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Procurement research

Applied procurement research is vital to senior executives and policy makers, who have few management tools to equip them to make major procurement decisions.

Procurement is now a major influence on organisational financial performance, yet it is not supported by suitable professional practice. CBS hosts the only Chair of Strategic Procurement in Australia, informally named Asia-Pacific Procurement Research (APPR). Our work aims to lead the development of high-impact research to enhance the scope and quality of procurement policy and practices at a local, regional and national level and contribute to the international research and teaching status of CBS.

Contemporary procurement research is beginning to reveal increasing complexity within the supply environment, which is complemented by limited professional skilling in the public and private sectors. Because procurement activities can be related to at least 12 academic disciplines, coordination of procurement knowledge remains limited. In Australia, a number of professional bodies claim, but do not adequately address, the emerging demands of procurement and supply management.

AAPR arose from the strategic decision on the part of the Western Australian Government to fund a Chair in Strategic Procurement. Agreement to fund the Chair, in conjunction with Curtin University of Technology, was finalised between the parties in 2001. Collaboration on the project now occurs through the Department of Treasury and Finance.

As the Chair in Strategic Procurement is unique in Australia, the research group has aimed to be the leading applied procurement research group nationally and to be closely linked with the principal procurement research institutions at the University of Bath, UK, and Florida Atlantic University in the USA.

APPR is staffed on a contracted basis, with the Chair of Strategic Procurement currently supported by a Senior Research Fellow, a Research Assistant and other collaborative researchers, include postgraduate research students.

APPR's development strategy is centred on the development of a procurement body of knowledge and its application in the public and private sectors. The principal activities are:

  • Applied and conceptual research
  • Commercial research activities
  • Publications
  • Collaborative relations with government and business sectors
  • National and international participation in the procurement field
  • Teaching and professional development