A01 chaf6542 06 se fm indd

1 

customer access to the Internet is high (this is now a given in many markets);

2 

the Internet can offer a better value proposition than other media (i.e. propensity to 

purchase online is high);

3 

the product can be delivered over the Internet (it can be argued that this is not essential 

for replacement);

4 

the product can be standardised (user does not usually need to view to purchase).

If at least two of Kumar’s conditions are met, there may be a replacement effect. For example, 

purchase of travel services online fulfils criteria 1, 2 and 4. As a consequence, physical outlets 

for these products may no longer be viable. The extent to which these conditions are met will 

vary through time, for example as access to the Internet and propensity to purchase online 

increase. A similar test is de  Kare-  Silver’s (2000) Electronic Shopping Test (Chapter 8, p. 352).

A similar vision of the future can be developed for  buy-  side activities such as procure-

ment. A company can have a vision for how e-procurement and e-enabled supply chain 

management (SCM) will complement or replace  paper-  based procurement and SCM.