Nokia Siemens Networks (Part2)

Indirect purchasing:

Indirect purchasing refers to all items that are not sold by Nokia Siemens Networks but are used by Nokia Siemens Networks employees. For example: laptops, phone, office supplies, facility services, software used by employees for daily office work etc.

Internal purchasing:

Internal purchasing refers to all items that can be sold by Nokia Siemens Networks to its customers but are used inside the company for Research and Development (R&D) material, investment or demo purposes. For example: base stations, cables, OEM items, software used for NSN equipment (eg. labs and testbeds). As opposed to customer orders, internal purchasing do not require a previously defined contract and there is no sales mode specified.

The following types of orders are considered to be internal:

R&D:
Product deliveries for R&D own use, charged to R&D cost center. Experimental (delivery of pre-commercial products, not yet reaching E5 milestone, to customer site in order to test and develop the products with the customer) is one type of R&D delivery.
INVESTMENTS:
Local company investments: internal investments for local company own use (to be remained in local company and used for demonstration, training or testing purposes)
Investment via NSNAM Oy to NSN Oy’s cost center: items purchased if CSM/Split mode project need to order a product for its own use from Hub or NSN factory plant.

DEMO:
Delivery of products to demonstrate pre-commercial and commercial products in exhibitions, fairs, or at the customer premises.
PROTOTYPES:
Products still under development, not available for customer sale yet, used for R&D purposes.

Direct purchasing

Direct purchasing refers to all items that are sold by Nokia Siemens Networks to its customers, covering hardware, services and software.

Strategic procurement activities such as supplier selection, management and development, including contractual arrangements, are done by Global Procurement within Operations.

General Process for indirect purchase:

Indirect Procurement: Indirect Procurement is responsible for selecting, managing and developing the supply base for the indirect goods and services consisting of Travel & Fleet, Manufacturing & Test Equipment, Facility Services, External workforce, and Professional Services (Marketing Services, Corporate Services, Consulting & Training, Auxiliary Supplies).

Indirect purchasing are done in two ways

End to end
Order based purchase

End to end purchase procedure:

The end to end procurement order process is split in six steps:

Step1: Demand – the requirement coming from the end users

Step2: Approval – for the costs related to the requirement

Step3: Supplier selection and negotiation

Step4: Operational Purchasing – purchase request and order creation

Step5: Goods/Service receiving – related costs booking

Step6: Invoice payment

Demand: The requester is responsible for specifying the demand (need) in a clear and detailed way.

Approval process: The approvers shall follow the Nokia Siemens Networks approval policy. All updated Approval Limits (AL) policies are available in the Global F&C intranet pages Global F&C Approval Limits. In case more stringent unit or country specific rules apply, they ought to be obeyed as well.

Supplier selection and negotiation: Procurement organization is responsible for:

Supplier selection and negotiation

Operative purchasing

Supplier selection is fully described in the SBM process (Supplier Base Management which is almost similar for Indirect and direct procurement and discussed in direct purchase process in details). The negotiation phase is one of the steps of that process.

Only to the purpose of this document, the negotiation step can have different results:

A single purchase order
A frame agreement with or without a price list

The negotiation can be executed in different time frames:

During the standard purchase order cycle, for each purchase request
During the normal sourcing activities, to the scope of signing a frame agreement with a price list included and before issuing any purchase order.

Operational purchasing

The operational purchasing can be classified to 3 main cases:

Order based (also called „standard purchase order‟ process)
Invoice based
Frame agreements with fixed price elements based

Order based process is the preferred one to be used in all cases.

Operational purchasing – Order based process

Order based process is the preferred process and it should be used for the majority of the categories. NSN employees use myOrders as the tool supporting this process. Exceptions are separately defined.
For standardized commodities, this process is also supported by the use of catalogues, which are released by the procurement category area in charge. The usage of these catalogues is mandatory and independent from the order value.

In case of non-catalogue purchase request (the so-called “free text” request), the negotiation is done at a single purchase request level.

This process is applicable to most indirect purchases, such as all software items, laptops, mobile phones, IT equipment, promotional goods, office supplies, (indirect) external temporary labor, etc.

Activities

Responsible person

Create the demand

End users

Approve the costs according to NSN AL (Approval Limits)

All NSN employees according To NSN Limit of Approval policy

Agree on T&C Prices Scope of work Attached relevant documents

GPR INP and GPR IT HW&SW Create the purchase order

Post the GR and enclosed all the relevant documents to

POC

Prove the services/goods are received

End user

Pay the invoice according to the “3 ways match”

SAS

Invoiced based process is used for two main cases, one where Category area has been specified not to benefit from the consolidation of purchases: examples are membership fees, conference fees, IPR (intellectual property rights), etc another is Category area uses frame agreements where consumption is approved per invoice by the internal stakeholder, such as utilities (eg. energy expenses etc.)

The main roles are mentioned below:

Requester – check the content of the invoice using IAT tool, and forward to the cost center approver
Business approver (AP) – approve the invoice according to the NSN Approval Limits (AL) policy using IAT tool and ensure the correct final approver is included in IAT flow. As a principle, no-one can approve own expenses
Invoice posting – SAS posts the invoice in SAP P20 for paying

Goods/Services receiving

The requester is responsible for timely acknowledge the receiving of goods/services in myOrders tool. In the case of invoice based process, it is responsibility of the business approver to post approval in IAT and, by doing so, release the invoice for payment.

Invoice payment

Global F&C is responsible for the payment process. For SAP P20 countries (NSN BD), Shared Accounting Services (SAS) is responsible to execute the payment process.

Tools supporting the Indirect Purchasing Process

The relevant tools are:

myOrders for all the requirement/approval/goods receipt process phases
SAP P20 for the PO creation
IAT/P20 for the invoice based process (Invoice Approval Tool)

General process for Direct Purchasing

Direct Purchasing refers to all items that are sold by Nokia Siemens Networks to its customers, covering hardware, services and software.

