Sunnyvale, CA August 20, 2001 The Center for Advanced Purchasing Studies (CAPS Research) and e-marketplace solution provider Ariba have joined forces to develop a digital benchmarking process to provide companies with key metrics and best practices to improve the deployment of their electronic purchasing systems.
The eC3 (Collect, Compare and Collaborate) program will augment the traditional, manual benchmarking process that CAPS currently uses to collect and analyze data. The goal of the new electronic process will be to extend the breadth and depth of the captured metrics and to reduce benchmarking cycles by 75 percent.
Ariba and CAPS Research have been working together for the last six months to define the appropriate metrics and standardize the data collection process to enable rapid, automated collection of actual usage data direct from the customers' e-procurement system. It is modeled on the current Ariba Benchmarking Scorecard, which has been provided free to customers since September 2000.
Participation in the program, dubbed eC3, will be open to all large companies, regardless of which e-procurement system they have implemented. Standard data definitions will be posted to the CAPS Web site on August 24, 2001.
The project will focus on e-procurement transactions and providing benefits in three distinct areas:
- Measurement defines the key metrics required to successfully manage deployment and usage programs for enterprise-level e-procurement systems.
- Comparison creates meaningful targets for participants' e-procurement deployments based on relevant comparisons within their industry and with best-in-class efforts globally.
- Improvement enables both new and existing e-procurement users to understand global best practices in e-procurement and appropriately incorporate them into their own rollout plans.
"eC3 is the first electronic benchmarking initiative to objectively capture, measure and analyze transactional data and processes, and is an important step forward for e-commerce industry-wide," said Dr. Phillip Carter, D.B.A, executive director of CAPS Research. "Companies participating in the eC3 benchmark will better understand their procurement processes, be able to identify efficiencies and savings in the purchasing function and continue to make improvements which allow good purchasing practices to be a well-recognized competitive advantage."
"In today's economic climate, it's not enough to simply have an e-procurement system in place and assume you are saving time and money this must be measured and proven," said Keith Krach, chairman of Ariba.
Participation in the program is open to any large enterprise currently deploying an e-procurement system, irrespective of their software supplier. In early September, CAPS Research and Ariba will extend invitations to major B2B procurement system providers in order to facilitate participation on behalf of their customers.
CAPS Research will offer the program to all its member companies. Existing Ariba Benchmarking Scorecard customers will have the option to begin immediate participation in the eC3 program.
