Matching indirect procurement process with different B2B e-procurement systems

Abstract

A single information system cannot meet all the business requirements, and not all e-procurement systems for the procurement of indirect goods are equally suitable for supporting different business processes throughout their distinct phases. Companies need to adopt different e-procurement systems or business models in a hybrid and seamless manner. Existing literature addressing e-procurement systems or business models have focused on the indirect procurement at high-level granularities only or at a low-level granularity only, either within a single e-procurement system or without matching between procurement processes and different e-procurement systems. In this paper, we provide the matching between indirect procurement process and different e-procurement systems, at both the high-level and low-level activities, for identifying and articulating the areas where various e-procurement systems can be utilized in a hybrid and seamless manner. The output of this paper can help companies adopt various e-procurement systems or business models and redesign their e-procurement processes.