Clark Telecom procures equipment via the Net

Clark Telecom, a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), recently started its online acquisition of materials and equipment through the BuySite application of BayanTrade, the country’s leading e-marketplace.

BayanTrade was established by a consortium composed of the country’s six leading business conglomerates, namely PLDT, Ayala Corp., Benpres, JG Summit Holdings, United Laboratories and Aboitiz Equity.

An e-marketplace refers to the transaction of buying and selling goods and services via the Internet. Through this, BayanTrade consortium members were able to benefit from reduced cost and increased efficiencies by conducting their biddings for the procurement of services and materials online. The benefits were later extended to non-consortium companies.

Clark Telecom now uses the eProcurement services to acquire office personal computers, facsimile and other office machines as well as company vehicles. "eProcurement enables us to reduce cost and streamline our procurement process by eliminating too much paperwork, reducing canvassing and processing time, thus, enabling us to meet the deadlines for these requests," said Carol Sicat, finance head of PLDT Clark Telecom Inc.

Annabelle Manzon, Clark Telecom’s eProcurement requestor, said, "The effectiveness and transparency of product selection in eProcurement enable us to choose from a wide range of products, making selection fast and easy."

Incorporated on June 28, 1997, Clark Telecom provides basic and enhanced telecommunications services such as voice, data and leased circuits to the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ).

It is one of eight PLDT subsidiaries and affiliates which have tapped the online acquisition system of BayanTrade.

The PLDT companies acquired the Internet-based procurement tool in June 2000 to reap the benefits of online buying such as better prices on purchases, lesser time spent in making purchases, and greater control of the procurement process. — Mary Ann Ll. Reyes