All three have lowered sales forecasts or shed staff over the last three months, while Ariba is fighting off rumours that it's about to bought. The message seems to be that users can't afford to spend big money on tools to increase their revenues, so they're looking for tools to cut their costs instead. She maintains that users will invest in e-procurement software and services as long as they are guaranteed a return on their investment. The bottom line is that it's more important than ever to closely evaluate a procurement application before purchase to ensure it adds value to the business. This software is more mature and there is plenty of feedback available from reference sites, but there's no point automating a process that already works.
Technology never solves all the problems.
If the vendors are right and the purchasing software remains a lucrative product line, there could be a flood of new entrants to the market. But the market leaders are confident that those new entrants won't capture the hearts of blue chip customers. Their solutions are unproven and there is no way of judging whether they will best match the needs of your company. It is also sometimes referred to by other terms, such as supplier exchange or e-procurement. The software allow users to search for buyers or sellers of goods and services.