Supplier management

Today, larger organizations are beginning to aggressively implement eProcurement systems in order to improve their buying processes. However, they are not finding enough suppliers who are compatible and can transact electronically. With suppliers not being connected, e-procurement holds a limited potential for buyers, and they expect suppliers to provide usable, e-commerce-ready product and service information.

Suppliers are participating in dozens, if not hundreds, of eProcurement implementations - each demanding a unique catalog with the attendant problems of increasing information technology (IT) costs and taking the customer further away from the services these companies have linked to their products and that distinguish them from their competitors. Suppliers face a quandary, their buyers are using a variety of procurement systems, both Internet and legacy based, and Suppliers cannot possibly integrate with all of them.

Barriers to Supplier Enablement
Cynicism about buyers' goals for online trade
Difficulties creating and maintaining electronic catalog
Demands to invest in multiple buyer-driven e-commerce solutions
Inability to adapt to customers' needs
Overly complex solutions, the burden of expensive integration