ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT SYSTEM: A CASE OF MINISTRY OF WATER SUPPLY AND DRAINAGE IN SRI LANKA

摘要

The Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage (MWS&D) has placed the highest priority to provide saferndrinking water and adequate sanitation facilities to the community. It is imperative to ensure speed,rntransparency, Value for Money (VFM), and integrity in all the development spheres to achieve desiredrnresult, in line with on time completion, quality achievement, and cost efficiency when procure therngoods, works, and consultancy and other services. However, majority of water supply projects of thernMinistry have based on the funds from the foreign funding agencies even though, inadequate capacitiesrnof existing manual procurement process to work compatible with the funding agencies procurementrnpolicy is a critical issue. Accordingly, in this study explored the concept of e-procurement as anrninstrument to modernise, simplify, and improve the existing manual process.rnCase study approach was selected and officers of the each and every profession of the MWS&D,rnNational Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB), and the registered contractors of the Ministryrnwere selected for collect the data on the existing manual procurement process, gaps, and requirements.rnSemi-structured interviews and observations were carried out as main data collection techniques.rnExperienced professionals in the field of procurement were also consulted to ascertain their opinionsrnon verification of the feasibility of the scope of the proposed e-procurement system. Findings of thernstudy analysed and presented by using Content Analysis and Cognitive Mapping.rnResults verified the possibility of introducing and implementing the e-procurement system to thernMWS&D by using available resources, infrastructure, and capacity with the Information Technologyrnfacilities and legal sanction on e-documents under the two phases.