{"id":692,"date":"2022-11-14T11:23:35","date_gmt":"2022-11-14T09:23:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/?p=692"},"modified":"2023-12-08T18:08:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-08T16:08:44","slug":"masters-thesis-within-military-procurement-the-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/2022\/11\/14\/masters-thesis-within-military-procurement-the-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Master’s Thesis within Military Procurement- The Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Lauri Aaltonen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanken Master’s Alumnus
Procurement Planner in the Finnish Defense Forces<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As I write this blog entry, I have already\ngraduated from Hanken MSc. In the closing phase of my studies, I wrote my master\u2019s\nthesis (Pro Gradu). Title of my thesis was \u00b4Development of procurement for maintenance\nspare parts \u2013 Case Finnish Defence Forces\u00b4. It was conducted as an\nassignment from my employer. I started writing my thesis as an intern in the\nFinnish Defence Forces in February 2022. My path to this position was not so\nmuch through ready-made contacts and network, but with support from my active\nand self-initiated search methods. I feel that general knowledge of the field\nand my previous experience in the army increased my interest. I completed my\nthesis during April 2022. The thesis work from the spring eventually led to the\npermanent job where I work currently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProcurement is the method of exploring\nand agreeing to terms and purchasing goods or services from an external\nsource, often with the use of a tendering or\ncompetitive bidding process.\u201d<\/em> (Laffont,\nJean-Jacques; Tirole, Jean (1993). A Theory of Incentives in Procurement\nand Regulation. MIT Press. p. 1<\/a>).\nProcurement of spare parts does not differentiate from the general meaning that\nmuch, but it has indeed own special attributes. For example, when purchasing\nspare parts, a direct significance for maintenance and operational capacity\nmust be included. My interest was increased by the application of procurement\ndevelopment to a military actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like any high-quality academic project, my\nthesis began with comprehensive planning. We developed the subject area\ntogether with my employer and we defined the research questions based on the\ndevelopment points that emerged from the organization. Those points were related\nto the creation of common operating methods and the automation of operations in\norder to save costs. I was also able to participate in influencing the\ndirection of the review of development needs. My research questions for the\nstudy were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– RQ1 Is there currently an efficient system in place within procurement operations that cater specifically to the replacement of equipment, spare parts, and consumables?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– RQ2 How should the available resources be managed so they focus on important areas – distribution by effectiveness?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– RQ3 How the material is categorized to procurement portfolios, in order to aim at more effective self-sufficiency and focus on procurement?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– RQ4 How do procurement portfolios work to increase cost efficiency?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The study background was facilitated by a\nlack of procurement categorization and the need to indicate material critical\nto the procurement processes. Throughout the process, we had a constant\ndiscussion with my employer about the direction in which the development should\nbe taken. The most interesting moments consisted of them when the retrieved and\nprocessed data began to be completed and the logic took shape. I didn’t do much\nso-called field work, but surprisingly, you can also experience interesting\nmoments in front of the screen. These were enriched by opening conversations\nwith other employees who were eagerly awaiting the results of the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, the results of the study were needed\nin the organization. Creating a framework for classification and specification\nof spare parts was my main target point in the thesis project. Even though the\nFinnish Defence Forces are a public administration (and military) actor, I\nwanted to make use of research methods established in earlier studies and\nindustry use. These research methods seemed to support the process and the\njustification to the client was relatively easy.  Peter Kraljic’s 1983 presentation of his\nmatrix model was, in my opinion, the most suitable for the situation, as the\nmodel divides the procurement into fields with their own functionalities. A lot\nof work resulted in creating the basis for categorization and determining the\nright parameters. Defining the parameters in this context meant choosing the\nright factors through which one could assess the material importance and\ncriticality. The parameters are in direct contact with the daily operation of\nspare parts. As a result of good groundwork, I got the following suggestions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Y and X models shown above come from a\nready-made four-field matrix (Kraljic\u2019s matrix), where the scoring of the\nfour-field parts consists of X and Y values. The characteristics that determine\nthe points were created for this study itself. Y-axis denominators (parameters<\/em>)\nindicate the effect of each item to the availability of systems and the X-axis\ndenominators of level of difficulty in managing procurement for each item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the basics of categorization, I was\nable to define matrix titles the way I wanted. The material I analysed was now\nto be placed in different procurement categories based on its procurement\ntransactions and other characteristics. The goal was to show the materials that\nbehave in different ways in the procurement process, and I think I succeeded in\nthis well. The main focus in this process was to identify\/highlight that\ndifferent materials should be taken into account differently in procurement. The\nfinal work done for the client usually supports the client directly, and that’s\nhow I was able to develop the operational methods for each category:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The table above contains four procurement\ncategories whose operating instructions are utilized in procurement to make it\nmore efficient. As a result, I was able to demonstrate the benefits of\ncategorization and classification. According to my analysis, the security of\nsupply and self-sufficiency perspective are also developing, and this is an\nimportant point of reference for the military operator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The writing process for master’s thesis is\nlong and time-consuming. For many, even the first academically big assignment.\nHowever, you can get a lot out of it, and I think the work prepares its creator\nfor future challenges. For me, I often seemed to run out of time, but I felt it\nwas best for me to meet my predetermined time limit. I succeeded in this and in\nmy mind still with relatively good results. Overall, the final project was very\ninteresting, and I received a lot of support from both the school and the\nemployer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lauri has started a career within military procurement since graduating from Hanken. During freetime Lauri can be spotted playing basketball and attending to LOGY activities <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lauri Aaltonen Hanken Master’s Alumnus Procurement Planner in the Finnish Defense Forces As I write this blog entry, I have already graduated from Hanken MSc. In the closing phase […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-studies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":702,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692\/revisions\/702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.hanken.fi\/humlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}