Sabah Electricity digitises procurement with Lapasar, bringing local vendors onto a single platform

Digital News Asia reported on 22 July 2026 that Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd has partnered with Lapasar to digitise its long-tail procurement — the thousands of low-value, high-frequency purchases that traditionally consume a disproportionate share of procurement time and cost. For a utility serving more than 600,000 customers across Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan, with operations spanning more than 74,000 square kilometres, that tail of spend is both a purchasing challenge and a logistical one.

Catalogue-Based Purchasing Replaces Manual Quotation Cycles

From Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, Tawau and remote operational stations, Sabah Electricity's teams require consumables, tools, office supplies, safety equipment and MRO materials whose individual order values rarely justify a full tender. Through Lapasar, those teams now requisition items on a single digital marketplace with structured approvals, consolidated invoicing and full spend visibility — replacing manual sourcing with catalogue-based purchasing. Every transaction is digitally recorded, strengthening audit readiness and governance. As the report notes, industry benchmarks put tail spend at around 80% of a large organisation's purchase transactions but only about 20% of procurement value — the exact problem tail-spend management is built to solve.

Bringing Local Sabah Vendors Online

A key element of the partnership is onboarding local Sabah suppliers — hardware and electrical merchants, stationers, and safety equipment dealers who have traditionally operated offline. Lapasar will digitise these vendors' catalogues with structured product data, digital ordering and streamlined payments, giving them access not only to Sabah Electricity's recurring demand but to Lapasar's wider network of enterprise and GLC buyers. "This initiative supports the growth of local Sabah vendors by expanding their access to digital procurement opportunities, enabling them to become more competitive while contributing to the state's economic development," said Mohd Yaakob Hj. Jaafar, chief executive officer of Sabah Electricity.

The onboarding embeds e-procurement into daily operations across Sabah Electricity's offices and depots, with structured training and adoption support from Lapasar across procurement, finance and operational teams. Suppliers who want to reach enterprise and GLC buyers can apply to become a Lapasar vendor; procurement teams can explore the marketplace or request a demo.