The product and service that NSN purchase under direct purchasing are:

Products

Feeder System
R.A Accessories and Y Max Filters
Battery
Core power System
Generators
MDF/ DDF
Outdoor Raw Cable and Accessories
Shelter and containers Air conditioner
Renewable Energy system
Site material – Fixed Networks
Site material – Mobile networks
Standalone Power System
Tower

Services

Civil works
Network Operation and Field maintenance
Outside Plant Material and Services
Project Management services
Site Acquisition
Telecom Equipments

Resources:

Direct external work force
Temporary Labor

Among these product, service and resource list NSN BD Ltd. do not purchase all of these product service and equipment. Most of them are procured globally. The job of Off shore equipment procurement and purchase the jobs generally done by NSN Finland procurement team y and On shore or local service which mostly includes installation of equipment is done by NSN BD Ltd or via third party (sub Contractors)The Procurement team of NSN BD Ltd generally deals with

MDF/ DDF
Outdoor Raw Cable and Accessories
Shelter and containers Air conditioner
Site material – Mobile networks
Direct external work force
Temporary Labor
Civil works
Network Operation and Field maintenance
Outside Plant Material and Services
Project Management services
Site Acquisition
Telecom Equipments

Strategic procurement activities such as supplier selection, management and development, including contractual arrangements, are done by Global Procurement within Operations. All operational procurement activities for direct materials such as purchase order management and inbound supply daily activities are done by the operational procurement teams in NSN.

The teams those are responsible for the jobs are related with direct purchasing are:

Materials Execution teams within Operations

MEX teams within operation is responsible for securing total cost efficient on-time material availability by operational category management, and inbound logistical model implementation for factory and HUB inbound materials through supplier integration activities. Materials Execution represents the MEX function in category strategy creation and other cross functional teams. Materials Execution contributes to total cost efficient on-time material availability by proactively managing and developing supply networks in order to fulfill customer expectations. This is done by providing global visibility of the whole supply Chain (HUBs, plants, suppliers) and assuring collaboration with suppliers with a solid NSN wide MEX approach.

Regional Logistics

Regional Logistics is responsible for Order Placement to NSN vendors for Direct Purchasing of Materials and Services needed in Customer Orders related to Local Business. Regional Logistics is responsible for End to End Logistics management, which includes Order Management, Transportation, Inventory management, issuance of purchase orders, handling invoices and delivery from NSN Vendors for Direct Purchasing related Materials and Services for Customer Orders in Local Business. The order placement and delivery has to be in line with the contracts set up by Service Procurement in the region. The delivery can be to the customer warehouse or directly to the site depending on the contractual set up and/or material & service type.

Purchasing teams within Hardware Services

They are responsible for securing on-time material availability in Hardware Services’ distribution centers. Purchasing contributes to total cost efficient on-time material availability by proactively managing and developing repair and spare supply networks in order to fulfill customer expectations.

Repair Services procurement activities such as supplier selection, management, contracting and development are done by Hardware Services within Services. Spare part procurement tasks are completed according to Hardware Services’ requirements by Global procurement. All procurement activities inside Hardware Services are accomplished according to the guideline of procurement processes defined by Global procurement.

Supplier Selection

For supplier selection NSN BD Ltd follow the regulations of Supplier Based Management (SBM) process following picture shows the different criteria of supplier selection for different types of product. Three types of SBM is generally used basing on importance of the product. NSN chose which process they will follow to select the supplier from

Full SBM
Medium SBM
Light SBM

At Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) Global Procurement (GPR) is responsible for the selection of new Suppliers and the management of existing Supplier base for whole NSN. The main input for the SBM process is the relevant Category Strategy which is created in GPR Category team and facilitated by the Supplier Manager for the respective Category.

The Supplier Base Management process covers the following phases:

Supplier Pre-Selection
Supplier Selection
Supplier Management

Supplier Pre-Selection and Supplier Selection describe the onetime activities in order to select the best Supplier in standardized way into NSN Supplier base. Supplier Management describes the cycle based activities to manage and develop NSN Supplier base.

NSN Supplier Base Management process overview, which shows the supplier selection process of NSN.

Supplier Pre-Selection

The purpose of this phase is to identify new Supplier candidates for NSN. Supplier Pre-Selection consists of the following steps:

Supplier scouting and screening
Early Supplier evaluation
Cost scenario modeling

Supplier scouting and screening

The purpose of Supplier scouting and screening is to gather information on potential sources for technologies, commodities, services and competences needed by NSN in the mid- to long-term. This may include follow- up of standardization initiatives, attending technical and/ or business conferences and exhibitions, performing web searches and visiting Suppliers to get updates on their technology, products, services and roadmaps. Input for Supplier scouting & screening are:

NSN overall strategy and other relevant strategies
Category Strategy
NSN SR
Technology/ service requirements
Technology architecture roadmaps

Early Supplier evaluation

The purpose of the early Supplier evaluation is to prescreen Suppliers based on NSN SR (supplier Requirement). It may cover the following aspects:

Verification of Supplier’s financial status as per NSN Supplier financial and business analysis sub-process
Preliminary validation of technology/ services the Supplier is offering
Validation of key business fundamentals such as logistic services offered, supply capacity
Preliminary validation of Supplier’s ability to meet NSN quality and reliability criteria.

Cost scenario modeling

The purpose of cost scenario modeling is to build up an understanding of the production and business elements that determine the cost of the technology, component, product or service. This provides a basis for cost benchmarking of different technology or service options. If cost scenario modeling is deemed necessary, the respective Supplier Manager is responsible for building the technology/ service cost scenario models in collaboration with Suppliers, cost management and technical experts in NSN. Required input:

Expected annual Spend with this Supplier
Production and business elements
Total cost drivers of that industry
Cost structure of the purchase item

The cost scenario models can help to provide an objective comparison basis for make/ buy decisions.

