Kiểm soát giao dịch trong quản lý mối quan hệ của nhà bán lẻ với nhà cung cấp

TRANSACTION CONTROL IN MANAGING THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN RETAILERS AND SUPPLIERS
KIỂM SOÁT GIAO DỊCH TRONG QUẢN LÝ 
MỐI QUAN HỆ CỦA NHÀ BÁN LẺ VỚI NHÀ CUNG CẤP
Pham Van Kiem, PhD - Vu Thi Như Quynh, PhD
Thuongmai University
kiem.pv@tmu.edu.vn
Abstract
Managing the relationship between retail businesses and suppliers in the consumer goods
supply chain is a form of supplier relationship management, in which the retail business is con-
sidered the central one, who manages the interactions with its suppliers. Therefore, managing
the relationship between retail businesses and suppliers in the consumer goods supply chain is
understood as the strategic, comprehensive management decision of the retail business to create,
maintain and develop the relationship with its input suppliers to provide optimal support for pur-
chasing activities and supply chain management goals. The paper analyzes the relationship be-
tween transactional activities and the form of supplier control and shows that specialization is
always associated with non-formal control (social control); resource specialization, volatility
and complexity, power and dependence on the supplier are the factors that affect the business’s
decision to choose the social control mode. 
Keywords: Control, transaction costs, supplier relationship management, resource spe-
cialization. 
Tóm tắt
Quản trị quan hệ với nhà cung cấp của doanh nghiệp bán lẻ trong chuỗi cung ứng hàng
tiêu dùng là một dạng của quản trị quan hệ với nhà cung cấp, trong đó coi doanh nghiệp bán lẻ
là doanh nghiệp trung tâm, khi đó doanh nghiệp bán lẻ quản lý các tương tác với các nhà cung
cấp. Do vậy, quản trị quan hệ với nhà cung cấp của doanh nghiệp bán lẻ trong chuỗi cung ứng
hàng tiêu dùng được hiểu là quyết định quản trị ở tầm chiến lược, toàn diện của doanh nghiệp
bán lẻ nhằm tạo ra, duy trì và phát triển các mối quan hệ với nhà cung cấp đầu vào nhằm hỗ trợ
tối ưu cho hoạt động mua hàng và mục tiêu quản trị chuỗi cung ứng. Nghiên cứu phân tích mối
liên hệ giữa những hoạt động giao dịch, hình thức kiểm soát nhà cung ứng và chỉ ra tính chuyên
môn hóa luôn gắn liền với hình thức kiểm soát phi hình thức; các yếu tố như tính chuyên môn
hóa nguồn lực, sự bất ổn và tính phức tạp, quyền lực và sự phụ thuộc của nhà cung ứng chính là
những yếu tố có tác động đến quyết định của doanh nghiệp trong lựa chọn phương thức kiểm
soát xã hội. 
Từ khóa: Kiểm soát, chi phí giao dịch, quản trị quan hệ nhà cung ứng, chuyên môn hóa
nguồn lực. 
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1. Preface 
Reality demonstrates the key and decisive role of suppliers in the success or failure of a
business. Ensuring goods for retail distribution businesses is a very important and vital issue.
The number of items in a distribution center is thousands, but strategic partners just name a few,
thus this seriously affects business efficiency and the competitive position of retail businesses.
Furthermore, having to work with hundreds or even thousands of different suppliers takes retail
distribution businesses a lot of time, costs and many other problems arise. As a matter of fact,
many retail distribution businesses cannot control all the quality and origin of suppliers’ goods
so poor quality goods can easily penetrate. Distribution businesses therefore rely on the trust and
frequency of transaction relations to check or not to check imported goods. Inventory is also a
factor closely associated with supply building plans of retail distribution firms. Fore instance,
standing under the name of BigC, Metro, Fujimart retailers is a typical example. 5 tons of food
of unknown origin was in the yard of MM Mega Market Thang Long. The case where competent
forces detecting and arresting about 5 tons of illegally imported food of unknown origin, pack-
aging with labels printed in Chinese in the parking lot of MM Mega Market Thang Long, Fivimart
Trung Yen. Or other case when a large amount of products such as yogurt, caramel, milk tea jelly,
etc. canned and delivered to some big supermarkets like Big C. Yet, the cause of these errors
does not come from retailers like Big C, MM Mega Market Thang Long, but from suppliers pro-
viding these types of products. Although suppliers also incur part of the cost from having to re-
cover or compensate customers, the effects that retailers have suffered are very heavy such as
financial costs and reduced reputation. The above and many other examples show the growing
importance of suppliers to the success or failure of a business.
