FRAGILITY OF PROCUREMENT PRACTICES OF FIRMS ON PROFITABILITY IN FLOUR MILLS NIGERIA (FMN) PLC LAGOS

The first hypothesis indicated that procurement planning significantly relates with a firm’s profitability which promotes effective practices with suppliers in Flour Mills Nigeria Plc (r = .511, n = 1425, p < .000). 96.0% had positive agreement that a procurement plan helps managers to choose suppliers in a manner that determines what the organization's needs are and to procure with resources available within a specific time. This is true because in the organization management has priority for sustainable planning in procurement. In the studied organization, procurement planning is what promotes effective delivery, quality, and cost reduction which contributes to efficient operations in mitigating risk and enhances quality performance of the organizational project. The responses of the respondents representing a total of 96.5% had a positive agreement that the existence of enterprise resource planning and effective budgeting helped in driving the achievement of procurement plan in the organization.

The second hypothesis revealed that e-procurement operations significantly relate to a firm’s profitability on costs-saving on inventory geared towards enhancing efficiency in Flour Mills Nigeria Plc (r = .710, n = 1425, p < .000). 93.6% with a total of 96.8% have a positive agreement that the profitability of the organization is actualized through e-procurement which improves efficiency in organizational performance. This is inevitable in the studied organization because the adoption of e-procurement brings about the need to consolidate with viable supply chain function to gain satisfaction and efficiency thereby to improving or boosting organizational performance in line with growth and profitability objectives of the organization. Most pertinent is the fact that the culture of the organization supports the adoption of e-procurement using ICT in procuring the required resources and achieving efficiency and effectiveness in financial integration, infrastructure communication, and transportation.

The third hypothesis shows that contract management significantly relates to a firm’s profitability in promoting the commitments of suppliers and production plans of Flour Mills Nigeria (FMN) Plc Lagos (r = .618, n = 1425, p < .000). 96.8% had a positive agreement that management of contracts in the organization assists managers in managing and monitoring contracts for parties in the contract. This is true because contract management brings about effective operational productivity which is with the use of forecast for better data analysis and for greater control and efficiency in contract management. Responses of the respondents representing 93.6% had a positive agreement that the need for contract management is to effectively control contract communication and renewal through communication with contract data. In the studied organization, communication is highly accessible for all workers, and this minimizes error and speeds up contract management process.