FEASIBILITY AND IMPLEMENTAION OF AN ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT SYSTEM FOR SUPPLY CHAINS IN GAS PROCESSING COMPANIES

Along with advent of new technologies in recent years, supply chain management has acquiredgreat importance in enterprises; insofar many companies are compelled to apply Electronic Procurement. Considering sensitive conditions of gas refineries, procurement process in an excellent conditions of time, quality and prices, is always concerned as of great importance and role. Additionally, particular use of installation parts limitedly within gas plants, alongside absence of coordination between different elements of supply chain, e.g. vendors, transportation and inspection companies, and insurance, banking and other relevant units in refineries, demonstrates the necessity of a special regard to supply chain. In most refineries, purchasing process is established traditionally on paper-basis, disregarded to new technologies. Due to this, extended period of procurement process had been always one of the basic problems in these companies. In this paper, it stressed on applying Information Technology (particularly Internet and Intranet) in procedure of supply chain management in the Gas industry, with a specific view on refineries, as a way to optimize supply chain process of Gas Processing companies. Remarked specifications of the communication, it is presented an operational model for electronic communication between supply chain elements of the refinery, on the basis of current technologic substructures. Implementation of this model would tend to some consequences like: decline of supplying cycle, deduction in supply charges, acceleration of supply chain process, unification and harmony development between supply chain members, optimization of warehouse stock, improvement in produced gas and side productions of refineries.

Keywords:

Electronic Procurement , Supply Chain , Information Technology , Gas Refinery