In the operations process of retail businesses, the expansion of purchasing activities has
facilitated the emergence of vertical business relationship networks around supply chain man-
agement practices. Thus, studying the relationship between retailers and suppliers in controlling
transactions for real retailers in Vietnam is very necessary to understand the operati ...  regard to the form of control. It can be seen from the results in Table 1 that
the possibility of changing suppliers depends on the contributor’s type of control. Results con-
trolled suppliers are considered by retail businesses to be changed very easily (rate of 3.5/5), in
contrast to socially controlled firms (rate of 2.7/5). In reality, the more social or attitudinal forms
of control or suppliers are, the more likely the substitution of supplier to be shown at an average
level. The results also show that the average score of 3.1/5 for the rate at which the supplier can
substitute responds to the supplier is relatively high. It can be seen that businesses are prepared
to adapt to the change of needs and customers to ensure the benefits of the business. A supplier’s
substitute capabilities and technology facilities also vary with the types of control. With retailers
the more social the form of control, the lower the substitutability of the supplier’s capabilities
and facilities. The more results-focused the form of control, the more likely the supplier to be
substituted (rate of 3.2/5).
- High specialization: The results of regression analysis in the table above show that Spe-
cialization has a significant and positive impact on the form of social control in supplier relation-
ship management at the statistical threshold of 99% with B value = 0.516; Sig. = 0.000.
- Volatility in transactions: The results of regression analysis in the table above show that
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Model Unstandardized Co-
efficients
Standardized
Coefficients
t Sig. Collinearity 
Statistics
B
Std.
Error Beta Tolerance VIF
(Constant)
CMH
1 SBO
QL.PT
QHD
-.220 .152 -1.449 .150
.516 .064 .516 8.095 .000 .528 1.894
.440 .069 .440 6.326 .000 .445 2.248
-.177 .055 -.177 -3.218 .002 .713 1.402
.066 .044 .077 1.521 .131 .836 1.196
Transaction volatility has a significant and positive impact on the form of social control in supplier
relationship management at the statistical threshold of 99% with B value = 0.440; Sig. = 0.000.
- Power and dependence: The results of regression analysis in the table above show that
Power and dependence have a significant and positive impact on the form of social control in
supplier relationship management at the statistical threshold of 95% with B value = - 0.177; 
Sig. = 0.002.
- Frequency of contract transactions (B = 0.066; Sig. = 0.131): The results of regression
analysis in the table above show that the frequency of contract transactions has no significant
and positive impact on the form of social control in supplier relationship management.
Labor skill is one of the attribute indicators of a specialization of human resources that are
highly related to the forms of control. For the social control applied suppliers, labor skill is seen
as a truly specialized advantage. The group of results controlled suppliers is seen by retail busi-
nesses that 65% of their workers were non-specific. In contrast, for the group of socially con-
trolled suppliers, their workers are perceived to be highly specialized.
Therefore, the results show that the supplier thinks the supplier has a good workforce, but
it is difficult for businesses to find any supplier with a workforce as such. The relationship be-
tween geographical location and the types of control cannot be analyzed as the responses show
very little difference. It is also an observation when it comes to supplier popularity, the factor
used to measure brand specialization. With 81% of its suppliers, retail businesses do not consider
it a special feature). The factor related to the co-developed actions of the retail business is regarded
to be particularly related to the forms of control.
The social control paradigm involves a lot of co-development activities with 85% of sup-
pliers participating in such projects. In contrast, there is no results control supplier engaged in
co-development activities. The study found that the high mean of branding, trustworthiness and
commitment factors were 2.52, 3.5, and 4.2, respectively. As such, it can be affirmed that there
is a close connection between specialization and forms of social control. Thus, as one can see,
the higher the specialization, the less formal the form of control, and it moves gradually towards
a form of social control and is consistent with the hypothesis.
