned purchasing specifies the buyers' extensive scope and enhanced commitment to assist and support in delivering the organisations strategic aim. Moreover, business communication between buyers and suppliers is constantly moving towards automation. This long essay will explore possible solutions on how the procurement function within the Gozo General Hospital could be improved. Enhancement of the existing e-procurement system; implementing a supply chain management system together with improved leadership and communication may all assist in achieving improvement The same solutions may be applied to other procurement units found within the public sector. The detailed literature review has helped in the analysis of the benefits of implementing e-procurement purchasing transaction process and in identifying the numerous available e-procurement applications that assist organisations in accomplishing outstanding results. Different methods in reducing bureaucracy within a department by improving leadership and communication between top management and their subordinates and by implementing a supply chain management system have also been highlighted. Primary data was achieved through a questionnaire which consisted of both open and close ended questions. It was distributed amongst procurement related employees, the majority being at high level. These were of prominent reference to provide results. It is also very important to state that there is very little literature recorded about procurement units within hospitals and other public service departments in Malta and Gozo. As a result, secondary data was gathered from archival sources and from organisations' abroad. The outcome of this research concludes that procurement officials would prefer improvement within their unit. Necessary development would assist in contributing towards an effective and efficient public procurement function. It is expected that the recommendations mentioned in this study will encourage administrators from the public service to improve career development systems and training programmes for procurement units, to assist employees in becoming experts in the area they are performing in.