Advantages include getting the right product, from the right supplier, at the right time, for the right price and the right quantity. In reality e-procurement has the advantage of taking supply chain management to the next level, providing real time information to the vendor as to the status of a customer's needs. For example, a vendor may have an agreement with a customer to automatically ship materials when the customer's stock level reaches a low point, thus bypassing the need for the customer to ask for it.
A major disadvantage to this type of agreement could be that the vendor has the power to take advantage of the customer by knowing more information about the customer than they would have if the customer was in a normal supply chain management structure. |