The particularity of e-commerce procurement makes commercial transactions gradually become seamless, which is almost impossible in non-e-commerce procurement. In general, non-e-commerce procurement has the following four unavoidable problems.
(1) The information exchange between the supply and demand sides is not timely enough and the sharing is low; the suppliers are not clear about product quality, delivery time, etc., and may block information for their own interests; competition is greater than cooperation, which is likely to lead to a lose-lose situation.
(2) The market is changing faster and faster. Faced with the ever-changing needs of buyers, offline stores will feel overwhelmed due to the slow pace and lack of flexibility of non-e-commerce procurement.
(3) The influence of human factors cannot be ignored. Personal interests can easily lead to the procurement process entering a non-standardized stage.
(4) Inaccurate grasp of market development trends can easily lead to inventory backlogs and occupy working capital.
Today’s society is developing rapidly, and the e-commerce industry is also changing with each passing day. In order to achieve better development, e-commerce companies must adjust their thinking in a timely manner, find the right direction at the forefront of the storm, and move forward steadily. Let’s take a look at the advantages of e-commerce procurement.
(1) The procurement scope is wider, which can reduce procurement costs and improve procurement efficiency. With the development of economy and technology, the procurement scope of e-commerce companies has been close to globalization. This is conducive to reducing procurement costs and realizing global procurement. Because the procurement scope of e-commerce companies is not restricted, it is easier to find high-quality suppliers than offline stores. In addition, information sharing is more time-saving and labor-saving than traditional communication, which can greatly improve the procurement efficiency of e-commerce companies.
(2) The procurement process is more standardized, which can reduce human influence. In the procurement of offline stores, procurement work is greatly influenced by subjective consciousness, and intentional or unintentional non-standardization in behavior is difficult to avoid. The procurement of e-commerce companies is carried out in accordance with regulations, and human influence is almost zero, which is undoubtedly more conducive to the standardization of procurement processes and the formation of a good procurement environment.
(3) The procurement business is more flexible and can meet the ever-changing market demand. Compared with offline stores, e-commerce companies are more likely to speed up the pace in various aspects, such as user needs, order information, production plans, etc. In addition, e-commerce companies will also add flexible models to their procurement business, which can shorten the procurement cycle and improve inventory turnover.
(4) Procurement management is more scientific, which can improve the timeliness, accuracy and richness of information and realize the transformation from procurement management to supply chain management. In today’s market environment, both supply and demand sides must establish a stable, mutually beneficial and highly shared cooperative relationship and attach importance to competition between supply chains.
Tips
In the procurement model of e-commerce companies, suppliers can obtain new demands and plans in a timely manner, so as to provide products to e-commerce companies as required at the first time. This can optimize the supply chain and achieve a win-win situation.