Avoiding the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Selecting and Implementing e-Procurement Solutions

Jan 16, 2009 in IT - Software & Development

Discover the top ten most common mistakes companies make over and over again in selecting and implementing e-procurement software and provide you with best practices on how not to make these same mistakes.
The benefits of e-procurement software have been well documented. In the 20 years since these solutions first appeared on the market, studies have repeatedly shown that e-procurement systems not only yield a high return on investment, they also reinforce good corporate governance.

A new generation of solutions has led to a surge in demand for e-procurement software, particularly among small and medium-sized companies that were previously priced out of the market. These solutions, built using Web 2.0 technologies, have eliminated much of the complexity of traditional e-procurement solutions. They are much easier to use and require less training. Some of these new solutions are offered on demand, which has enabled companies to deploy their purchasing systems in a fraction of time, and maintain them at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions.

Unfortunately, while e-procurement technologies have improved dramatically in recent years, companies’ implementation practices have not. According to a 2005 KPMG study, 49% of participants experienced at least one project failure within the most recent 12 months and a recent Gartner Group study suggests that three-quarters of new IT projects will fail due to fundamental flaws in project planning.