LOGISTICS AT AN ENTERPRISE: THE PECULIARITIES OF PROCUREMENT ACTIVITIES

Abstract

The object of the study is logistic activity at an enterprise. The subject of the study is theoretical conceptions, methods, methodological approaches to the management of logistic activities of the whole enterprise and procurement activities in particular, as an important part of logistics under modern conditions of the competition increase in product markets. The goal of this article is to develop the theoretical conceptions of the logistics of procurement activities to specify major categories and classifications. The main objectives of this article are to specify procurement activities, their tasks and classification; to specify factors that affect logistics and procurement; to improve the classification of the major types of procurement activities; to determine whether the features of the classification correspond to the types of relations between suppliers and sellers; to draft proposals for using procurement as a methodology for managing suppliers within competitive procurement. The main research methods are analysis, synthesis, the structural and logical analysis that enables solving the set tasks. Results. The procurement activity is specified and considered as the actions of an enterprise with competent suppliers of goods and services that are necessary to meet the effective demand of ultimate customers for products whose success is based on building relations with suppliers who can provide better management results, conditions and expected consequences of the cooperation. The feasibility of practical use of the additional classification criterion "the value of relations" is proved, according to which the following types of procurement activities are identified: periodic or nonrecurring, partnership and integrated ones. The introduction of the additional classification criterion requires extending the classification of suppliers according to their attractiveness to supply conditions and consequences which provide the different value of relations of enterprises with suppliers. Conclusions. It is proved that suppliers should be singled out into three groups – low, medium and highly attractive ones, which corresponds to different values of relations that they can provide. Therefore, the classification criterion "the value of relations" should be applied to the types of relations between industrial enterprises and suppliers, and periodic (nonrecurring), partnership and integrated relations should be selected. They differ in grouping partnership relations into 3 types - insourcing/outsourcing, vertical/intersectoral and integrated according to the qualitative mean level of attractiveness of suppliers. It is proved that to develop effective relations within the purchasing process, an effective tool is the methodology of procurement, which involves using practical methods and techniques that enable maximizing the interests of an enterprise within competitive trades.