A model for a procurement process evaluation and improvement at Saudi Aramco

Abstract

There has been a growing trend to use simulation in Business Process Improvement projects as a decision supporting tool to study and analyze business processes. Some progressive organizations in Saudi Aramco have been aware of this trend and have expressed interest in carrying out simulation projects for the purpose of improving business processes. In particular, the Material Planning and Systems Department of Saudi Aramco has started an initiative to use simulation to study and improve one of its material procurement processes, the Warehouse Purchase Agreement Release (WPAR) Process. In this work, a conceptual model was built and converted into a simulation model that was verified and validated and later used to gauge the performance of the current WPAR design. The model was later used to gauge the impact of several improvement directions. Finally, recommended improvement directions were given in light of the preceding analysis.