E Procurement
1. E procurement A bird's eye view
1.1 Introduction
E-procurement is the business-to-business purchase and sale of supplies and services over the Internet. An important part of many B2B sites, e-procurement is also sometimes referred to by other terms, such as supplier exchange. Typically, e-procurement Web sites allow qualified and registered users to look for buyers or sellers of goods and services. Depending on the approach, buyers or sellers may specify prices or invite bids. Transactions can be initiated and completed. Ongoing purchases may qualify customers for volume discounts or special offers.
E-procurement software may make it possible to automate some buying and selling. Companies participating expect to be able to control parts inventories more effectively, reduce purchasing agent overhead, and improve manufacturing cycles. E-procurement is expected to be integrated with the trend toward computerized supply chain management.
Companies want to ensure that their processes are:
Reducing the time employees spend purchasing, whether it's leafing through Catalogues or surfing the Web.
Leveraging their volume with preferred suppliers in order to get better pricing, service, and access to new technology.
Limiting choices to only those suppliers, materials, and services that they are confident can meet pre-approved levels of price and quality.
E-procurement is rapidly becoming an important issue. A recent survey by Deloitte Consulting found that among a cross-section of major corporations, only about 15% are satisfied with their current level of e-procurement activity. However, of those relatively few companies who have extensively adopted e-procurement solutions to date, 88% are satisfied with the results and are reporting returns on investment that often approach or exceed 300%.1 Not surprisingly then, Purchasing magazine reports that over 90% of purchasing professionals expect to be buying online within the next 12 months with a total of
1.1 Introduction
E-procurement is the business-to-business purchase and sale of supplies and services over the Internet. An important part of many B2B sites, e-procurement is also sometimes referred to by other terms, such as supplier exchange. Typically, e-procurement Web sites allow qualified and registered users to look for buyers or sellers of goods and services. Depending on the approach, buyers or sellers may specify prices or invite bids. Transactions can be initiated and completed. Ongoing purchases may qualify customers for volume discounts or special offers.
E-procurement software may make it possible to automate some buying and selling. Companies participating expect to be able to control parts inventories more effectively, reduce purchasing agent overhead, and improve manufacturing cycles. E-procurement is expected to be integrated with the trend toward computerized supply chain management.
Companies want to ensure that their processes are:
Reducing the time employees spend purchasing, whether it's leafing through Catalogues or surfing the Web.
Leveraging their volume with preferred suppliers in order to get better pricing, service, and access to new technology.
Limiting choices to only those suppliers, materials, and services that they are confident can meet pre-approved levels of price and quality.
E-procurement is rapidly becoming an important issue. A recent survey by Deloitte Consulting found that among a cross-section of major corporations, only about 15% are satisfied with their current level of e-procurement activity. However, of those relatively few companies who have extensively adopted e-procurement solutions to date, 88% are satisfied with the results and are reporting returns on investment that often approach or exceed 300%.1 Not surprisingly then, Purchasing magazine reports that over 90% of purchasing professionals expect to be buying online within the next 12 months with a total of
References: ` [1] wikipedia [2] Techrepublic.com [3] Untapped potential of e procurement – a wipro case study [4] Cio.com [5] E-Procurement: New Dimensions in Electronic Commerce and Supply Chain Management - Scott A. Elliff