Minimum criteria for Potential status

After the aforementioned steps of Supplier Pre-Selection have been successfully completed (and minimum criteria have been met) to NSN’s satisfaction, the Supplier may received the status Potential. Minimum criteria for the status Potential:

Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) signed and available in NSN NOSS
Supplier created in NSN NOSS, basic information about Supplier obtained, evaluated and stored into NSN NOSS
RFI basic information of the supplier received and uploaded into NSN NOSS
Preliminary validation of the Supplier‘s ability to meet NSN SR and technology/ service/ competence checked
Light financial check or public investment grade credit rating stored in NSN NOSS
Supplier Risk Assessment in Light mode stored in NSN NOSS
Business opportunity clearly identified and documented
“No pay” list checked

Supplier Selection

The purpose of this phase is to evaluate, verify and confirm whether Suppliers meet NSN Supplier Requirements. Supplier Selection consists of the following steps

Evaluation
Verification & assessment of the potential Suppliers, resulting in
Contracting for selected Suppliers

Evaluation

The evaluation phase covers an evaluation of potential Supplier candidates. The basic capabilities and compliance to NSN requirements are reviewed and documented in NSN NOSS. If the Supplier has been assessed in the Early Supplier Evaluation phase, only the additional criteria need to be concluded. Evaluation elements can include:

Business opportunity clearly identified and either initial risk & security analysis based on opportunity done or Supplier scanning done
Match with the (Category) strategy and technological requirements
Total cost of ownership (e.g. using material cost breakdown, open book costing)
Supplier Risk Assessment and risk mitigation plan
Dependency (i.e. sole source; difficult technology, IPR)
NSN’s share of the whole business volume
Political & geographical stability in areas where Supplier has operations
R&D support
After sales support
Logistical capability to support NSN globally

Supplier Risk Assessment shall be done for all new Suppliers and additionally in the Supplier Management phase whenever there are significant changes in the business environment (e.g. ownership, financial situation, business volumes, and manufacturing locations).

The relevant Category/ Sub-Category team will review the list of potential Suppliers and nominate the ones that will be taken to the Verification & Assessment phase. Depending on the Supplier financial analysis questionnaire a financial analysis shall be conducted. Required input:

Expected annual Spend with this Supplier
Production and business elements
“No pay” list

The status Potential is not a permission to start delivering products to NSN. As a rule, no business commitments shall be made with a Potential Supplier.

Verification and Assessment

The purpose of the verification and assessment phase is to ensure that the Potential Supplier is capable of performing according to NSN SR with manageable and identified risk.

The NSN Supplier Audit Framework defines guidelines to all Supplier audits, and assessments, applied within all phases of the SBM process.

In the initial Supplier Selection, the assessment is based on the comprehensive NSN SR.

A Lead Auditor is nominated for all assessments and audits. The Lead Auditor is responsible for planning (including resource planning), executing, reporting and following up the assessments/ audits.

Assessment and audit reports are stored in NSN NOSS for shared visibility and traceability.

Any nonconformity identified shall be recorded in the audit report (or Supplier self assessment) and a corrective action plan shall be agreed. The Supplier is solely responsible for the creation of the corrective action plan and its execution.

Contracting

The purpose of contracting is to create a legally binding contract between the parties in order to secure the NSN business interest and to mitigate risks.

The Category Cluster/ Category team will nominate a Head Negotiator who, by default, is the nominated Supplier Manager. The Supplier Manager is responsible for contracting and contract management. The relevant parties as defined in the NSN Supplier Contracting process shall be informed about the contract content.

The Supplier Manager is responsible for Requests for Quotation and budgetary pricing for the respective Supplier.

Findings from Verification and Assessment may influence the contract with the respective Supplier, so the assessment should be conducted before finalizing the contract.

At the end of Contracting the Vendor master data management sub process need to be done in order to manage the outcome of Contracting into the Purchasing system (P20 SAP system).

Minimum criteria for Approved status

When the Supplier Pre-Selection and Supplier Selection have been completed successfully the Supplier may be granted the status Approved, for Full SBM approach.

Minimum criteria for the Supplier status Approved are:

Potential status has been approved
Supplier Manager agreed
Supplier has completed the RFI and this is available in NSN NOSS
Risk assessment done with an appropriate tool, covering level of risk arising from e.g. environmental issues, ethical issues, business dependency, political or geographical risks
Supplier has passed NSN Supplier assessment, level of compliance with NSN SRhas been verified and Audit report is documented in NSN NOSS, if needed corrective action plan is agreed.
Risk mitigation plan done if applicable according to the relevant NSN risk management processes
Verification of Supplier’s financial status done
Supplier checked against “no pay list” and against “Red Flag” Location bank account details
NSN Frame Purchase Agreement or NSN Conditions of Purchase signed acc. Contracting sub process
Optional or specific requirements:
Alignment with the NSN Category Strategy verified for business and technology
Total cost of ownership analyzed
Validation of key business fundamentals such as logistic services offered and supply capacity completed to NSN’s satisfaction
R&D support and/ or After sales support verified

When the Supplier has been granted Approved status, business transactions are allowed to be started.

Minimum criteria for restricted status

When the relevant process steps for Supplier Selection have been completed successfully the Supplier may be granted the status Restricted, for Medium SBM approach.

Minimum criteria for the Supplier status Restricted are:
Supplier Manager agreed
Supplier created in NSN NOSS, basic information about Supplier obtained, evaluated and stored into NSN NOSS

Supplier has completed the RFI and this is available in NSN NOSS

Risk assessment in Light mode done with an appropriate tool, covering level of risk arising from e.g. environmental issues, ethical issues, business dependency, political or geographical risks
Supplier has stated their compliance or otherwise acceptingly responded to the requested elements of NSN SR in a self assessment response or passed NSN Rapid assessment for SBM Medium approach successfully and potential corrective action areas identified and communicated for Supplier’s corrective actions.

Risk mitigation plan done if applicable according to the relevant NSN risk management processes

Verification of Supplier’s financial status done
Supplier checked against “no pay” list and against “Red Flag” Location bank account details Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) signed and available in NSN NOSS
Signed conditions of purchase agreement or any other applicable contract type

Optional or specific requirements:

Purchase Agreement signed for direct material Category Clusters
If the Supplier is not originally selected by OPS GPR please attach evidence (as file to respective status template) e.g. the mail from the responsible Business Group Sponsor/ 2nd level GPR Approver

When the Supplier has been granted Restricted status, limited business transactions are allowed to be started.

Supplier Management

The purpose of Supplier Management is to maintain and develop NSN’s approved Supplier base and to further develop some strategic relationships to Preferred status. Supplier Management is done according to implementation matrix to ensure continuous performance improvements of Suppliers in alignment with NSN business requirements.

