THE BUSINESS REVIEW FOR PROCUREMENT LEADERS
E-procuring services, rather than commodity items, has long been something of a challenge, not only for users but also for vendors. “Services are based around contractual relationships, which are not readily capable of being catalogued,” sums up one software company boss.
However, systems are becoming more sophisticated and better able to handle the requirements of services buying. Companies such as AstraZeneca have been trialling e-procurement in areas such as consultancy services.
Richer descriptions of services is one key aspect that has to be resolved. Billing and payment is another. “Procure-to-pay automation is probably the biggest single challenge to service procurement,” argues analyst Pierre Mitchell.
Temporary labour is perhaps the most advanced category, and vendors such as Elance and IQNavigator have been providing niche solutions for several years. Sony Electronics in the US has been using the latter to handle its agency staff needs since mid-2002.
Both vendors are now trying to branch out into other service areas, on the basis that these are, by definition, forms of temporary labour. Some aspects are more complex than others, but as long as they can be defined and categorised, the services can be e-procured.
Read the full text of this article
