News on 11 October 2000
There is little ‘first-mover’ advantage for companies
entering e-markets, says industry analyst Gartner. The promised benefits
- reduced administration costs, better control, lower prices and quick
delivery – will come, but probably not for a while.
Gartner reports that many e-procurement pioneers have been left wondering
why their efforts are not living up to their expectations. A number of
causes have been identified:
- no clear scope definition for the e-procurement programme, resulting
in confused or conflicting objectives
- software vendor immaturity, resulting in a program that is both evolving
and under pressure to perform
- consultancy services immaturity, which can result in the ‘blind
leading the blind’ as new initiatives are introduced
- supplier immaturity, frequently meaning that early customers provide
the testbed for services and later customers reap the benefits
- pricing model immaturity, raising the danger that initial customers will be locked into licence fees and transaction charges that increasing competition may later reduce or eliminate.
The bottom line, says Gartner, is that e-procurement does
not provide a quick-fix. Rather than look for a rapid return on investment
now, companies should scale their expectations to match what both the
marketplace and suppliers are capable of delivering.
