E-Procurement Concepts

E-procurement (electronic procurement) is the online purchase of supplies, materials, energy, work, and services. It can be done via the Internet or via a private network such as electronic data exchange (EDI). For the different types of EDI and the trading community, see edibasics.com/types-of-edi.

Some activities done by e-procurement include enabling buyers to search for suppliers, facilitating reverse auctions for buyers, and automating paperwork and documentation.

Some of these activities are done in private marketplaces, others in public exchanges.

The Goals and Process of E-Procurement
As stated earlier, e-procurement frequently automates activities in the purchasing process from multiple suppliers via the Web for better execution and control.

Improvements to procurement have been attempted for decades, usually by using information technologies. Using e-procurement results in a major improvement. For comprehensive coverage and case studies, see zdnet.com.

Essentially, e-procurement automates the process of auctions, contract management, vendor selection, and management, etc.

Source:

Efraim Turban, David King, Jae Kyu Lee, Ting-Peng Liang, Deborrah C. Turban (2015), Electronic Commerce A Managerial and Social Networks Perspective