Abstract
This study identifies and analyses the needs, requirements, and expectations of stakeholders that need to be considered while developing local supplier’s database in Tanzania. The study also identifies the possible challenges when developing the database. These goals of the study were achieved through interviews. The interviews were conducted to identify database stakeholders, their needs, expectations, and challenges.
Two groups of the main stakeholders for the database were identified in this study which include the database developers and the end users. The database developers are the ones responsible for developing and maintaining the local suppliers’ database. The identified developers of this database are the Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) and the Energy and Water Utility Regulatory Authority (EWURA). On the other hand, the end users of the database are the oil and gas companies (IOCs), National Oil Company (NOC) and the local suppliers.
The most important needs and expectations include (1) a user-friendly database (2) a sorting option of suppliers in the database (3) an accessible database (4) a well-defined which adheres to the international principles (5) tenders and jobs advertisement options within the database (6) an accurate and reliable database. In addition, the study has identified some important information required to be included within the database. The information includes (1) certification and standards qualification of local suppliers (2) contact details of suppliers (3) types, standards, capacity and quality of service provided by a supplier (4) financial capability of a supplier (5) experience and competence of the local companies.
The discussed challenges include (1) the probability of the system to be cheated (2) lack of confidentiality and security of the company’s stored information (3) the problem of user know how (4) resistance from suppliers to register (5) lack of eligibility and qualification of local suppliers (6) time-consuming in the registration process. The study has also suggested the solutions to these challenges. Database developers should make all stakeholders aware of the development of the database. There should also be some training programmes for database users to empower them with database knowledge and how to use it. Moreover, the database should be regularly updated and maintained to overcome the inevitable technological changes. Local suppliers should also be supported on how they should meet the international standards as this is the important criteria by international companies when procuring suppliers.