A dissertation submitted in Partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science in Procurement and Supply Chain Management (MSc – PSCM) of the Mzumbe University.
E-procurement adoption requires effective participation of various stakeholders such as buyers, suppliers, and regulatory authorities. The purpose of the dissertation was to assess the readiness for e-procurement adoption by government suppliers based in Dar es Salaam region given the current emphasis by the government for public organizations to implement e-procurement through Tanzania National e-Procurement Systems (TANePS).A sample was drawn using systematic sampling fromthe list of suppliers shortlisted by Government Procurement Service Agency (GPSA) for supply of stationery and office supplies under framework agreement. Questionnaires were used to collect data thereby subjected to quantitative analysis.
The study concludes that, the readiness for e-procurement adoption by government suppliers is low due to lack of technical expertise and skills to adopt e-procurement, limited financial and human resources, insufficient IT infrastructure with no reliable internet connection and the e-procurement adoption process is not supported by relevant stakeholders. Together with the drawbacks, suppliers’ readiness was found to be contributed by the fact that the attitude of firm members was positive towards adoption of e-procurement and the firm members value e-procurement adoption for various reasons.Also, the organization culture and the firm flexible policies and procedures were pointed to contribute to suppliers’ readiness to change from traditional paper-based procurement to electronic form. Lastly the study recommend that the effort the government strain to public organizations to adopt e-procurement should also be directed to suppliers as they are key stakeholders toward implementation of e-procurement solutions that is TANePS.