The e-procurement process involves the following steps,• Search: such as the ability to search online for appropriate suppliers, contacts, brochures, etc.• Qualify: such as online research of company background, credit history, comparisons with competitors, etc.• Negotiate: such as negotiating the price, credit terms, quality, timing, etc.• Purchase: such as ordering the product, initiating the purchase order and entering the information into the system.• Invoicing: such as receiving the invoice and matching the purchase order, entering the information into the financial and production systems.• Shipping: such as the shipping and delivery of goods, entering the information into the shipper’s tracking system. • Remittance Payment: such as receiving goods, verifying and correcting invoices, sending payment(s), entering the record into the system, and providing online after-sales support (Laudon & Traver, 2001).
Published in Chapter:
EU E-Business and Innovation Policies for SMEs
Anne Wiggins (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK)
Copyright: © 2008
|Pages: 13
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-857-4.ch011
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the current UK situation of e-business adoption and implementation, and outlines the primary UK government policies and initiatives that have been introduced since 2000 in order to stimulate e-business adoption and implementation by SMEs. Companies of all sizes that have adopted e-business believe that it contributes to improved performance in four main ways: • The development of new products and services. • The generation of new customers and business channels. • A reduction in costs. • Improved productivity (HM Treasury, 2001c).