CRAIG International Supplies (CIS) a division of the Craig Group is launching Ebuy - a bespoke electronic procurement service for the energy industry.

Aimed at providing clients with a personalised ordering service available anywhere in the world, Ebuy is an on-line catalogue with over 50 000 products.

The Aberdeen head-quartered oilfield procurement company is confident the new service will help increase the company’s turnover while deriving major efficiencies for its customers, some of the world’s leading oil companies and drilling contractors. CIS will be exhibiting at the Oil & Gas Africa show.

By using the system for all their orders of oilfield equipment and services CIS’ clients can dramatically reduce paperwork and administration as well as cutting down on delivery times, the company believes.

Following a trial period where the technology was tested and analysed for user-friendliness and accessibility, the bespoke web-based tool is now live and available to the CIS’ global client base.

CIS provides products, equipment and services to the global energy industry and is recognised as the largest privately owned European procurement and supply house operating in the oil and gas industry.

The company employs more than 50 staff at three strategic locations around the globe – Cape Town, Aberdeen and Houston.

Steve McHardy, director of CIS, says. “The launch of Ebuy supports the continued drive by CIS to move away from traditional methods of third party source and supply techniques and to embrace modern technological advances in line with today’s trends in business and industry.”

“E-procurement is coming into its own as business and industry look for quicker, more flexible ordering systems that are easy to manage, available 24 hours a day and provide a flexibility that can prove critical when organisations are working to quick turnarounds and tight deadlines. We are making a concerted effort to align ourselves with global trends in e-business and we are confident that moving ahead with this brand new ordering system will provide an even better service to our clients.”

CIS has a R350 million turnover and provides an extensive range of products and services to the global energy industry and has a buying power approaching R30 million per month. As a result it passes on significant savings to its customers, creating competitive advantage.

With bases in Cape Town, Aberdeen and Houston, the company is well placed to provide complete global coverage to an international client base.

CIS’s Cape Town office has recently secured a contract with Saipem in Point Noire and supplies are being sourced for the Blackford Dolphin drilling rig in Mozambique. There are also strong leads for significant new business in Angola. The Cape Town division has been appointed as an official distributor for Hilco Electrodes of Holland who are rapidly expanding into the African market.