E-procurement has not only taken off, but is accelerating, maintains MWEB`s CommerceZone head Tracey Newman. Analysts and other players, however, are not as positive.
Says Acctech services director Dharini Raidoo: "Our experience, working with smaller mines, government and related sectors, shows that [e-procurement] is taking off to a degree. But we don`t think we`re anywhere near where we ought to be. First of all, we don`t have the infrastructure. Secondly, we don`t have the skills in the mid-market sector we deal with."
That noted, Raidoo says things have definitely improved over the last four to five years, and that organisational paper trails are diminishing.
Marketworks business and technology advisor Terry White agrees in principle. "E-procurement hasn`t really taken off locally. The only local procurement marketplace left that I`m aware of is quadrem.com. Many other players like Ariba (previously allied with Standard Bank) and Commerce One (previously allied with Telkom) seem to have disappeared," he says.
"Quadrem focuses on the mining industry and had its early beginnings locally out of the old CCH venture called Get2Connect, which MGX closed down. In hindsight, that was a mistake as Quadrem has shown phenomenal growth in both volumes and trading partners [see table]. The main drive in the rest of the market seems to be in software that allows for integration between ERP systems to facilitate supply-and-demand chain management," he adds.
E-procurement, like e-billing, would seem to be a no-brainer when one considers the benefits. According to Marketworks, it enables control and tracking of the procurement process, facilitates communications and relations between suppliers and buyers, facilitates supply and demand visibility and expedites the just-in-time acquisition of goods.
That said, perhaps the business case just isn`t that compelling. As Acctech`s Raidoo notes, the technology is just too expensive.
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