Eaton, J: E-Procurement Success

The Air Force currently funds projects chartered with studying and developing e-Procurement systems. Through review and analysis of various e-Procurement projects, factors attributing to successful implementation of e-Procurement systems will be deduced and provided as a useful guide for federal agencies initiating e-Procurement projects. By identifying critical success factors this research should: 1) improve pre-implementation planning, 2) improve spend decisions, and 3) decrease implementation time by eliminating unnecessary steps. This research utilized the current literature to identify specific factors important in the e-Procurement implementation process. Once the factors were determined, a survey was developed to measure the factors in organizations with an e-Procurement system. All fifty state governments were contacted to determine if they had implemented e-Procurement systems and, if they responded affirmatively, were surveyed regarding what they have identified as the factors most instrumental in their e-Procurement implementation. The survey looked specifically at six key areas of e-Procurement implementation: 1) technology, 2) management, 3) processes, 4) suppliers, 5) budget, and 6) benefits. Each organization's tangible and intangible benefits were assessed to further substantiate the value organizations should be getting from e-Procurement.