Inventory management in SMEs Operating in Polish group Purchasing Organizations during the COVID-19 Pandemic
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The COVID-19 virus has hit the economy around the world. In Poland, SMEs have the
greatest problems with doing business. Border blockades and the quarantine for enterprises in
virtually all industries throughout Poland greatly complicated the supply systems and the inventory
management process. Up to now, SMEs have acted in group purchasing organizations to improve
their competitive position. This form of activity also positively affects their financial security. Therefore, in this paper, the inventory management among this group of companies during the COVID-19
pandemic was analyzed. The purpose of the paper was to show how inventory management strategies changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in SMEs operating in industry GPOs. The analysis
was carried out on a group of 88 Polish commercial enterprises operating in purchasing groups. The
research period covered the years 2017–2019 and March–June 2020. The research showed a change in
inventory management strategy in SMEs during the pandemic time of COVID-19. For the first four
months, managers of enterprises tried to pursue a conservative policy and to accumulate stocks in
the event of a shortage of supplies. This article also presents the form of security that was applied for
SMEs operating in group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to avoid forced downtime caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
greatest problems with doing business. Border blockades and the quarantine for enterprises in
virtually all industries throughout Poland greatly complicated the supply systems and the inventory
management process. Up to now, SMEs have acted in group purchasing organizations to improve
their competitive position. This form of activity also positively affects their financial security. Therefore, in this paper, the inventory management among this group of companies during the COVID-19
pandemic was analyzed. The purpose of the paper was to show how inventory management strategies changed during the COVID-19 pandemic in SMEs operating in industry GPOs. The analysis
was carried out on a group of 88 Polish commercial enterprises operating in purchasing groups. The
research period covered the years 2017–2019 and March–June 2020. The research showed a change in
inventory management strategy in SMEs during the pandemic time of COVID-19. For the first four
months, managers of enterprises tried to pursue a conservative policy and to accumulate stocks in
the event of a shortage of supplies. This article also presents the form of security that was applied for
SMEs operating in group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to avoid forced downtime caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic.