An evaluation of the competitive advantage of E-procurement: A case study of Aramco, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the competitive advantage enjoyed by Aramco, a Saudi Arabian oil and gas company. This competitive advantage emanates from the effective and efficient application of the e-procurement system, compared to traditional procurement. This research will establish the competitive advantage gained. The study reviewed secondary information from multiple sources such as journal articles and publications on e-procurement. Based on the data collected in this study, it is concluded that the adoption of e-procurement accrues a company several benefits. E-procurement happens on different platforms such as e-sourcing, e-tendering, e-marketplace, e-auctioning, e-ordering, and e-information. Modern procurement involves product selection, order placement, and invoice issuance. The adoption of e-procurement involves centralisation and automation of services, projection and forecast of inventory and other aspects of the supply chain. E-procurement enhances business processes, especially in the supply chain, alleviates significant risks related to traditional procurement in the contemporary business environment. Consequently, the adopting e-procurement by Aramco enhances different aspects of its procurement and supply chain, thus inferring a competitive advantage in terms of constant supply pool, low prices, easy management of finance, straight forward communication, increased market share, and easy management of filing systems. The research, therefore, recommends the adoption of e-procurement not only to companies within the oil and natural gas industry but to all companies in various sectors to further catalyse their shifting to the online domain, which seems to be the future of business across the globe.