E-Procurement: From Strategy to Implementation

by Dale Neef

Book Overview

The comprehensive guide to Web-enabled procurement. Achieving rapid ROI with e-procurement Discover start-to-finish planning and implementation strategies that work in real enterprise environments.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0130914118
• ISBN13: 9780130914118
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: FT Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.7" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Nice Price, Text Rich, Poor Diagrams, Great Classifications!

This book can be divided into 3 main parts. The first 4 chapters essentially put forward the case for e-procurement with an opening chapter containing some 33 references alone! The intermediate section ranges from main players on the market, the software landscape & architecture, models, classification schemes and government/military tendering processes. If this chunk don't win you over then I don't know what will. Finally, the last 4 chapters deal with issues that an intrepid implementer of an e-procurement initiative should consider. Guiding principles, structures & phases, elements to productive executive workshops and the all important change management issues. Dale places great importance on change management even going so far as to quote Mark Twain. This section is quite admonitory but the author is a management consultant by trade so I guess it's quite logical for him to advise us on issues that we should be considering before getting our hands dirty. Perhaps it will earn him some business ;-) One thing I noticed about this author is that he is very competent at is finding synonyms. For example "maverick purchasing" can also be termed "off-contract buying" or even "rogue procurement". All of which help the reader to become more fluent in the lingua france of B2B electronic trade and keeps the narrative fresh and interesting. Early on he broadly classifies goods into white-collar ORM and blue-collar MRO introducing these colorful terms in large bold print - a common characteristic of this book. Chapter 5: "The E-Procurement Software Landscape" requires more work IMHO. The sheer fact that I found myself tabulating the main players like Commerce One & Ariba, the solution/s they offered (whether enterprise or network based), it's name and their strategic partners would tend to indicate that the author should have done so. The main diagram provided is a pie-graph showing macroscopic market detail but it just too encompassing. Don't get me wrong - the information is provided (in text format) but it's all over the shop (no pun intended). A table would have gone down well. Chapter 6: "The Architecture of Web-Based Procurement" is fantastic. It should have come earlier. Dale breaks down the environment broadly into "one-to-many" and "many-to-many" type approaches. Another class he introduces is the "buy-side", "sell-side" and "independent portal" type offerings. He further sub-classifies the buy-sponsored focus into 'desktop' (e.g. Concur Procurement) and 'central' type offerings. He provides us with a powerful classification scheme here but I felt he could of tied examples of each type closer to said classes. One other thing that I found surprising was the fact that he only mentions the 3 main pricing models in passing (subscription fee, transaction charge & percentage of exchange fee). I though he would of elaborated on this like he did with the mentioning of vertical e-markets like the Covisint alliance (forged by th

Good Book On Fundamentals

eProcurement is an excellent book for the basic fundamentals of of eprocurement (eprocurement 101). We are the authors of a more advanced version for purchasing professionals already using some form of epurchasing. Our book is titled ePurchasingPlus and has input from over 30 experts and practitioners from US, UK & Canada that use ePurchasingPlus products and concepts. We recommend both books for the purchasing professional to find about the future of our profession.

Excellent Book

Mr. Neef did an excellent job with this book. It is not a down and dirty technical book that describes the inner workings of an e-procurement system. Then again, I think that is why I like it so much. After reading this book I feel I know the business behind e-procurement and that is THE most important issue when it comes to any system. As a result of reading this book I have a better understanding of what e-procurement is all about. I also feel I have gained an appreciation for the different types of systems as well as where the entire e-procurement market is headed. He discussed the importance of things such as Decision Support and Business Intelligence. He supported most, if not all, of his points with solid research. I am an systems engineer and not a business person. I got a lot out of this book. I would recommend it to both members technical groups as well as business people. The technical person will gain an appreciation for the business aspects of e-procurement. While the manager/business person will be given good direction and insights into e-procurement. I would imagine this to be of benefit to anyone whose organization is contemplating e-procurement or just some one generally interested in the area. This is even a good read for the manager who is not currently involved with e-procurement. It may show you how much you DO need it. KUDOS to Dale Neef.

The best e-procurement book in the market!!

I am a professional in the e-business thought leadership arena, and have searched high and low for a solid book on e-procurement. Neef's book has it all!! It is well orginized, and backed up with solid data and research. Whether your an e-business professional or an executive looking to understand what B2B commerce and e-procurement can mean to your business, buy this book.