Abstract:
Procurement is one of the most important operational functions in manufacturing organizations due to the direct effect on continuity of production, cost management, coordination with suppliers and overall business performance. The steel manufacturing sector is one such sector where procurement is very sensitive since there are various materials related to production, which require procurement in a timely manner. The procurement delay may interfere with the production schedules, cost of operations and effectiveness of the supply chain. Hence, to boost performance in procurement is vital in manufacturing companies like Mughal Steel Limited(Aragão & Figueira, 2022). Procurement activities in Mughal Steel Limited include sourcing and purchasing of materials and services like scrap, billets, alloying materials, refractories, lubricants, spare parts and maintenance services. The procurement department is critical in ensuring that the appropriate materials are bought by appropriate suppliers at the appropriate time, price, and quality. However, the existing procurement process is, to a certain degree, still dependent on semi-manual and informal activities, which comprise emails, WhatsApp communication, phone calls, Excel sheets, and paper-based coordination. These practices introduce delays, lack of tracking, fragmentation of records and low visibility of the procurement activities(Sharma & Kumar, 2023). In the present procurement procedure at Mughal Steel Limited, the vendor quotations are usually received using email after RFQs are distributed to suppliers. After quotations have been received, quotation comparison is done using Microsoft Dynamics 365. In a typical RFQ, the procurement team typically reviews at least 3 and up to 10 vendor quotations. The comparison is not made based on price only and it also takes into consideration the quality, quantity, packing, delivery time, lead time, payment terms and other procurement conditions. Once this comparison has been made, the most competent vendor is chosen to process the purchase order. Nevertheless, even though the Microsoft Dynamics 365 supports the comparison of quotations, a number of related activities, including communication with vendors, follow-ups, tracking RFQs, and coordination of approvals are still based on WhatsApp, emails, phone calls, Excel sheets, and paper-