Supplier Management consists of the following steps:

Relationship Management
Performance Management
Strategic Development
Phase-out

Relationship Management

Good Relationship Management and hence good Supplier relationships are of key importance to NSN. Relationships are the result of all daily transactions with the Supplier by all parties involved. They are based on mutual respect, interests, understanding and prospects. GPR communication should be conducted based on External Communications rules. Both the Supplier and NSN have an equally important role in building up a good relationship – neither party can do it alone.

A good relationship with a good performance and technology/ product/ service match may lead to a strategic alliance or a close and mutually advantageous relationship.

A good relationship requires proactive collaboration from both parties, including regular meetings.

Supplier Manager acts as the escalation point in the relationship with the Supplier.

Key tasks in Relationship Management include such as, but are not limited to:

Communications,
Contract Management together with project contract creation,
To choose from existing Supplier base the best Supplier for certain project,
Supplier Business Plan creation and maintenance,
Status update,
Internal Supplier team

Minimum criteria for preferred status

Status Approved given
Strategic alignment
Good/ outstanding performance
Full SBM process followed/ documentation available in NSN NOSS, Supplier Business Plan maintained in NSN NOSS

Performance Management

Supplier Performance Management is an essential part of monitoring and developing existing Suppliers on continuous basis.

Supplier performance measurements are necessary activities to enable the operational buyers, GPR Category teams and other stakeholders, such as Project Managers, R&D personnel, to assess and develop Supplier performance based on factual data collected and analyzed on an ongoing basis. It also enables Supplier Manager to give absolute and relative feedback to the Supplier, and enabling the Supplier to consider their performance versus other comparable Suppliers used throughout NSN. The output is to be utilized when planning follow up Supplier assessments and specific development projects, creating a Category Strategy and selecting Suppliers for a NSN project.

Strategic Development

The potential of Supplier Base Management lies in the active development of Suppliers. Based on the Category Strategy, Supplier Performance Evaluation results and assessments a Development Plan can be created and development activities can be started. The purpose of these activities is to get the Supplier to meet NSN (short or long term) requirements in the selected area.

Should the Supplier performance and strategic alignment with NSN so justify, a Supplier may be granted the Preferred status.

A Supplier Development Plan can be created to drive Supplier performance improvements in purchasing, quality, delivery performance and technology/ service. The Supplier Manager is responsible for taking the initiative in the creation and implementation of such a plan and he/ she is supported by a cross-functional team.

Phase-out

Some Suppliers may be phased out as a result of the active Supplier Base Management. Phase-out leads to Disqualified status.

There might be several reasons to phase out the Supplier:

Category Strategy
Obsolete or noncompetitive technology
Poor performance (e.g. in delivery, quality or other areas)
Product end of life
Business conflict (IPR conflict, Supplier has become direct competitor, serious or continuing neglect of confidentiality, strategy conflict, ownership risk, etc.)
Brand risk or policy conflict (e.g. ethical or environmental behavior)
Product safety failure, missing capability or serious noncompliance with NSN SR.

Specific Objective: 03

To analyze the process of ordering product using myOrder tools in indirect procurement process.

Related hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: 90% employees think that using myOrder tolls is the best way for ordering and purchasing indirect products.

Alternative Hypothesis: less than 90% employees think that using myOrder tolls is the best way for ordering and purchasing indirect products.

Related question

MyOrder tool is the best way for purchasing good for indirect purchase.

Responses:

(In the range of 1to 5 from strongly agree t strongly disagree here answer below 3 are counted as agree)

At 95% confidence level testing hypothesis

For testing this hypothesis 30 out of 30 agreed and strongly agreed that MyOrder tool is the best way of purchasing goods.

This hypothesis is tested using Z test

Z Test: The case can be summarized symbolically

pHo =. 963(Hypothesized Mean)

qHo= (1- pHo) = 0.033

n =30 (sample size)

= 90%

σp ={ (pHo*qHo)/ n}^0.5

={( 0.963* .033)/ 30} ^0.5

= .05477

Zobserved = ( – pHo )/ σp

= {(.963-0.9)/ 0.5477}

=1.15

Zcrit =1.64 (at 90% confidence level)

Zobserved < Zcrit so there is no significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis

The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically.

Acceptance Region

Zcrit= 1.64

Zobs= 1.15

Figure 6: t Test

From the figure above it can be said that the value of Zobs falls within the acceptable range

Findings: from the hypothesis testing it is found that more than 90% employee think that myOrder tool is a good way for purchasing indirect goods.

Requester (RQ): the person who needs the goods, initiator of the purchase request
Business Approver (AP): the person with the correct approval authority and limits, who approves the costs
Category Manager in Global Procurement (SP): the person who negotiates for the best price and/or terms &conditions with the supplier
Purchase Order Center (POC): the team who processes the request and creates the related purchase order into SAP, and handles the operational purchase issues with the supplier, including potential invoice clarifications.

By using this tool the requester can initiate a purchase order specifying the goods and terms of purchasing with the approval of approver (line manager) purchase order is created. Supplier is selected as per NSN’s policy by and category manager in global procurement, which is locally done by indirect procurement team. They place the order to the supplier. The requester receives the goods and then the final process of payment is completed.

By using MyOrder tool requester can directly order his/ her required product and can specify what type of product he/she needs and payment is also done after receiving the goods by requester. So there is very less chance of complain in the case of specification from requester. By this soft ware and via net the total process can be general completed within comparatively lower time period than it was done manually. So the employees of NSN thinks it’s a good way of purchasing product.

Specific Objective: 04

To analyze the Invoice payment system for direct and indirect purchase

Related hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: 75% employees think that their policy for payment serves the interest of both vendors and organization

Alternative Hypothesis: Less than 75% employees think that their policy for payment serves the interest of both vendors and organization

Related Question:

These data shows that in most of the cases NSN BD Ltd. takes more than one month to pay the bill. As their invoice payment process is splinted in different countries of the world, In most of the cases it takes 45days. No payment is done in cash. All the payments are done by check. When the check is issued from the concern country’s office for any vendors a mail is sent to the concern vendor also to inform that a check is issued for payment of credit purchase as per contract of payment. This way of processing and informing the vendor reduces the chances of unusual delay of payment to vendors.

The journal entries for invoice payment of direct or indirect purchase in SAP (system) are given below:

GR Creation

Cost of goods sold/ Opex Dr.

Goods received Cr.

IR creation

Goods received Dr.

