The importance of supplier information quality in purchasing of transport services

Sammanfattning: An important prerequisite for successful supply chain integration is the ability to convert data into information combined with structured storing and sharing processes. The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate potential relation between supplier data quality and performance of purchasing of transport services. The output of the thesis generates evidence about the imperative to emphasize on the supplier data quality throughout the supplier selection process. A supplier data quality assessment framework consisting of 4 dimensions - ease of manipulation, accessibility, accuracy and completeness, is developed as the core product of this research project. The weights of these dimensions were assigned specifically for the case company - Cramo, to determine the quality score for a selected sample of carriers. A coefficient k1 representing the ratio of transport expenditure over sales was introduced to facilitate the identification of relation between supplier data quality and transport expenditure. Business units served by transport companies with higher quality data displayed a lower k1, consequently, paying less for the transport services in comparison to their revenue than business units served by carriers with lower data quality score. The framework developed is adaptable - dimensions and metrics can be added or excluded according to situational factors and case peculiarities. The application of the supplier data quality assessment framework allows for a more objective and streamlined supplier selection. It stresses on the overall costs experienced during the period of cooperation. The finding regarding the importance of supplier data quality in purchasing of transport services can be nonetheless generalized for other cases when companies strive for achieving better informed strategic decisions.