E-Procurement

The terms 'purchasing' and 'procurement' are often used synonymously but which of the following statements provides a more refined distinction?

• Purchasing has a broader meaning than procurement

• Procurement has a broader meaning than purchasing

• Procurement is broadly equivalent to purchasing

• None of the above

E-procurement is not new and there have been many attempts to automate the process of procurement for the potential buyer by using:

• Chip and pin technology

• Electronic procurement systems

• Radio frequency identification microchip

• Electronic procurement

There are benefits and practical considerations to take into account when introducing e-procurement. There are also different types or applications. Which one of these enables the purchasing company to buy goods and services that have the lowest price or combination of lowest price and other conditions through Internet technology?

• E-informing

• E-sourcing

• E-reverse auction

• E-tendering

A recent study in 2010 reviewed the business benefits of adopting e-procurement and concluded that there were five key drivers. Which one is FALSE though?

• Cost - improved through buyer leverage

• Process - reduced cycle time

• Control - lower levels of compliance and need for budgetary control

• Supplier management - reduced supplier numbers

To assess any new initiative, some evaluative process needs to take place. Riggins and Mitra recently created an evaluative framework that can be used for evaluating e-supply chain management as well as e-procurement. Some of the main dimensions are below but which one would contain the benefit of vendor-managed inventory?

• Development

• Production

• Inbound

• Planning

• Outbound

In estimating e-procurement costs and savings, a simple equation is followed. To calculate cost savings from e-procurement the following calculation is used: Savings = No. of requisitions × (New cost - Original cost)

• True

• False

Adopting e-procurement does not come without risks or barriers. Some of these are specific to e-procurement while others are more general limitations to e-business adoption. Which of the following is not a specific e-procurement issue?

• Creation of catalogues can be a long and costly process

• Positive negative perceptions from suppliers

• Cost of implementation and managing change

• Positive negative perceptions from suppliers

There are different information systems which can be used to show the processing steps that takes place within a fulfillment cycle. Which sequence is most typical of the procurement process?

• Approver to originator to buyer to supplier

• Supplier to originator to approver to buyer

• Originator to buyer to approver to supplier

• Originator to approver to buyer to supplier

• None of the above

Electronic B2B marketplaces can also be known as exchanges and hubs and they all refer to virtual locations with facilities to enable trading between buyers and sellers. Recent research by Johnson (2010) examined reasons for the limited adoption of e-marketplaces. The most significant included:

• Difficulties to create a paradigm shift in e-business

• Lack of faith in an integrated e-marketplace

• Benefits, risks and trust in partners

• All of the other answers apply

The electronic integration and management of all procurement activities including purchase request, authorization, ordering, delivery and payment between a purchaser and supplier is known as:

• E-procurement process

• E-procurement system

• E-procurement

• All of the above