An Investigation into the Purchasing Practices by Small to Medium Enterprises (SMES) in the Leather, Clothing and Textile Manufacturing in Zimbabwe – Case of Harare SMES

Abstract

This research set out to investigate purchasing practices by Small and Medium sized Enterprises in the leather, clothing and textile manufacturing sector in Zimbabwe.14 SMEs were investigated. Survey questionnaires were sent out to the respondents and also interviews were carried out. Using a sing test procedure which is a non parametric test at 10 percent significance level, it was established that there are certain aspects of purchasing which are perceived to be insignificant. This however, was in agreement with findings from literature review that purchasing is not perceived by SMEs as an important activity. The reluctant up take of purchasing by SMEs was attributed to many reasons chief among them is the lack of resources by SMEs. While most of the reasons given were also true to the Zimbabwean context, in this research corruption stood out. Purchasing critical success factors were also identified as well as challenges faced by SMEs in their practice of purchasing in Zimbabwe. It was also recommended that SMEs in Zimbabwe should form consortiums in order to leverage their purchasing and achieve purchasing economics capable to making them competitive. Since most owners were responsible for purchasing, it was recommended that the owners undergo training in purchasing to enhance their knowledge about the phenomenon.