It?s always darkest before the dawn. Similar statements are often quoted in order to reinforce that it is never too late to get started or to benefit from new or more current thinking.

The above can be applied to just about any subject. In this case we are talking about e-procurement, strategic sourcing, e-negotiation, reverse auctions and e-RFX which are all terms with similar meanings. You can visit Google, Yahoo, Bing, Wikipedia and other internet search sources and you will be taken to a link to a provider?s home page or to a web page with a definition of these key words. Some definitions have been updated; some solutions offer more current technology at a lower price. However the bottom line is still the same. If you assign a good amount of your spend to these types of tools the following is a partial list of benefits you should enjoy.

1. You will compress your pricing
2. You will improve your earnings
3. You will find new sources of supply
4. You likely will improve terms and conditions
5. You will likely improve quality
6. Your procurement team will be more productive
7. You will have process improvement
8. You will directly support safer products
9. You will directly support the environment
10. You will hold suppliers accountable to the line item detail.

Historically these tools have not been highly used by retailers other than the largest of corporations and even in those cases large amounts of spend have not been assigned to their use. These tools can be used for small spends, large spends and just about any spend in between. Since there is always a new moon on the horizon, there is always an opportunity for newly enlightened companies to take advantage. We are about to end the first decade of the twenty first century. Isn?t time to look at things in a new way?

We look forward to and appreciate your comments.