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Part - II

• E-commerce
  Electronic commerce has revolutionized how business is conducted in today's world. It is now a reality in both business-to-customer and business-to-business transactions and is rapidly accelerating in both areas.

• Internet based procurement
  Business-to-business sales on the Web are starting to gain popularity. Companies around the world are getting serious about Internet-based procurement (IBP) because the return on a relatively modest investment is high and the risk is very low, at least for many items, companies buy routinely. There are two distinct parts of the IBP market:

  • Direct-Material Procurement, which involves the acquisition of products directly required for production. These include the components and materials from key upstream supply chain partners.

  • Indirect-Material Procurement, which is the purchase of products that are indirectly used in the production process. They include office supplies; maintenance, repair and operating supplies (MRO).

2. Outsourcing Logistics to third party logistics providers

'Outsourcing' refers to the purchase of goods or services that were previously provided internally. 'Logistics' is defined by the Council of Logistics Management as "that part of the supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements.

Traditionally, logistics activities were handled internally, particularly in medium to large size corporations. In the United States, third party logistics services have gained momentum over the past decade.

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* Contributed by -
Siddharth Mohan Patnaik, B.Tech. (Electronics),
Ravulpathi Janaki, B.Tech. (Mechanical),
II Year, IIM Lucknow.