EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ON PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT AT THE ELECTRICITY COMPANY OF GHANA LIMITED, KOFORIDUA

Abstract

This research work was titled; “Examining the Impact of Information Technology on Procurement and Supply Chain Management, the case of Electricity Company of Ghana limited in Koforidua.” It identifies some positive impact of IT on procurement and supply chain management activities. It also looks at the challenges that hinders the implementation of IT on procurement and supply chain activities as well as looking at some IT resources used in procurement and supply chain management processes. Questionnaire was used as primary data and the reliance on secondary data. A sample size of thirty (30) was chosen from a population of 53 using purposive sampling technique for the study and it includes, procurement unit, IT unit, accounts unit, audit unit and senior staff respectively. Closed and open-ended questionnaire was relied upon to collect data; also, Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS 24) was used to draw tables, frequencies and percentages as well as analyzing the data collected for the study. Some of the positive impacts included better management control, Reduction of transaction cost and Minimizing chances of errors. It was also revealed that Suppliers and partners unwilling to compromise, Lack of practice and training before implementation and Staff struggling to adjust to new processes were some challenges that hinders the implementation of IT on Procurement and supply chain management activities at ECG, Koforidua. It was also realized that, the following IT resources were used in the procurement and supply chain management processes of ECG, Koforidua; Information Communication and Technology, Radio Frequency Identification, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems. It is recommended that: IT resources should be used for procurement and supply chain activities for the purpose of reduction of transaction cost, better management control and enhancing budget control. The findings of this study are expected to contribute significantly to the existing body knowledge in procurement and supply chain management. Frequent seminars should be organized for managers of various categories in every organization for training purposes in IT resources usage. Organizations that for some reason of cost cannot purchase some of these IT resources, can come together and purchase these resources since it can be used in different organizations. Finally, culture in the organization should be well handled in adopting the use of these IT resources.