i-way Consulting

e-business Planning, Consulting, Project Management, Training

Home What's New About us Services Not For Profits Fight Spam Newsletter Where we are Inquiry

 

i-way newsletter

May 2002

e-procurement

Purchasing is an essential activity in every business: buying raw materials, office supplies, capital equipment.

But it’s time consuming!

e-procurement is using the Internet to help with purchasing:

Search for product and supplier information on the web
Download product catalogue
e-mail enquiries to suppliers
Placing an order online
Online payment

A 2001 Yellow Pages survey reported that 26% of small and 49% of medium businesses use e-procurement. And the number is growing rapidly.

Why? The main reasons are:

More productive and efficient
More convenient
Compare products and prices easily
Easier to find ‘hard to find’ items
Cost competitive
Often, faster delivery times

Here are 4 good e-procurement practices:

  1. Know who you’re buying from, and where they are. Look for ‘About Us’ details on their web site - if you’re not happy, don’t buy!
  2. Know all the costs - freight, handling, tax, duties etc. - before you place your order. The biggest complaint about buying online is about ‘hidden costs’.
  3. Print a copy of your order before you send it.
  4. Be careful with your credit card number - is it kept secure? See if you can become an account customer instead.
 

[ Home ] [ What's New ] [ About us ] [ Services ] [ Not For Profits ] [ Fight Spam ] [ Newsletter ] [ Where we are ] [ Inquiry ]

Copyright © 2005 i-way Consulting