Avoiding the pitfalls of cooperative purchasing through control and coordination: insights from a humanitarian context

Journal article, 2015

In this paper, barriers to cooperative purchasing are discussed from an inter-organizational coordination perspective, and a framework for successful cooperative purchasing is introduced. Potential benefits such as economies of scale, better transparency and more efficient information exchange have generated high interest for cooperative purchasing as a supply chain strategy. However, literature notes several instances of such cooperation not having the expected outcomes. We aimed to further the understanding of the barriers to cooperative purchasing. By studying an exemplary situation of an unsuccessful cooperative purchasing, the attractiveness and inherent complexity of a cooperative purchasing process is highlighted. This study draws on and adds to the existing literature on cooperative purchasing by discussing coordination related barriers to cooperative purchasing, and provides managerial insights into what to consider when engaging in the cooperative purchasing strategy to avoid the pitfalls.