An Empirical Investigation of Procurement Trends and Partnership Management in Fm Services ‐ a Finnish Survey

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to review procurement trends of facilities management (FM) services and to describe the partnership control mechanisms that contribute to the success of FM partnerships. The investigation is based on a questionnaire survey, which was carried out in Finland. It was found that a transition ‐ similar to those in other industries ‐ towards closer relationships and bigger purchase entities is taking place also in the FM context. In most cases, the choice of the partnering approach is related to developing wider service packages. When implementing partnering relationships, the task of top management is to provide the shared values and visions. Having established these in the organisation, top management does not seem to have any significant role in relationship management. During the ongoing partnership, the operational level runs the daily initiative, development and problem solving based on ad hoc procedures.

A strategic skill based model of supplier integration and its effect on supply management performance

“…This is consistent with a host of supply management Note: X1 = analytical, X2 = understanding general business conditions, X3 = planning, X4 = strategic thinking, X5 = structuring supplier relationships, X6 = managing the supply base, and X7 = project management. literature (e.g., Eltantawy, 2008;Lehtonen & Salonen, 2006). Structuring supplier relationships, however, is relatively less important in determining both status and integration.…”

Measuring Purchasing Groups Performance in the Health Care sector

“…As noted by Schotanus & Telgen (2007, p. 53): "the concept of cooperative purchasing seems to be especially interesting for public organisations, for instance, for organisations like public hospitals, schools, ministries, or municipalities." This approach has also been used in the private sector over the last decade (Becky, 2013;Lehtonen & Salonen, 2006).…”

Contracting in FM: collaboration, coordination and control

“…Theoretically elaborated studies of FM relationships have been carried out by Finnish researchers, who have analysed these contracts in relation to the literature on buyer-seller relationships in other industries. There has been a trend for Finnish companies to abandon transactional relations in favour of wider service packages and partnering approaches, and Lehtonen and Salonen (2006) found that relationships in FM formally had many characteristics in common with both traditional arms' length relationships and with partnerships. For e xample, a lthough there were learning and development objectives, choice of partner was generally based on price and there was no sharing of benefits and risks.…”

“…A change of FM partner will thus not influence business strategy, and FM partnerships are seen as intrinsically more operational than strategic (Lehtonen and Salonen, 2006). However, many relationships are close with high levels of trust and commitment, and Lehtonen and Salonen (2006) argue that this is because services are delivered on the premises of clients. They also found that operational level contacts were considered important, as well as the relations between front line staff and end-users.…”

“…Another aspect which influences contracting needs is the interaction between the supplier and buyer during the service delivery. As mentioned by Lehtonen and Salonen (2006), the fact that the service provider is located on the premises of the client is important in shaping the relationship. Human beings in direct contact will establish some kind of relationship, and a service process that requires close interaction between employees on both sides will be influenced by interpersonal trust (or distrust), loyalties and dependencies.…”