E-procurement sits on the buyer’s side of the transaction, in contrast to a seller’s own ecommerce site. Large buying organizations often standardize on procurement software, and a supplier that wants that business needs its catalog available inside that system, typically through a punchout connection, rather than assuming buyers will visit the supplier’s site directly. Master B2B’s webcast debate on the topic centered on where a B2B seller should invest limited resources: building out its own ecommerce experience, or ensuring strong presence and clean data inside the procurement systems buyers already use. The honest answer for most sellers is both, weighted by how much of their buyer base purchases through formal procurement systems versus browsing supplier sites directly.
E-procurement
Software systems that let a business buyer's own organization manage purchasing electronically, often integrating directly with a supplier's catalog through punchout rather than requiring the buyer to visit the supplier's website.