Abstract:
The increased adoption of the internet for business uses globally, has influenced the function of
procurement to migrate from traditional paper-based processes to e-procurement. The unique
features of the internet and related web-based technologies can potentially support the activities of
procurement, and at the same time provide improvements to the procurement process. It is on this
ground that e-procurement has, in recent years, been used as a means to significantly reduce costs
because its ability to reduce transaction costs and manage the inventory in a more efficient manner.
In its most basic definition, e-procurement is the stream- lining of procurement/purchasing
processes by eliminating traditional paper-based documents such as purchase orders, requisitions
forms, invoices etc and replacing them with electronic based paperless processes. It is a powerful
business tool that can revolutionize the buying function of an organization by streamlining and
automating the labour intensive procurement routines which in return enable employees to gain
direct access to their suppliers' systems, visually confirm technical specifications and view product
pictures, price points, and detailed product descriptions.