Vendor Cr.

Payment process

Vendor Dr.

Bank Cr.

By auto reconciliation the cost goes to cost of goods sold is paid by bank

Findings

By testing this hypothesis and other related information is found that payment policy of NSN BD LTD serves the interest of both parties. As they take more than a month to pay most of the bills they prepare the contract keeping vendors interest in mind

Specific objective: 05

To find out whether NSN deals with its vendor as a strategic partner or not.

Related hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: 70% of employees say that NSN BD deals with its vendor as a strategic partner.

Alternative Hypothesis: Less than 70% of employees say that NSN BD deals with its vendor as a strategic partner

Related question

Does NSN BD Ltd. deals with its vendor as strategic partner?

Responses

Zobserved< Zcrit so there is no significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically. Figure: 12: Showing Z test Acceptance Region Zcrit= 1.96 Zobs= 01.95 Figure12: z Test Source: Primary From the figure above it can be said that the value of Zobs falls within the acceptable range. The questionnaire surveys result shows that most of the employees said that that NSN BD LTD deals with its customer as strategic partner. From the survey result of the vendors, it was found that most of the vendors (70% of surveyed) also agree with the statement. 5.5.5 Response for the question from vendors: Does NSN BD deal with its vendors as strategic partners? Table 05: Showing frequency distribution of vendors survey Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid No 3 30.0 30.0 30.0 Yes 7 70.0 70.0 100.0 Total 10 100.0 100.0 Source: primary Figure 13: pie chart showing frequency distribution of vendors survey Source: primary NSN BD LTD deals with a wide range of vendors from large to small in term of business. It’s not possible to deal like a strategic partner with all. The bonding with the vendor generally depend on how long they are dealing with that particular vendor, importance and availability of the product or service provided by the vendors, yearly turn over with that vendor etc. But NSN BD LTD always tries to be in good relation with all of its vendors as they are the most important parties who help NSN BD Ltd to run their business smoothly. 5.6 Specific objective: 06 To find out whether there is any relationship between good vendor management and vendor development 5.6.1 Related hypothesis Null Hypothesis: There is no significant relationship between good vendor management practice and vendor development Alternative Hypothesis: There is significant relationship between good vendor management practice and vendor development 5.6.2 Related questions Does NSN BD Ltd work for vendor management? Current practice of vendor management is the best. 5.6.3 Responses Table 06: Showing the frequency distribution in cross table NSN BD LTD works for vendors development Total Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Agree Current practice of vendor management of NSN BD Ltd is best strongly agree Count 6 1 1 0 8 Expected Count 2.9 1.3 3.2 .5 8.0 Agree Count 4 3 7 0 14 Expected Count 5.1 2.3 5.6 .9 14.0 Neutral Count 1 1 3 1 6 Expected Count 2.2 1.0 2.4 .4 6.0 Disagree Count 0 0 1 0 1 Expected Count .4 .2 .4 .1 1.0 strongly disagree Count 0 0 0 1 1 Expected Count .4 .2 .4 .1 1.0 Total Count 11 5 12 2 30 Expected Count 11.0 5.0 12.0 2.0 30.0 Source: primary 5.6.4 Chi-Square Tests Table 07: showing result of Chi square test using SPSS Value df Pearson Chi-Square 24.264(a) 12 N of Valid Cases 30 . 5.6.5 Symmetric Measures Table 08: Showing the result of contingency coefficient Value Approx. Sig. Nominal by Nominal Contingency Coefficient .669 .019 N of Valid Cases 30 Here tabulated value of Chi-Square is at 10% significant level, (df=12) is 18.548, Calculated value of Chi-Square > tabulated value of Chi-Square so null hypothesis is rejected.

Findings

There is significant positive relationship between good vendor management practice and working for vendor development. Contingency coefficient is 0.66 which is near to 1 shows strong relationship between good vendor management practice and vendor development.

NSN’s thoughts towards supplier development:

NSN BD Ltd believes that vendor development is important for good vendor management.

The chief responsibility of Supplier Development is to ensure that suppliers to Global Procurement meet the performance requirements of Nokia Siemens Networks. This is accomplished through continuous development of chosen suppliers within the supplier base of Global Procurement. The aim is to minimize and mitigate risks identified in supplier interface.

To achieve this goal, from Early Supplier Evaluation Phase onwards Supplier Development evaluates suppliers based on clearly defined NSN Supplier Requirements. A foundation for continuous supplier quality assurance, on the other hand, is set by having negotiated Quality Assurance Appendices in place with suppliers. Supplier performance improvement is also based on having well-defined Key Performance Indicators in place based on which Supplier Development can initiate joint improvement actions with chosen suppliers of Global Procurement. Through Supplier Development Programs Supplier Development assumes the leading role in developing the chosen key strategic suppliers as defined by Global Procurement. The projects conducted within the framework of Supplier Development Programs are called Supplier Quality and Supplier Productivity Excellence Projects.

The chief responsibility of Supplier Development is to ensure that approved suppliers to Global Procurement meet the performance requirements of Nokia Siemens Networks. This is accomplished through continuous development of chosen suppliers within the supplier base of Global Procurement.

The operational design of Supplier Development is founded upon effective minimization and mitigation of identified risks in supplier interface, and is driven by the following objectives:

Supplier evaluation and qualification based on clearly defined NSN Supplier Requirements (NSN SR)
Continuous Supplier Quality Assurance based on negotiated Quality Assurance Appendices
Continuous Supplier performance improvement based on defined Key Performance Indicators
Development of chosen key strategic suppliers with an industry-leading approach based on mutual trust, professional support and well defined process and methodologies

Specific objective: 07

To find out whether NSN as a green company, chose suppliers producing environment friendly goods and services or not.

Related Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: 70% employees of believe that NSN give importance on Environment friendly goods suppliers

Alternative Hypothesis: Less than 70% employees of believe that NSN give importance on Environment friendly goods suppliers

Related Question

Being a green company does NSN BD Ltd. gives preference to environment friendly goods and services.

