International procurement office in Vietnam

Abstract

The objective of the thesis is to redefine the concept of International Procurement Office (IPO). Specifically, location, activities which can be assigned, advantages and disadvantages of IPO are studied. Another aim of the thesis is to explain the reasons behind IPO establishment of international corporations, from that provide a possible strategy that can be applied in the modern economy as well as some notices if companies want to implement IPO solution. The study is a qualitative research, which uses interviews as the main data collection method. During interviews, participants go through a set of questions which were designed following factors mentioned in existing literatures. these elements are examined to build an overview of the current situation of the application. Moreover, during data collection process, experts were encouraged to give their personal views and opinions on the questions and suggestions for future works. Advices for companies are also expected to be received in these discussions. So, a full manual of IPO establishment is the main target result of the research. The concept of IPO is expanding is main result of the thesis. Firstly, while the initial idea of external procurement office is to manage purchasing activities in developing countries like China, IPOs are nowadays set up in both developed and developing countries. Secondly, sourcing and purchasing activities are still core activities of these offices but they have currently been receiving more roles from headquarters. Main advantages and disadvantages of the strategy are also reviewed. The balance of benefits and how to define the power of these offices are two of the most important points companies need to focus in this strategy.