Sabic has embraced the concepts of e-commerce and procurements to maintain its leading edge and secure its position as a highly competitive, modern organisation.

A multifaceted company with diverse manufacturing facilities, feedstocks and products, the need for efficient information management is also critical to Sabic's operations.

Sabic has, in recent times, undergone a number of structural and organisational changes to reflect its place in the new global economy driven by information technology.

The results are a more integrated company which is more market-friendly, has increased responsiveness to customer needs, and is able to enjoy greater economies of scale.

For instance, the corporation's creation of Strategic Business Units (SBUs) has provided cost efficiencies.

The move to consolidating all procurement activities has also been a success so far, according to Sabic.

Procurement now occurs through Sabic Services Ltd (SSL), a central organisation which manages the internal supply chain by leveraging the purchasing power of all Sabic entities.

Thus, SSL, through its Consolidated Procurement Organisation (CPO), provides a link between Sabic, its affiliates and suppliers for human resources, materials and services.

The CPO now manages the entire procurement supply chain of the Sabic affiliates, from planning to warehouse management, inventory control through to the distribution of materials and spare parts.

The creation of such an automated supply chain for an organisation the size of Sabic was no mean feat, says the company. Vast amounts of information had to be transferred, reclassified and assimilated into the global vendor network.

For SSL, the challenge is to transform local applications for the affiliates, marketing, research and technology, overseas operations and distribution centres into an integrated set of corporate-wide systems supported by a single consolidated worldwide IT system.

Sabic's move into the world of e-commerce was strengthened by its acquisition of a stake in US-based e-commerce company ChemConnect.

The deal enables Sabic's US affiliate Sabic Americas Incorporated, charter membership of ChemConnect, which operates the leading global online chemicals and plastics trading exchange.

ChemConnect provides Sabic with an Internet portal and offers the possibilities of real-time, online transactions in a neutral market for some of the corporation's core products.

The globalisation of Sabic's business has also been enhanced by the implementation of the Sabic Business Transformation Project, which was started last year.

The ambitious programme is designed to transform Sabic into one global organisation with a focus on optimisation.