Chile’s mining industry is booming. But most mines are far from the big cities, in the mountains or in desert areas. Thanks to e-business, even the most remote places are only a mouse-click away from the biggest markets in the world. With one click of the mouse, André Narváez Montecinos has just sent off his order: level devices from Endress+Hauser for the Chuquicamata copper mine, 1,650 km north of Santiago. The procurement manager responsible for procuring measuring instruments for Codelco used the e-business system from Quadrem. It’s one of the leading electronic marketplaces with around 2.5 million transactions and a trade volume of $16 billion per year, with over 55,000 suppliers and 1,100 customers, particularly from the mining industry.
“E-business has profoundly changed our work over the past few years,” he says. “On QMarket, our invitations to tender reach a large number of potential suppliers and achieve favourable prices. And placing orders via Quadrem makes our processes easier and quicker.”
Codelco has used Quadrem as a platform for procurement since 2002. Its purchasing department handles almost all of its tenders, and four out of five orders, electronically. “These figures show the extent e-business has penetrated our business processes,” emphasises Isabel Troncoso, Head of Management Information Systems at Codelco. The electronic marketplace ensures a high level of transparency and the efficient use of our own resources. Troncoso is convinced: “E-business makes our company more competitive.”
The supplier also profits from the technology. “E-business streamlines our business transactions, making them quicker, simpler and more economical,” points out Ricardo Ribertt, Controller at Endress+Hauser Chile. The marketing subsidiary has been operating in this South American country since the year 2000. Since then, turnover has risen dramatically – not least thanks to the strong presence of Endress+Hauser in electronic market-places.
“Chile is a thinly-populated country,” explains Susana Torres, Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Chile. About 16 million inhabitants live in an area almost twice the size of Germany, with about 40% of them in the immediate vicinity of the capital. “Most mines are fairly remote,” says Torres. “E-business solutions are therefore widely used in mining and are highly accepted.” In addition to Codelco, other major players in the industry, such as Anglo American and Escondida also use the electronic procurement platforms.
Endress+Hauser Chile conducts about a quarter of its turnover via electronic portals. “As a supplier for the automation equipment sector we see, for example, whether the customer has also invited tenders for other instruments. We can then submit a tender for the whole package. The customer profits from a more favourable price, we benefit from a bigger order volume,” explains Ribertt. For this reason, Endress+Hauser Chile intends to further expand its activities in this area and in future offer its customers Endress+Hauser’s E-direct online shop as well as bespoke e-catalogs and individual e-procurement solutions. Susana Torres is convinced: “E-business will help us to expand our market share even further.”