Moving Procurement Systems to the Internet:: the Adoption and Use of E-Procurement Technology Models

This paper reports the results of a research project addressing the current state of e-procurement technologies. The results indicate that the final equilibrium may include several technologies, each one serving a different segment of the market. This multiplicity of solutions is likely to further delay the transition of the industry to its growth stage. Companies are approaching e-procurement technologies with very different strategies. We identify two main types of companies. The first type is moving aggressively to adopt e-procurement technologies, frequently experimenting with various solutions. The second type adopts a more conservative strategy by selectively experimenting, typically with one technology. This latter group relies on these limited experiences to provide the capabilities to move quickly into the technology as a dominant design emerges. The results suggest that e-procurement technologies will become an important part of supply chain management and that the rate of adoption will accelerate as aggressive adopters share their experiences.