Woodside Energy's has gone live on an 18-month overhaul of its procurement systems that included migrating to SAP Ariba.
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) firm said early last year it planned to simplify “buying, invoicing and supplier communication through Ariba”.
The shift to Ariba promised a “step change” in how Woodside collaborated with suppliers, including deeper automation of transaction processes.
The company, and 280 of its suppliers, are now registered and set up on the ‘Ariba Network’, which acts as a marketplace for business-to-business transactions globally.
SAP claimed the Ariba Network does “double the [transactional] volume of Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay combined”.
“Currently, 55 percent of purchasing transactions are conducted via the Ariba Network,” Woodside Energy said.
Prior to the Ariba Network, Woodside had been using Quadrem, a similar service set up specifically for the resources sector.
Quadrem was bought by Ariba back in 2011. SAP then bought out Ariba in 2012. Woodside is set to retire Quadrem at at the end of the year.
In addition to using the Ariba Network, Woodside has also adopted Ariba Catalog, a content interface that allows the gas company to present common items for purchase in e-catalogues for the business.
Woodside said it had set up “eight e-catalogues with key suppliers, offering items such as stationery, tools, personal protection equipment, safety boots, IT accessories, electrical items, valves, gaskets and fasteners”.
“In the months ahead, more e-catalogues will be added so that Woodside can realise the full value of the system.”
Woodside said the new system saved manual processing and paperwork for its business users, its central contract and procurement (C&P) function, and for staff out in the business that needed to buy products.
