Effect of Supplier Evaluation on Procurement Performance in Government Ministries of Rwanda; A Case of Ministry of Defence

In Rwanda, as reported by Rwanda Public Procurement Authority in public institutions, suppliers are in most cases conventionally selected on the basis of low price and less importance is given to the suppliers who give assurance of on time delivery and long term relationships. The question arises in this case as to what criteria the government institutions especially ministries should use in selecting their suppliers for better procurement performance. Supplier evaluation is arguably one of the popularly used approaches of ensuring the right suppliers are awarded contracts and thats the reason why this study focused on the effect of supplier evaluation on procurement performance in government ministries in Rwanda by taking the ministry of defense as case study. The general objective of this study was to analyze the effect of supplier evaluation on procurement performance in the government ministries in Rwanda. The target population for this study equaled to forty respondents including suppliers and procurement staff of the ministry of defense of Rwanda. The researcher collected first hand data using questionnaire and interview. It was concluded that suppliers financial capacity has a positive and significant effect on procurement performance of ministry of defense. Suppliers financial capacity directly influences their ability to supply the right quantity with the right quality at the right price. Supplier quality commitment has significant effect on procurement performance of ministry of defense of Rwanda. Suppliers level of quality commitment directly determines the level of quality in products and services obtained through procurement activities, product quality is just an aspect of procurement performance. The study concluded that suppliers competence has a significant effect on procurement performance of the ministry of defense. Supplier competence determines the understanding and satisfaction of buyers needs that is measured in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of the procurement practices. The study recommends that supplier evaluation should be done by experts who are knowledgeable and have expertise to conduct the exercise professionally. This is because supplier selection and evaluation is a process vulnerable to personal and political interference especially in the public sector. Quality commitment must be considered as a critical factor in supplier evaluation and supplier selection. The researcher recommends that supplier competence should be considered when awarding supply contracts. It should form the basis of awarding contracts. This is because the level of suppliers competence determines the suppliers ability to understand user needs and enhances their ability to satisfy supply needs of the procuring organizations.