Today's purchasing agents have a new tool in their hands. The Internet brings them the power to improve overall corporate performance in innovation and revenue generation. The challenge is to carry this strength over to the procurement function. Three years earlier only 12 percent of surveyed CEOs held similar expectations. The study was released in November by A.T. Kearney, EDS' global high-value management consulting unit.
Respondents see an efficient future for Internet procurement.
Doing its part, EDS Global Purchasing swung into action, combining the power of technology and leading edge procurement practices such as Internet auctions and buyer's consortiums to create the largest extended supply chain in the company's 36-year history. Internet auctions, for example, put bidding online, taking cost and time out of the process, bringing new suppliers into global competition and effectively lowering prices while maintaining quality and value. Relying on EDS the international office systems manufacturer improved and simplified its purchasing process. In developing the client's procurement efficiencies, EDS leveraged existing technology and practically eliminated new system investment along the way. Idaho Power discovered how procurement efficiency contributed strength as it faced a more competitive, deregulated electric utility marketplace.