ASSESSMENT OF PURCHASING AND SUPPLY CONTRIBUTION IN QUALITY DETERMINATION AND CONTROL IN A SMALL SCALE INDUSTRY

INTRODUCTION
1.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
In every organization, no matter how small the management will not waste time and efforts in making or arranging for the supply of the wrong quality goods. This is one of the reason procurement in most organization, more especially in the manufacturing industry are receiving more attention than before, all in the bid to avoid waste arising from wrong purchase. Infact, purchasing objective have original been seen as the procurement of goods and services of the right quality in the right quality and at the right time, from the right supplier, at the right price. Price was put last, not because its importance. Would necessarily be least, but because it would often depend on the rest on the package, the specification, the quality, and so on quality was put first because it is fundamental.
In absolute terms quality is a function of excellence intrinsic value or grade as determined overtime by society generally or by designated bodies in specialized fields. In business and industrial activities generally quality is first defined as terms of relationship to a need or a function, in these case the important thing is not the absolute quality of an item, but the suitability of the item in satisfying the particular need at hand.
Quality can be also defined very simple as conformance with the stated requirement. Buyer responsibility and a supplies job is to deliver maternal whose quality conforms satisfactory with specification requirement. An assessment of purchasing and supply is normally expressed as “the procurement of the right quality material on the right quantity at the right time from the right supplied at the right source and at the most economical manner so as to offer value for money”.
This means that the right quality is normally achieved when the material under consideration is procured at the lowest cost consistent with ability so satisfy the functions for which it is interned. The role for users, department also has the responsibility for suitability determination, particularly for materials not used for production. An example of this is a situation where the administration officer or managers may be responsible for the determination of the quality of typewriter or stationeries used in his departments. I this second consideration, an assessment of purchasing department is clearly defined as having the role for responsibility for the determination of economic consideration for quality. This means that the purchasing should try to determine whether the selected material can be purchased on a timely and regular basis and from alternative sources on competitive basis.
According to Oyeoku (2001) a question may be asked if quality can be determined by one functions interested will determine the standard perhaps to the determent of the others. It follows therefore that quality must be the responsibility of everyone in the company for instance design, production, purchasing department and sales department and also users department. But generally to ensure that goods supplied are 10% right quality goods, the following factors must be borne in mind.
The first factor to be considered must be decided and stated in a simple but clear from what exactly is needed or required taking into consideration the intended application, this means that the purchases or the organization must have got a clear specification in addition the suppliers should fellow the specification as required with out unnecessary alteration to suit him (supplier). This will go a long way in avoiding production stoppage, redundancy, marketing problem and too much rejects etc which are associated with wrong supply of materials.