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Adherence to the organisation’s purchasing policy . Boehringer’s procurement approval hierarchy 

spans up to eight different levels of authority across eight divisions, governing who has the authority to 

approve purchases in specific categories and at various value thresholds. Added to this, for purchases 

above £20k/year the purchasing department has to be involved. Boehringer needed a solution that could 

 Proactis deliver E‑procurement for Boehringer Ingelheim 

     Introduction 

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Chapter 7  E‑procurement

  What  is  e‑procurement? 

 The terms ‘purchasing’ and ‘procurement’ are sometimes used interchangeably, but as 

Kalakota and Robinson (2000) point out, ‘procurement’ generally has a broader meaning. 

‘Procurement’ refers to all activities involved with obtaining items from a supplier; this 

includes purchasing, but also inbound logistics such as transportation, goods‑in and ware‑

housing before the item is used. The use of e‑procurement is sometimes considered as part 

of ‘strategic sourcing’ where it is used to deliver commercially significant benefits to the 

company. 

 The key procurement activities and associated information flows within an organisation 

are shown in  Figure   7.1   . In this chapter we focus on these activities, which include search‑

ing and specification of product by the  end‑  user, purchasing by the buyer, payment by an 

account, and receipt and distribution of goods within a warehouse.  

not only mirror and ensure compliance with the approval tree, but that could also provide an audit trail to 

record every stage of the purchase and payment processes.  

  

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