Volatility and complexity are studied through three factors: the frequency of supplier in-
formation flow, the complexity of the supplier market and the strategy of the packages of goods
or services the supplier provides to the business. According to the analysis of the results, the
frequency of supplier information flow achieved an average score of 3.3/5 (B = 0.440; Sig. =
0.000) and is related to the form of social control. Supplier market complexity has an average
score of 3.39/5 and is related to and underpinned by the forms of control. As for the strategicness
of the package, the average score is 3.27/5 and the analytic results show that the supplier service
is not at all related to the control forms. These study results make it possible for us to validate
part of the hypothesis the greater volatility and complexity of supplier transactions, the higher
the form of official control, because it is only the complexity of the supplier market appears to
be clearly dependent on the types of controls. Factors such as volatility and complexity are less
related to the forms of control than resource specialization. Some power and dependency issues
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have negative impact on the form of control as companies are often measured by some specific
indicators that are easier to return goods when related to suppliers larger than the companies
and vice versa; it is easier for the companies to negotiate prices when related to larger suppliers
and vice versa; it is easier for the companies to return goods when related to suppliers larger
than the companies.
5. Conclusion and recommendations 
The research paper demonstrates the link between transactional activities and forms of so-
cial control in supplier relationship management of retail businesses, thus contributing to better
understanding of business-to-business (B2B) relationships. The results obtained from this research
work can make it possible for retail businesses to properly adjust their types of supplier relation-
ship controls depending on transaction cost attributes. In practice, reducing transaction costs or
increasing benefits from relationships is represented by a sound governance structure. A supplier
relationship control structure inappropriate for the transactional context, namely by the nature of
the commercial relationship, will have a negative impact on corporate performance. Retail busi-
nesses must be aware of the relevant correspondence between the modes of transaction and those
of supplier relationship controls. In a supplier relationship, a primary prerequisite is to determine
the appropriately applied type of control.
In reality, sometimes the purchasing department does not fully analyze the built-up rela-
tionship with the business’s suppliers. The definition of this type of control is not dignified yet,
it is not integrated into the overall steps in supplier relationship management or in other words
defining the type of control that is only exercised for form’s sake, historically or habitually. For
example, a supplier, who is not engaged activities in coordination with the retail business, com-
municates little information and is not authorized to control quality, will be subject to results con-
trol. Conversely, if the supplier is very committed to the relationship with the retail business,
there is a balanced correlation and frequent information exchange will enjoy some form of social
control. After defining the types of control, its alignment should be guaranteed, i.e. to analyze
the correspondence of the control form with the specialization of the business’s resources and
uncertainty.
Investigation results show that the form of control and supplier transaction operations may
appear incompatible. In the case of a supplier whose attitudes are controlled with little commit-
ment to co-development activities, if the business wants the supplier to participate more in such
coordinated activities, it has to change the form of control towards gradually social control. The
more strategic possibilities retail businesses want to have, the more they have to choose a form
of social control to ensure an acceptable level of transaction costs. The problem is how businesses
will have to change the management form with their suppliers. This also emphasizes the impor-
tance of varying forms of supplier control. The form of control that businesses use at present may
become no more relevant in the future as needs and influencing factors change. Strengthening
specialization and balancing power and dependence in operations of suppliers to ensure produc-
tion and business activities are conducted to match the requirements of the business.
The paper gives a number of recommendations from state management agencies: The State
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should support businesses in supplier relationship management through the organization of train-
ing courses and workshops on supplier relationship management in the context of economic re-
gionalization and globalization.
Completing the relevant legal system. It must be said that the provisions in the relevant
legal documents of Vietnam are quite complete and detailed. However, in the context of economic
integration, the State also needs to consider and make reasonable legal adjustments to suit the
new situation.
Strengthening information, increasing businesses’ awareness of the importance of supplier
relationship management. Since Vietnam became an official member of the WTO and with the
formation of many large economic groups in the country, supplier relations have become an issue
of concern.
Departments, boards, sectors provide training on new knowledge, techniques and new tech-
nologies in business management and operations, providing and disseminating new information
to workers in the commercial industry...
Increasing consumer awareness and pressure on the relationship between retail businesses
and suppliers. As mentioned above, the consumer is the origin of the business. Suppliers and
retail businesses build and develop partner relationships for the ultimate purpose of best satisfying
customers’ needs. Therefore, the government’s policies to protect and raise consumer awareness
are an indirect solution to promote the supplier-retail business relationship, which will motivate
businesses to carefully choose qualified suppliers who can best meet their request, and also from
that retail businesses will cooperate more actively with their suppliers.
This study still has certain limitations. Firstly, that the specialization of the supplier’s re-
sources affecting the form of control and the supplier’s volatility and complexity only partially
affects the control decision according to research results is guaranteed. However, the magnitude
of the effect is not guaranteed because the scope of the study is only confined within the retail
industry. To ensure certainty, there needs be a broader study covering many different disciplines.
Next, the study was just limited to non-formal (social) control, rather than being broken down to
other forms of control such as attitude control and mutation control.
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