The industrial purchasing and the effect of digitalization on industrial purchasing processes; a study on Sakarya province

As the concept of digitalization becomes more widespread and developments in information technologies, traditional trade habits have been replaced by different innovative approaches. Thanks to digitalization, businesses have the opportunity to choose and compare the goods and services they need in the fastest way. For this reason, the reflections of digitalization on the economy and trade are important. This study was prepared to determine the effects of digitalization on industrial purchasing processes. In this study, the purchasing processes of the companies operating in Sakarya province, their criteria, and the approaches of the personnel working in the purchasing departments of the relevant companies were examined. In this direction, online questionnaire forms were created by using the findings obtained from the literature and the in-depth interview method, and the convenience sampling technique. While the research was prepared with the data collected from the purchasing authorities of the companies operating in the province of Sakarya, the data obtained from 105 participants were included in the analysis. The data obtained after the application were analyzed with the SPSS 23.0 program. As a result of the analysis, it has been concluded that the effect of digitalization on industrial purchasing processes are perceived by the buyers to a significant extent. As a result of the analysis of likert expressions, in which operational and strategic activities are measured, it has been concluded that digitalized purchasing processes increase department and employee productivity. As a result of the analyzes made to reveal whether the effect of digitalization on industrial purchasing processes differs according to demographic variables, no difference was found. At the same time, although the purchasing authorities perceive digitalization as important in the purchasing processes, the efforts of employers and public institutions towards digitalization are not perceived as sufficient.