Response

Using 5point likert scale, from1-always to 5never, taking the value below 3 are taken as positive response

This hypothesis is tested using Z test

Z test: The case can be summarized symbolically

pHo = 0.70 (Hypothesized mean)

qHo= (1- pHo) = 0.30

n=30 (sample size)

= 0.83

σp = { (pHo*qHo)/ n}^0.5

= {( 0.70*0.30)/ 30} ^0.5

= 0.0836

Zobs = ( -pHo)/ σp

= {(0.833 – 0.70)/ 0.0836}

= 1.589

Zcrit =1.64 (at 90% confidence level tabulated value of Zcrit)

Zobs< Zcrit so there is no significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis

The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically.

Figure 15: Showing z test

Acceptance Region

Zcrit= 1.64

Zobs= 1.589 1.589 1111111111111111111.51479

Figure : z Test

Source: Primary

From the figure above it can be said that the value of Zobs falls within the acceptable range.

Findings

From the hypothesis test it is found that NSN gives preference to those suppliers who supply environment friendly goods.

NSN as a Green Company

As a green company NSN require suppliers to have a documented environmental management system (EMS), except in categories where impacts are very low such as research and development, software providers and consultancies. In the case of contract manufacturers, other key suppliers and those identified as having higher environmental risks, this EMS must be certified to environmental management standard ISO 14001.

At the end of 2009, we asked our 150 key suppliers (by purchase expenditure) to confirm whether they have an EMS in place at corporate level and at each individual site which supplies Nokia Siemens Networks. Focusing on direct suppliers of materials only, over 400 sites were included in the survey. Based on supplier confirmations and a review of public data sources, 76 percent of these sites meet Nokia Siemens Networks requirements and work continues with those suppliers who did not yet comply.

It typically takes 12 to 18 months to develop an EMS for each site. As new suppliers are continually selected or existing suppliers supply Nokia Siemens Networks from new sites, this means EMS coverage is unlikely to reach 100 percent at any given time. In 2010, NSN also further improve their data collection process in this area. Cutting emissions related to energy use is a key part of NSN’s corporate responsibility strategy. This includes our commitment to improve energy efficiency in the supply chain.

In 2009, we invited 22 key suppliers to participate in a pilot energy efficiency program. Of these, 19 suppliers provided examples of how they are improving energy efficiency, which we shared together with best practices from our own operations. Suggestions ranged from improving the efficiency of buildings and equipment to streamlining specific manufacturing processes and encouraging employees to turn off equipment when not in use. NSN shared these examples of best practice with all participating suppliers.

NSN have asked suppliers to set targets to improve the energy efficiency of their operations and, where applicable, their products, beginning in 2010.

Targets fulfilled in 2010

Invited a further 30 suppliers (based on high energy intensity and business significance) to participate in our energy efficiency program
Drive implementation of good practices through meetings and target-setting on energy efficiency.

From the discussion it is clear that NSN as a green company always conscious about choosing environment friendly goods suppliers. They themselves also avoid unusual use of resources like paper, Energy, printing materials etc.

Specific objective: 08

To find out whether there is any change in cycle time for procurement of a product or not

Related Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: More than 75% employees think that Cycle time for procurement of product has decreased more than 7 days each

Alternative Hypothesis: Less than 75% employees think that Cycle time for procurement has decreased less than 7 days each year.

Related Question

Cycle time for procurement of NSN BD Ltd is decreasing by 7days per year

Response

Z test: The case can be summarized symbolically

pHo = 0.75 (Hypoyhetical mean)

qHo= ( 1- pHo)= 0.25

n=30 (sample size)

= 0.867

σp ={ (pHo*qHo)/ n}^0.5

= {( 0.75*0.25)/ 30} ^0.5

= 0.079

Zobs = ( -pHo)/ σp

= {(0.867-0.75)/ 0.079}

= 1.47

Zcrit =1.64 (at 90% confidence level tabulated value of Zcrit)

Zobs < Zcrit so there is no significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis

The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically.

Figure 17: Showing Z test

Acceptance Region

Zcrit= 1.64

Zobs= 1.479

Figure : z Test

Source: Primary data

Secondary data From NSN BD Ltd.

Findings

It shows that in previous years cycle time for purchasing product has decreased by more than 7 days per year.

But from the data we found that the time period for invoice payment has not changed, only the time due in PO creation has changed and came to a minimum range of 2to 7 days by using my order tools. Now in upcoming days it will only be possible to minimize the cycle time by decreasing payment period. It will also help the organization to increase number of potential vendors who are now not interested to do business just because of longer credit period.

It will also increase the bargaining power and save cost.

Specific Objective: 09

To find out the growth rate of purchase of NSN

Related Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: More than 70% employees said that purchase rate of NSN is growing more than 15% per year

Alternative Hypothesis: More than 70% employees said that purchase rate of NSN is not growing more than 15% per year

Related question

Purchase rate of NSN BD Ltd. (Direct and Indirect) increasing consistently more than 15% per year

Using 5point likert scale, from1-always- 5never, taking the value 3 and below are taken as positive response

This hypothesis is tested by using Z test

5.9.4 Z Test : The case can be summarized symbolically

pHo = 0.70 (hypothesized mean)

qHo= (1- pHo) = 0.30

n=30 (sample size)

= 0.80 (Observed mean )

σp ={ (pHo*qHo)/ n}^0.5

= {( 0.70*0.30)/ 30} ^0.5

= 0.0836

Zobs = ( -pHo)/ σp

= {(0.80-0.70)/ 0.0836}

= 1.19

Zcrit =1.64 (at 90% confidence level tabulated value of Zcrit)

Zobs< Zcrit so there is no significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis

The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically.

Acceptance Region

Zcrit= 1.64

Zobs= 1.19

Figure : z Test

Source: Primary

Secondary data related to the issue

Specific Objective: 10

To find out the implementation rate of purchasing contract

Related Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis: More than 80% employees believe that all the contracts for procurement of NSN BD LTD. have been successfully implemented.

Alternative Hypothesis: Less than 80% employees believe that all the contracts for procurement of NSN BD Ltd. have been successfully implemented.

Related question

NSN BD Ltd implements 100% of its procurement contract.

