Measuring service delivery in the supply chain department of a petrochemical organisation

Abstract

The essence of this study is to measure the factors that lead to the negative perception of poor service delivery from the Supply and Demand Management (SDM) department of Company X. The Sasolburg operation was selected to pilot the study in order to determine the underlying issues that contribute to the perceived poor service delivery. Improved service delivery would contribute to the organisation’s overall strategy of functional excellence through its operations and service departments. Using a qualitative approach, this study attempts to obtain a clear insight of the perception of poor service delivery and ways of stimulating uniform approaches in order to being able to work together. It is essential for the organisation to regularly assess its operational performance in order to ascertain whether progress has been made in terms of strategy changes. The purpose of the study is not to prove that the supply and demand department is not delivering to expectations, but to measure the delivery the factors that create the perception of poor service delivery. The initiative is also to identify the weaknesses, and suggest how these weaknesses can be remedied as well as to share the findings with the various stakeholders within the organisation. The findings of the study demonstrate that communication gaps exists within the organisation and communication is perceived as playing a key role in overcoming poor service delivery.