Coal companies like Rio Tinto and Anglo Coal are using firms like Quadrem for e-procurement, the online selling and buying of products.

Specialising in e-business and e-procurement Quadrem has benefited from a hugely growing market. In 2006 Quadrem customers purchased $US13.4 billion in goods and services using the e-marketplace, with a total of 5 million transactions.

In 2007 the projected purchases total may exceed $US16.4 billion, with transactions estimated to reach 7.5 million.

Quadrem vice-president Andy Kyte said it doesn’t make sense to run large complex enterprises with paper-based communication.

“It is slow, unreliable, insecure and impossible to integrate ... the transition to electronic message management is inexorable,” he said.

Anglo Coal’s Dawson Mine supply superintendent Brendan Dyer agreed: “Orders cannot be misplaced, through lost faxes etc; the internet is a more reliable way to convey the information.”

Quadrem offers reduced supply chain costs, improved operations and increased revenue opportunity to both buyers and sellers.

Dyer said e-procurement was beneficial to everyone at Dawson Mine: from mechanics, to the purchasing department, store persons and accountants.

“It reduces the amount of discrepancies with invoices, as orders have to be completely correct and approved by both parties before a supplier can invoice on Quadrem, so there is no room for error,” he said.

Quadrem also allow suppliers to make e-catalogues, giving buyers easy access to the products.

“By using Envoy [Dawson’s online catalogue], the people ordering the parts can see diagrams and pictures of what they are actually ordering, so it’s less likely they will order the wrong parts,” Dyer said.

There are two different ways of managing e-procurement.

The Enterprise Buyer Professional solution allows staff to use an e-procurement application and electronic catalogues managed by Quadrem.

This process allows electronic transactions within days and reduces supply chain costs.

The second solution offered is direct connect, which connects the e-marketplace directly to the business’s own e-procurement system, allowing for maximum efficiency and error reduction.

Dyer said he would encourage all suppliers to Dawson to hop on board with e-business.

“It’s [Quadrem] easy to use, the auto invoicing function is fantastic, as it doesn’t load until the order is perfect, so there are no hold-ups in payments,” he said.

Quadrem was created in 2000 and has since attracted 47,000 suppliers and 700 buyers worldwide.