Response

Z test:

The case can be summarized symbolically

pHo = 0.80 (Hypothetical mean)

qHo= (1- pHo) 0.20

n=30 (sample size)

= 0.933 (Observed mean)

σp ={ (pHo*qHo)/ n}^0.5

= {( 0.8*0.20)/ 30} ^0.5

= 0.073

Zobs = ( -pHo)/ σp

= {(0.933-0.80)/ 0.073}

= 1.82

Zcrit =1.96 (at 95% confidence level tabulated value of Zcrit)

Zobserved < Zcrit so there is no significant reason to reject the Null hypothesis the null hypothesis The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically. Figure 21: Showing Z test Acceptance Region Zcrit= 1.96 Zobs= 1.84 Figure: Z Test From the figure above it can be said that the value of Zobs falls within the acceptable range Table 16: Showing list of contracts in 2010: Name of the company are in contract with NSN BD LTD. Nature of Business & Contract Implementation Universal Technology and Engineering Ltd. TI Successful Alliance Computers Ltd. TI Successful Eminence Communication TI Successful GTL Int’l Bangladesh Pvt. TI Successful Crystal Engineers & Builders Ltd. TI Successful MAK Consortium TI Successful Fair & Appropriate Technology Ltd. TI Successful Crystal Future Venture Ltd. TI Successful NJ Wade TI Successful DNS Engineering TI Successful Friends Engineering & Construction TI Successful International Office Equipment (IOE) TI Successful Innovis Telecom Services Bangladesh TI Successful The Three Guys Network Bangladesh TI Successful Woojoo Telecom TI Successful Taurus International Ltd. TI Successful Power Trade Engineering Ltd TI Successful Asia Tel TI Successful GPI Asia Tel TI Successful Matrix TI Successful Siam Installation Materials Successful Chowdhury Installation Materials Successful Paradise Cables Successful BRB Cables Successful Emaco Alam System Successful CERES Installation Materials Successful Metrotelworks NPO Successful TechMahindra NPO Successful 3S Netwrok (BD) LTD NOP Successful R K Engineering & Construction MW Installation Successful Chowdhury Agencies Materials Successful M. Brothers & Communication Co. Ltd. OFC Maintenance Successful Unitedtel MW Installation Successful Crystal Engineers & Builders Limited BTS Installation Successful Zoom International BTS Installation Successful Wave Engineering & Technologies MW Installation Successful Radiocell Communication BTS Installation Successful Technology & Services OFC Maintenance Successful ELPIS Corporation BTS Installation Successful SEAM Telecom Materials Successful CERES Materials Successful Fair & Appropriate Technologies Ltd. MW Installation Successful Paradise Cables Cables Successful Singer Cables Cables Successful BRB Cables Cables Successful Techvally Networks Ltd. OEM Successful AAMRA Technologies OEM Successful Paradise Cables Cables Successful Singer Cables Cables Successful Total number of contract = 48 Response Number of contract Percentage Successfully implemented 48 100 Cancelled/ Not implemented 0 00 From the above data base we can say that the entire contracts are made with the vendors of direct procurement are implemented. So there is no specific reason to reject the null hypothesis. In case of execution an of contract 5.11 Specific Objective: 11 To find out vendors perception towards NSN BD Ltd. 5.11.1 Related hypothesis Null Hypothesis: More than 70% vendors think NSN is a good customer for their product (got less than 3 in the scale of 5) Alternative Hypothesis: Less than 70% vendors think NSN is a good customer for their product (got less than 3 in the scale of 5) 5.11.2 Related question NSN BD LTD is a good customer for its vendors 5.11.3 Response Table 17: Showing frequency distribution of related question Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid Strongly agree 3 30.0 30.0 30.0 Agree 5 50.0 50.0 80.0 Neutral 2 20.0 20.0 100.0 Total 10 100.0 100.0 Source: primary Figure 22: Pie chart showing frequency distribution Source: Primary Using 5point likert scale, from1-always- 5never, taking the value below 3 as positive response This hypothesis is tested using Z test 5.11.4 Z test: The case can be summarized symbolically pHo =. 70 (Hypothesized mean) qHo=(1- pHo) = 0.30 n=10 (sample size) x= 0.8 (observed mean) Sx ={ (pHo * qHo)/ n}^0.5 ={( 0.7* .30)/ 10} ^0.5 = 0.145 tobserved = (p- M)/ Sx = {(.8-0.7)/ 0.145} =0.69 tcrit =1.833 (at alpha= 0.1,df=9 tabulated value of tcrit) tcrit > tobs , so there is not significant reason to reject the Null hypothesis.

The figure below shows this hypothesis test graphically.

Acceptance Region

tcrit= 1.833

Zobs= 0.69

Source: Primary

Tobserved < tcrit so there is no significant evidence to reject the null hypothesis

Basing on only a single question test it’s not possible to conclude any strong findings for that reason some more points are required to be shown. From the data base of questionnaire survey of vendors it is found that

Table 18: Co-relation between years of business with NSN BD LTD and being strategic partners.

Does NSN BD deal with its vendors as strategic partners?

How long are you doing business with NSN BD

Does NSN BD deal with its vendors as strategic partners?

Pearson Correlation

Findings:

There is very insignificant but positive relationship between age of business with NSN BD Ltd and the relationship with its vendors. It means the higher the age of business with the vendors the stronger strategic partner relationship. But the value of Pearson correlation is very low. Means the relationship is very low.

Table 19: Co-relation between yearly turnover and being strategic partner

Yearly turnover with NSN BD Ltd.

Does NSN BD Ltd. deal with its vendors as strategic partners?

Yearly turnover with NSN BD Ltd

Pearson Correlation

Findings

There is very insignificant but positive relationship between yearly turnover of vendors business with NSN BD Ltd and the strategic relationship with its vendors. Means the higher the turnover (yearly) of business with the vendors the stronger strategic partner relationship. The value of Pearson correlation is very low. Means the relationship is strong.

Related Question

In case of failure to delivery product on time, step that NSN BD takes

Does your organization meet the process with in the lead time

In case of failure to delivery product on time, step that NSN BD takes

Does your organization meet the process with in the lead time

Pearson Correlation

Findings:

The correlation between meeting the delivery process with in the lead time shows that the regularly the vendors complete the process with in pre-declared lead time the flexible initiative (penalty) NSN BD LTD. charges.

From the above findings we can say that Vendors have positive perception towards NSN BD LTD. as their customer.

