Research And Realization Of E-procurement System For Collaborative Enterprises

Procurement is the business process by which enterprises acquire the raw materials, services and operating resources required to manufacture a finished good or perform a service. It is of critical importance in the success of most manufacturing enterprises under the Internet-based economy. Any enhancement in optimization of procurement process will improve core competence of an enterprise. Most businesses are beginning to embrace electronic procurement (e-procurement) solutions and strategies based on Internet technology, and implementing simple initiatives designed to automate the purchasing of indirect supplies and streamline basic procurement processes. Effective sourcing decision due to good supplier selection decisions is one of key elements in any e-procurement system.Based on the theory of core competence and cooperative relationship, this study is initiated to compare e-procurement with traditional procurement, which shows that e-procurement technology offers the potential for real and measurable benefits to business from lower purchase prices to faster fulfillment cycles, to reduced administrative overhead and better control.Then an effective business model is constructed by employing the theory of supply chain, system engineering and decision-making. Next, function modules and a technical solution to a real e-procurement system are proposed. Furthermore, adopting the popular mode of browser/server, most of online modules are realized by making use of ASP technology and Access database.In this dissertation, some methods of supplier selection are outlined. The theory of sourcing is employed to reveal that supplier selection decisions are based on factors such as a supplier's new product development capabilities and capacity to share information electronically instead of simply considering the lowest price. Then, an improved algorithm with ANN (artificial neural network) for evaluating and selecting optimal suppliers is developed and realized in MATLAB.The study of procurement within China is just in the beginning and deficiency. Lacking of cognition, many enterprises do not pay much attention to it. This dissertation is devoted to providing significant insights for the application of strategic e-procurement into a competitive advantage, and encouraging traditional enterprisesto recognize e-procurement in order to keep abreast of foreign enterprises.