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

• Digital marketplace streamlines procurement while strengthening governance and operational efficiency
• Partnership brings local Sabah vendors online and expands access to enterprise and GLC buyers nationwide

Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd has partnered with Lapasar, Malaysia’s B2B procurement and marketplace platform, to digitise its long-tail procurement – thousands of low-value, high-frequency purchases that traditionally consume a disproportionate amount 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, long-tail procurement presents not only a purchasing challenge but also a logistical one. From Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, Tawau and remote operational stations, essential items such as consumables, tools, office supplies, safety equipment and maintenance, repair and operations materials are required across its network.

However, the relatively low value of individual purchases often makes a full tender process impractical. As a result, organisations frequently face manual sourcing processes, fragmented supplier networks, inconsistent pricing and longer procurement lead times. Through Lapasar, Sabah Electricity’s teams can now requisition these items via a single digital marketplace with structured approvals, consolidated invoicing and full spend visibility, replacing manual quotation cycles with catalogue-based purchasing.

“Our partnership with Lapasar reflects Sabah Electricity’s commitment to modernising procurement through digital transformation, enhancing operational efficiency, strengthening governance and improving transparency. At the same time, 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, Sabah Electricity.

A key element of the partnership is bringing local Sabah vendors onto Lapasar’s marketplace.

Many of these suppliers, from hardware and electrical merchants to stationers and safety equipment dealers have traditionally operated offline, limiting their access to large enterprise buyers.

Lapasar will digitise these vendors’ catalogues, bringing them online with structured product data, digital ordering and streamlined payments. Once on the platform, Sabah vendors will gain access not only to Sabah Electricity’s recurring demand but also to Lapasar’s wider network of enterprise and GLC buyers nationwide, creating new growth opportunities beyond a single customer.

Long-tail spend typically represents a small share of procurement value but the majority of transaction volume. By moving this category onto Lapasar, Sabah Electricity aims to reduce processing costs per purchase order, shorten requisition-to-delivery cycles and enable its procurement team to focus on higher-value strategic procurement. Every transaction is digitally recorded, improving audit readiness and governance.

Industry benchmarks show that tail spend accounts for around 80% of a large organisation’s purchase transactions while representing only about 20% of total procurement value, making it one of the largest sources of hidden processing costs in enterprise procurement.

The onboarding marks a milestone in procurement technology adoption within Sabah Electricity, embedding e-procurement into daily operations across its network of offices and depots. Structured training and onboarding support from Lapasar will help drive adoption across procurement, finance and operational teams.

The partnership places Sabah Electricity among a growing number of Malaysian organisations digitising procurement at scale. Malaysia’s digital transformation market is projected to grow from US$12.67 billion (RM51 billion) to US$29.74 billion (RM119 billion) between 2026 and 2031, with utilities among the sectors under increasing pressure to modernise operations while controlling costs.