Specific objective: 12

To show the impact of vendor management on its business

In this research impact of vendor management on its business is shown by limiting its scope. There can be several impact of vendor management system on its business like on time support, longer credit period, after sales service, cost saving etc on generating higher revenue and profit by running business smoothly with. In this research the impact of vendor management is measured in terms of cost saving on its profitability. The relationship between cost saving and

Profitability is ascertained by doing regression analysis below.

Regression Analysis of cost saving and profitability:

From the data collected above the required values for regression analysis are ascertained. Taking the value of independent (cost saving) and dependent variable ( profitability)

Findings and Interpretation of regression analysis of yearly cost saving and profitability:

The calculated F value 1.065 is less than tabulated value 18.5 (at 2 Degree of freedom) which predicts that if sample size large there will be no impact of yearly cost saving on yearly profitability.
The value of B is positive means there is a positive linier relationship between profitability and cost saving, so there will be an upward trend in regression line.
The equation for regression line is Y = 182.194X – 311.26
The predicted residual values the gap between the regression line and the actual value

The figure below shows the regression line of cost saving and profitability

FINDINGS OF THE ANALYSIS, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATION

Findings:

In recent days vendor management has become an important part of running any type of business. It has reached to the position of managing an important partner of business from a merely a neglected supplier. Now a day there is a separate field of business where only job of vendor management is done. Many large companies are managing their vendors via vendor management firms. There are also some software and web based solution to manage for vendor management like “Talent20”
There are some well practice rules and steps are widely practiced for better vendor management including supplier selection, preparing contract, contract management and renewal and payment procedure
The vendor management system of NSN BD Ltd is regularly upgrading with the change of time and requirement of situation. Policies regarding procurement and payment are global and applied in all the countries.
Of the total procurement indirect procurement have a small proportion but adequate importance are give to that part as those are important for running the business by fulfilling the individual employee’s need promptly
For meeting the requirement of individual employees fast NSN BD LTD started using a software named MyOrder tool which most of the employees think one of the best tool. By using this tool the requester can place his/her demand for the product with the approval of manager(Approval) and purchase order can be placed within two to seven days which previously required almost a month.
The invoice payment system serves the interest of both parties. Though NSN BD LTD takes 45 days for any kind of payments to vendor except Govt. vendors, but they pay the bills on the preset contract date. Some exceptional cases of delay are there, but those have sound reason behind keeping the payments outstanding. Most of those situation occurs due to not getting the required product as per specification on time
In most of the cases NSN BD LTD deals with its vendor as valued partner. NSN takes special care of its vendors and work hard for vendor’s development by providing different training, setting KPI for their services. They believe the more effort is given of vendor development the better it is for vendor management.
NSN BD LTD claims that it is a Green Company, so they always try to avoid using those products which are harmful for the environment. They are also concern for energy saving. They are not only working for being green alone. They also encourage the vendors supplying environment friendly goods. They prefer those suppliers having ISO certification regarding environment friendly goods
The efficiency in vendor management has decreased the cycle time for procurement to payment for purchasing any product. The cycle time decreased in the part of creating purchase order. Previously they did it manually, but now the product is ordered directly by the requestor via MyOrder tools, which require less time.
The spending on purchase of direct and indirect products has an upward trend. But sometime there are fluctuation in the spending due to some specific reasons like change in technology, inflation etc
NSN BD LTD works very efficient and effective in preparing contract for purchasing goods and service. All most all the contract they made are successfully implemented, In case of service procurement they regularly monitor the quality and speed of work and project management team regularly supervise them for getting best output.
Vendor’s perception towards NSN BD LTD as a customer is good. Vendors are highly interested in doing business with them. Even though the payment system of NSN BD LTD require a bit longer than many other local and multinationals, still their numerous vendors are ready to supply product. Vendors are treated as their strategic partner and are provided support for development.
The larger the amount of business with the vendor the stronger the relationship.
The longer the age of business with vendors the stronger the relationship.
Impact of vendor management on its business is prominent. Their good relationship with vendor helps them to run their business smoothly by saving time and cost. This cost saving has a positive relationship with the profitability of NSN BD LTD.

Conclusion:

In this research paper, an exhaustive effort was made to analyze the vendor management system of Nokia Siemens Networks focusing on Nokia Siemens Network Bangladesh Ltd. for analyzing the vendor management system few important aspects of vendor management like supplier base management, preparing contract, managing contract, payment process is analyzed.

Mission of vendor management is to provide world class product and services for Nokia Siemens Networks in a cost efficient manner. Vendor managers represent Nokia Siemens Networks in contract negotiations with vendors. Different vendor management group works closely with GPR, business unit representatives to achieve the goals. Vendor management’s key responsibility is to make sure NSN’s deals with suppliers are cost efficient and advantageous.

NSN already have a very updated rule, regulations, guide line and policies for efficient and effective vendor management which is used globally. And these rules are revised with the requirement of situation. These regulations are also prepared keeping vendors interest in mind. For this reason vendors are also interested in dealing with NSN as a valued customer. Though there are some points, which some time resist NSN to choose the best option, but the way the deal with their vendors, provide NSN good support in their business as strategic partner.

Recommendation:

For preparing the research paper on critical analysis of Vendor Management System, it was required to go through the policy and process of it. Observing the whole process and questionnaire survey of both employees and vendors, it is found that current vendor management practice is a good one. The concern persons dealing with this process are highly experienced and educated in relevant field. with due respect to them I would like to recommend few points which was found through the observation and suggestions from both employees and vendors of NSN BD LTD may help them to maintain good relationship, cost saving, timely delivery of the product and service.

NSN BD LTD should focus on reducing the payment period which widen the range of potential vendor and increase bargaining power
In case of indirect purchase by ordering via my Order tools, individual purchase as per requirement is done; if it is processed in the way to purchase in bulk it may reduce the cost of purchasing.
Provide short training on purchasing policies and rule of NSN
The impact of cost saving on profitability is positive. It is also very high because the largest portion of its revenue spend on the purchase of direct products, so little percentage change (increase) in cost saving will have multiplier effect on its profitability. So NSN must focus on cost saving on direct procurement.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

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Singapore, McGraw‑Hill Irwin, 2001

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Company’s Internal Reports and Policies

Annual Report from 2007- 2010

Website:

Company’s internal website: