The impact of information technology on the procurement process: case The Procurement Department of the Petrochemical Complex 2 of Skikda

Abstract

Procurement is at the heart of businesses today. It can play a key role in a business's profitability and overall success. Hence, managers are in constant search for ways to improve procurement processes. This dissertation seeks to explore the impact of information technology software on the different stages of the procurement process. In order to achieve the objectives of this research, an extensive study of the related literature was included and a practical research was carried out in the Procurement Department of the Petrochemical Complex 2 of Skikda. A quantitative approach was adopted. Thus, a questionnaire was administered to the employees of the aforementioned department to check their attitudes towards the effectiveness of information technologies they use to accomplish the different tasks in addition to the challenges they may encounter. The results obtained from the statistical interpretation of the employees' responses showed that IT software plays a crucial role through the different procurement stages. It enhances the procurement triangle; cost, quality and time. This research produced a number of key findings that lead us to imply some suggestions that may help to optimise the use of IT. For instance, to gain a competitive advantage in a in a moving environment training programmes and adoption of the latest IT software become a must.