Treatment Of Suppliers Research Articles

Reimagining Public Procurement Law after Brexit: Seven Core Principles for Reform and Their Practical Implementation: Part 2

This Working Paper outlines proposals for reforming public procurement law after Brexit. The proposals are set out on the basis that the UK will become a party to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and that the GPA will also provide the main constraint for regulation. It is proposed, first, that a new hard law regime should regulate not mainly to ensure open markets, as with the current regulations that give effect to EU requirements, but for eight key objectives (to be stated in the legislation a relevant for interpretation), namely: value for money, integrity, accountability, equal treatment, fair treatment of suppliers; effective implementation of industrial, social and environmental objectives; opening markets; and an efficient procurement process. It is then argued that reform should be based on seven principles: an open contracting approach; a single and uniform regime for the Westminster jurisdiction; significant legislative simplification involving a shift from hard to soft law; use of familiar concepts, rules and terminology where appropriate; a rebalancing of interests (away from open market objectives towards value for money, sustainability and reduced procedural costs) and a related shift in regulatory strategy to increase flexibility; a more effective and balanced approach to enforcement; and a common framework across UK jurisdictions. Translating this into concrete reforms, the paper proposes that there should be a single set of regulations to replace the regulations that transpose the EU procurement directives and to cover all other public procurement rules. They should provide a largely unitary regime, removing the distinctions between “regular” public contracts, utilities contracts, defence and security contracts and concessions; and this regime should take as its starting point the approach of the 1990 Utilities Directive (Directive 90/531). Such an approach represents a significant policy shift, offering to a large extent the maximum flexibility afforded by the GPA and also improving the quality of legislation, but in such a way as to preserve benefits of familiarity and certainty.

Reimagining Public Procurement Law After Brexit: Seven Core Principles for Reform and Their Practical Implementation, Part 1

This Working Paper outlines proposals for reforming public procurement law after Brexit. The proposals are set out on the basis that the UK will become a party to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and that the GPA will also provide the main constraint for regulation. It is proposed, first, that a new hard law regime should regulate not mainly to ensure open markets, as with the current regulations that give effect to EU requirements, but for eight key objectives (to be stated in the legislation a relevant for interpretation), namely: value for money, integrity, accountability, equal treatment, fair treatment of suppliers; effective implementation of industrial, social and environmental objectives; opening markets; and an efficient procurement process. It is then argued that reform should be based on seven principles: an open contracting approach; a single and uniform regime for the Westminster jurisdiction; significant legislative simplification involving a shift from hard to soft law; use of familiar concepts, rules and terminology where appropriate; a rebalancing of interests (away from open market objectives towards value for money, sustainability and reduced procedural costs) and a related shift in regulatory strategy to increase flexibility; a more effective and balanced approach to enforcement; and a common framework across UK jurisdictions. Translating this into concrete reforms, the paper proposes that there should be a single set of regulations to replace the regulations that transpose the EU procurement directives and to cover all other public procurement rules. They should provide a largely unitary regime, removing the distinctions between “regular” public contracts, utilities contracts, defence and security contracts and concessions; and this regime should take as its starting point the approach of the 1990 Utilities Directive (Directive 90/531). Such an approach represents a significant policy shift, offering to a large extent the maximum flexibility afforded by the GPA and also improving the quality of legislation, but in such a way as to preserve benefits of familiarity and certainty.

The diminished stakeholder: Examining the relationship between suppliers and supermarkets in the Australian grocery industry

AbstractThis study examines the role of stakeholders in the context of the retail industry, specifically the Australian supermarket industry. Through the lens of stakeholder theory, it is argued that suppliers to the Australian supermarket duopoly (Coles and Woolworths) might be considered “diminished” stakeholders, that is, they lack in urgency, legitimacy, and power. Using a case study methodology, this study analyses two separate cases of Coles and Woolworths' treatment of suppliers during the period 2011 and 2014. In the two cases, Australian Federal Court proceedings were brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against both supermarkets for “unconscionable” behaviour towards their suppliers. The study also examines the impact of the relationship between Coles and Woolworths and their suppliers on consumers as the end‐user in the chain of consumption. The paper argues that the ethical treatment of suppliers by supermarkets will lead to better outcomes for both suppliers and consumers and contribute to the long‐term sustainability of the firm.

Reforms to Promote Competition in Government Procurement in Southeast Asia: Achievements and Constraints

Two key principles of government procurement are value for money for the end user agencies and the public, and fairness in the treatment of suppliers and contractors based on equal access and impartial evaluation of bids. It is widely recognized that these can be best guaranteed through competitive tenders and quotations. While competition in government procurement was previously substantially curtailed in most states in Southeast Asia, a series of reforms in the last ten years or so have been introduced with a view to widening competition. Priority has been given to the adoption of open tenders as the norm, and imposing restrictions on less competitive methods of procurement. To achieve greater competition, reforms have also been introduced to improve transparency and to combat corruption in the procurement process. Nonetheless, obstacles remain to achieving a fully competitive procurement market in most states. These include continued preferential arrangements, loopholes and ambiguities in the reforms, continuing high levels of corruption, limitations of transparency, and shortcomings in the system of accountability of procuring entities. Three reasons are given to explain why obstacles remain, namely a protectionist belief in promoting the domestic business sector, vested interests amongst political, administrative and business elites to limit competition, and a lack of institutional capacity in procuring entities to manage complex competitive tenders.

Information behaviour in e‐reverse auctions

PurposeThe study aims to explore information behaviour and its potential impact on buyer‐supplier relationships in electronic reverse auction (e‐RA). In spite of the widely assumed benefits of e‐RAs, recent studies have identified negative effects of e‐RAs on buyer‐supplier relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on nine interviews with automotive buyers and suppliers who use e‐RAs and 15 interviews with automotive companies who do not use e‐RAs. The interviews were analysed using the method of content analysis. The analysis process was supported relying on the qualitative software package Atlas/ti.FindingsOverall, the results indicate that differences in information behaviour may affect buyer‐supplier relationships. Particularly the inadequate treatment of suppliers and the reduced quality of the communication proved to be the major mediating factors for negative outcomes. Also, the use of e‐RAs is believed not to be as widespread as generally assumed.Research limitations/implicationsConsidering the limited scope of this research, further investigation of the above topic is required incorporating several sources of data, e.g. as part of a case study approach. Also, the generalisability of the results might be improved by obtaining responses from more buyers and suppliers through a larger scale survey.Practical implicationsThe paper suggests that the adequate consideration of context and the careful preparation of the event including strictly equal treatment of all participants and effective communication are key factors for obtaining benefits from e‐RAs.Originality/valueConsidering the limited evidence on how specific characteristics may affect buyer‐seller relations, this research provides a first step in opening up the e‐RA “black box”.