by SAVIOUS KWINIKA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – SASOL, one of South Africa’s largest global organisations, has saved costs and enhanced procurement process after deploying the world’s largest digital procurement platform.
Sasol is the global integrated chemicals and energy company.
To centralise and standardise its procure-to-pay processes, Sasol chose SAP Ariba, that facilitates $3,2 trillion in commerce transacted annually across 190 countries.
The decentralized and siloed procurement systems and processes across multiple business units left it lacking the visibility it needed to better serve the business.
“We had, at the time (2012), 15 business units within the Southern Africa region, each using different procurement processes and different systems,” said Hendrik Steynberg, Vice President of Supply Chain Operations and Systems at Sasol.
“This left us with disparate master data and no end-to-end visibility over our supply chain. We wanted a single integrated procure-to-pay platform that provided us with a clear view into spend and the ability to quickly onboard, engage and manage suppliers.”
Sasol implemented SAP Ariba Sourcing, Ariba Supplier Information and Performance, Ariba Contracts, and Ariba Network.
One of the key advantages of choosing SAP Ariba was its integration with SAP enterprise resource planning solutions.
The implementation was designed to help Sasol standardise its South African procurement operations. Ariba Sourcing has also been implemented within its Eurasian operations.
Since implementing SAP Ariba, Sasol has enjoyed better visibility over the end-to-end procurement process.
Steynberg said the company had achieved a 50 percent cost reduction on accounts payable within the Southern Africa region, and a 95 percent rate on of-time supplier payments using electronic invoicing.
He added that 75 percent of total procurement transactions within the Southern African region are now performed through the Ariba Network.
Sasol sources, produces and markets a range of high-value product streams in 31 countries.
The company employs more than 30 000 people and generates revenue of more than $21,7 billion.
Sasol manages more than R50 billion in spend across 12 000 global suppliers.
Cameron Beveridge, Regional Director for Southern Africa at SAP, said Sasol had elevated its procurement processes to better match modern demands, and achieved outstanding gains in efficiency, cost-reduction and transparency.
“The new digital procurement platform has also empowered Sasol with accurate, real-time information over its total procurement spend, and will continue supporting the business as it scales its operations around the world,” Beveridge said.
– CAJ News