E-Commerce has arguably become the hottest topic to grace the world's boardrooms since the advent of EDI technology. Worldwide e-Commerce is expected to grow from $170 billion in 1999 to over $3 trillion in 2003. Forward-looking firms, both large and small are recognizing that thet must develop an e-Commerce strategy in order to ensure their success in future years.

Until recently, the primary area to receive widespread attention has been internet-enabled retail sales, also known as Business-to-Consumer e-Commerce. However, as business begin to examine other means of utilizing the power of this emerging technology, many of the most striking opportunities for improving the bottom line are appearing in the area of Business-to-Business(B2B) e-Commerce. The realization of this opportunity has led many of the world's most strategically-minded firms to explore the immense potential of B2B e-Commerce, which is projected to account for over 90% to total e-Commerce by 2003.

Of the various types of B2B e-Commerce, one of the most promising areas has proven to be Internet-based procurement automation, or e-Procurement. The reason for the popularity of e-Procurement is its ability to directly effect a firm's bottom line by addressing a cost center that has until recently been all but overlooked: Maintenance, Repair, and Operating expenses(MRO)

MRO typically accounts for 30% to 40% of a manufacturer's total expenditures. Furthermore, it could account for over half the dollars spent by service and municipal organizations. According to Aberdeen Group research, the purchase of MRO items(e.g. goods required to maintain operations at a plant or facility such as electrical, computers, office supplies, etc) has been distributed and poorly controlled in most business. This has led to inefficient procurement practices such as off-contract purchasing and "maverick" buying, which inevitably with key suppliers.

e-Procurement addresses these inefficient procurement practices by providing an automated procurement solution which allows users to quickly access detailed, buyer-specific information needed to make purchasing decisions. Forward-looking firms are implementing e-Procurement solutions as part of overall technology-enabled Strategic Sourcing plan.