Sees Rise in Electronic Supplier Enablement

Aberdeen: New Benchmark Survey Finds Companies Will Conduct More Business over the Web in Next 2 Years More companies are doing business with their suppliers through online electronic means and will do more of it over the next two years. The survey found that while phone, fax, and e-mail remain the dominant communications methods, enterprises around the globe are discovering the value of Web-based tools such as portals, catalog hubs, supplier networks and marketplaces.

Tt electronic supplier enablement was the chief factor limiting the growth of electronic procurement,. An acceleration of various Web-based methods of transacting business. Still, only 29% of suppliers are enabled to do business over the Web.

The top obstacle to enabling more suppliers appears to be the suppliers themselves. Nearly half of the companies surveyed said many suppliers lack the money, infrastructure, or resources to support and sustain electronic enablement initiatives. To remove the obstacles, enterprises are using both enticements and mandates to nudge their suppliers close to the Web. Among those enticements and mandates:

• Consolidating spending with electronically enabled suppliers;

• Mandating that suppliers adopt a customer’s chosen communications methods; and

• ffering technical assistance to suppliers who want to move more business to the Web.

The Supplier Enablement Benchmark Report, Publ 20060329