E-Procurement Model and Internet-based Quoting
System
A
web-based procurement system was designed for Lindsey
Manufacturing, Co., a fifty-year-old manufacturing and farm &
construction machinery corporation based in Omaha, Nebraska.
Lindsay
Manufacturing sought to collaborate with the University to develop an
e-procurement system. The company desired to reduce costs related to
selection supplies, and we researched efficient methods to lower the
company's transaction costs.
We
focused on solutions that would reduce Lindsay Manufacturing's
transactions costs while improving its ability to maintain long-term
relationships with survives. After clarifying our client's
operational objectives, we designed an Internet-based quoting system
that fit with Lindsey's operational vision. We analyzed suppliers
with both quantitative and qualitative methods to refine the
quote-acceptance algorithm. The designed supported real-time Request
For Quote (RFQ) process and supported a decision-building subsystem.
Doing
this required a number of skills. We developed user-friendly
interfaces to the supplier and buyer databases. Specific features
were developed depending on user-role. My team combined supply chain
and purchase cost analysis into the Decision Support System (DSS).
Specifically,
my responsibilities included developing the system architecture for
online procurement, including parts of suppliers quote, shipping cost
quotes and the decision support systems. Additionally, I worked with
other team members on interface developing according to the
architecture of system.
We successfully
informed Lindsay Manufacturing of its options, and helped a local
company decide on its best strategy going forward. Additionally, Dr.
Erick Jones (my thesis advisor) and I wrote an unpublished
manuscript, "Strategic sourcing Procurement on Internet-based
Quoting system," outlining
the bidding game algorithm employed.
The
original paper, Strategic
Sourcing Procurement on Internet-Based Quoting System,
is available in a 182 KB Microsoft
Office Word Document
or as a 149
KB Adobe PDF File. A
presentation based on the material, Lindsay
Manufacture Sourcing Project: E Business Procurement,
is also available in a 844
KB Microsoft Office Powerpoint Document
or as a 1.5
MB Adobe PDF File.