Case Study

Grant Group Sdn Bhd

Question 1

Describe the e-procurement processes to be implemented at Grant Group Sdn Bhd.

Question 2

Discuss the challenges that Grant Group Sdn Bhd could encounter when implementing e-procurement processes.

Question 3

Suggest proposals that the management of Grant Group Sdn Bhd could take to overcome these challenges.

Read the case study given below and answer ALL the questions given at the end of the case. GRANT GROUP SDN BHD Grant Group Supplies Sdn Bhd supplies a wide range of packaged food products to the large supermarket chains and other selected, independent food retailers. The company has always recognized the importance of buying in a retail context and employs a team of 20 procurement specialists. It has commodity responsibility, including buying, own-brand tinned products, such as salmon, branded tinned soups and meats, packaging, including outers and inners (cardboard, cans, tins, bottles, capital equipment and engineering and office consumables), and short shelf-life products. The company's margins are not very good because of concentrated buying power in the hands of a few supermarkets. The Procurement Director has recognised that savings can be made by getting smarter and using e-procurement or e- purchasing. The data transfer relating to procurement actions, including market enquires, quotations, purchase orders, shipping and dispatch details and invoicing, are done by using mailed hard copies, e-mails and fax. The data is sent in various formats, including Word, Excel, Text, and so on. The company purchased from a range of suppliers some of which are extremely sophisticated but others have legacy systems. Traditionally, the IT focus has been on customer-facing systems, receiving EPOS data and interfacing warehouse and dispatch/transportation systems. It is worth noting that some of the company's customers have made it a mandatory condition of being a supplier to invest in IT. The Procurement Director has asked one of his procurement managers to join a working committee to review the introduction of e-procurement into the company. The working committee will have representatives from purchasing, marketing, IT and finance. The first formal meeting is due next week and the procurement manager has been asked to present a paper on the required functionality of any proposed system. End of Case Study