This document discusses the implementation of e-procurement in Iran and its challenges. E-procurement was introduced in Iran in the 1990s and has been adopted by both private and public sectors. It has increased efficiency by automating procurement processes in industries like automobiles. However, there are still challenges to implementing e-procurement in Iran, such as integrating different systems, but it has overall improved business operations and economic growth in the country.

1. Iran adopts procurement technology: will it increase efficiency, accuracy, and
transparency?
Introduction
This case study looks at the implementation and challenges of e-procurement in
Iran as a country. This is a country in Middle East. The case study will review the
implementation of the e-procurements and the challenges of the same in this country which
is in Middle East. It will also investigate the key and crucial figures which indirectly or
directly influences the success of this platform. Notably, the process of doing business
using the e business in Middle East Countries emerged in 1990s. This approach quickly
overtook the traditional way of doing business that was there. The e-procurement has two
players that are involved. These are the suppliers and the buyers. These two plays have
specific roles that each of them plays. They have different ways that they provide
solutions to the businesses. In Iran, this platform has been applied by both the private and
public sectors in doing business. This platform of e-procurement usually is able to engage
the whole platform electronically (Alvarez-Rodríguez, Labra-Gayo, and de Pablos, 2014,
798).
E-Procurement in Iran
In 2015, the World Bank produced a report that Indicated that Iran is among the
largest economies in Middle East. In 2014, this country had a Gross Domestic Product of
406.3 billion U.S Dollars. This country also has a population of 78.5 million people
making it among the largest in the region. It comes second in the region after Egypt. What
makes this country unique is that fact that those countries it competes with are oil and gas
producing countries while it depends upon other means of income such as business
(Bahreman, 2014, 583).

2. Arguably, there are several reasons which have helped this country excel in e-
procurements. Number one is the fact that it has very many active buyers. Notably this has
been described as one of the reasons why e- procurements in any country has succeeded.
In Iran, the platform has been able to key in big buyers. These buyers have made it
possible for the business to be managed in the right way. The growth of IT companies in
this country has also been attributed to be one of the reasons why e-procurement has
grown in rapid way. As the IT companies grow, people in Iran have also been in a large
way familiarizing them with the internet. This has helped them to be able to use the
platform to do business (Grilo, & Jardim-Goncalves, 2013, 165).
Solution
Electronic Data interchange (EDI) systems application automobiles industries
According to Mohammadi, (2013, 3911) the EDI systems coupled to other e-
procurement systems has led to improved efficiency and performance in automobile
industry. Based on the previous studies, the systems has been attributed with improvement
in management commitment by 51% since its implementation, the security of the buying
and selling transactions has increased by 43%, while supplier support has improved with a
factor of 26% (Mohammadi, 2013, 3913). EDI has helped in automation of procurement
system enabling the buyers and sellers to exchange contact information and
communication easily. Besides, Iran has managed to reduce the sales and transaction cost
hence helping in the maximization of the profits among automobile manufacturing
companies. The improvement of commitment of management systems can be attributed to
proper decision making and strategies, which have helped the industry emerge as the
second largest in Iran with contribution of at least 10% and 4% of the country’s gross
domestic product and labor respectively (MacRae, 2016 n.p).
Conclusion

3. In conclusion, there are always challenges that can be witnessed when a country is
introducing e-procurement platform. Iran has not been an exception. However, despite the
challenges, the country has registered a positive and noticeable difference in the way of
doing busies due to the appreciation of this change. The result of this has been growth in
economy efficiency in doing things. This is a key indicator that all countries in the world
should appreciate e-procurements since it is revolutionizing the business world not only in
Middle East but also in the whole world.
References
Alvarez-Rodríguez, J.M., Labra-Gayo, J.E. & de Pablos, P.O., 2014. New trends
on e-Procurement applying semantic technologies. Computers in Industry, 65(5), pp.797-
799.
Bahreman, B., 2014, April. E-procurement in Iran Cement Industry Limitations and
Benefits. In Information Technology: New Generations (ITNG), 2014 11th International
Conference on (pp. 581-586). IEEE.
Grilo, A. & Jardim-Goncalves, R., 2013. Cloud-Marketplaces: Distributed e-
procurement for the AEC sector. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 27(2), pp.160-172.
MacRae, C. 2016. What potential does Iran hold for the global automotive
industry?. Just Autopart. Retrieved from www.just-auto.com/analysis/what-potential-does-
iran-hold-for-the-global-automotive-industry_id167734.aspx

4. Mohammadi, M. R. 2013. Ranking of Critical Success Factors of e-procurement in
Iranian Automotive Industry. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic
Sciences. 4 (12): 3910-3918