SCH4801 ASSIGNMENT 3 SEMESTER 2 - 2023 (640111)

SCH4801 ASSIGNMENT 3
SEMESTER 2 - 2023
UNIQUE NUMBER: 640111


DUE DATE: 29 SEPTEMBER 2023

,SCH4801 ASSIGNMENT 3

UNIQUE NUMBER: 640111

CLOSING DATE: 29 SEPTEMBER 2023

MARKS: 45



SECTION A: QUESTION 1

QUESTION 1 [15 marks]

Evaluate the answers provided by the AI tool by comparing them to the relevant section in
the prescribed book by answering the following sub-questions:

1.1 Indicate any two challenges correctly identified by the AI tool regarding South African
public supply chain management challenges according to the prescribed book. Find
one other source for each of the two correctly identified Public SCM challenges.

The AI tool correctly identifies two challenges regarding South African public supply chain
management (SCM) challenges, which align with the prescribed book.
These challenges are:

Challenge 1: Lack of proper knowledge, skills, and capacity

 Prescribed Book Reference: The prescribed book highlights the challenge of
inadequate skills and capacity in the public sector's SCM. It emphasizes the need for
training and capacity building (Badenhorst-Weiss et al., 2017)

“Adequate capacity in the form of appropriate structures with fully skilled and
professional SCM personnel is a key success factor for effective and efficient SCM
implementation. In some government entities, the abilities and skills of SCM
personnel are well below standard. Many SCM actors in the South African public
sphere have attended a number of training workshops on SCM, but they still lack the
appropriate knowledge for proper implementation. McCarthy (2006) contends that
there is a lack of capacity and knowledge among SCM actors to handle procurement
processes which has led to bad governance. The South African government embarks
on programmes that educate practitioners, but the implementation of its
programmes always falls short. However, if personnel do not have the inherent
abilities to learn, no programme will be successful “.




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,  Additional Source: According to Van Weele (2018), capacity and skills development
are essential to improving public SCM in South Africa. A lack of expertise in SCM can
hinder the efficiency of procurement processes.




Challenge 2: Non-compliance with SCM policy and regulations

 Prescribed Book Reference: The prescribed book discusses the issue of non-
compliance with SCM policies and regulations, which can lead to inefficiencies and
corruption (Badenhorst-Weiss et al., 2017).

“SCM is guided by a number of related policies and regulations. Compliance with
these policies and regulations is a problem. Some of the practices relating to non-
compliance with the rules and procedures relate to the tendency not to use a
competitive process for both quotations and bids, and incorrect utilisation of the
preference points system. Van Zyl (2006) also asserts that there is a lack of
appropriate bid committees, use of unqualified suppliers, passing over of bids for
incorrect reasons, utilisation of the incorrect procurement process in respect of the
thresholds, extensions of validity periods and incorrect utilisation of the limited
bidding process. Furthermore, Ambe and Badenhorst-Weiss (2011b) noted that there
are inadequate controls and procedures for the handling of bids, the appointment of
bid committee members is not aligned to policy requirements and there is insufficient
motivation for deviations from SCM procedures”.



 Additional Source: In an article by Nyangeri and Kaunda (2019), non-compliance
with SCM policies is identified as a significant challenge in South Africa's public
sector. This non-compliance can result in legal and financial repercussions.



These two challenges identified by the AI tool align with the prescribed book and are
supported by additional sources, reinforcing their significance in South African public SCM
challenges




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