Chapter 6. The Architecture of Web-Based Procurement

Although a few industry watchers were quick to assume that there would be a continuous and inevitable move away from the one-to-many model of e-procurement, the complexity of purchasing materials globally, the different approaches that ORM, MRO, and direct materials purchasing demand, and concerns over security and partnership reliability have all combined to sustain a good deal of interest in the company-sponsored model. Alternatively, particularly for the more straightforward purchasing of ORM materials, impersonal many-to-many model auctions and exchanges provide small and medium-sized companies with an opportunity to forgo complex and costly negotiations with individual vendors, and to use an online exchange, for a subscription fee, to buy goods at bid-down prices.