The Internet connection / e-mail solution for your e-procurement activities has many benefits and only a few risks, and thus represents the easiest way to buy and sell over the Internet.  Most importantly, it requires relatively little change and adjustment within the company.

 

Internet and other forms of information and communication technology (ICT) have the affected macro economic development of a country, and improved profitability of individual firms. As Internet technology advances and overcomes problems with reliability, speed, and standardized use of e-procurement software systems, it will be used to exchange information and trade goods and services.

 

Many large firms have integrated online technology into their older electronic data interchange (EDI) systems, and have built Internet-based systems for supply chain management and other forms of inventory control as well as for smoother communication within the firm and among suppliers in the production chain.

 

In sum, Internet and ICT lowers communication costs, reduces the length of time-to-market for goods and services, makes possible the delivery of information in a digital format, reduces transport and distribution costs, and allows for more fully integrated and broader and more global business alliances.

 

Benefits: 

 

• Quick implementation speed
• Reduced costs over the long-term
• A stepping stone to a more sophisticated e-procurement process
• Simple to use
• Allows for other uses such as budget planning, accounting, and word-processing
• Capability to communicate with other companies' software
• Access to international e-marketplaces
• Access to auctions
• Access to industry trends and forecasts through industry web sites
• Access to market research and industry publications
• Ordering forms are easier to read and faster to communicate than faxed forms
• Less chance to have to input information more than once
• Reduced labor costs
• Reduced possibility of human error

 

Risks: 

 

·Security concerns from an open Internet connection, but can be remedied by use of encoding software

• Up-front costs for hardware, software and HR training
• Possible conversion problems with spreadsheet information