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Integrating company systems with supplier systems

We saw from the Shell case study in Chapter 6 the cost and  cycle‑  time benefits that a 

company can achieve through linking its systems with those of its suppliers. If integrat‑

ing systems within a company is difficult, then linking with other companies’ systems 

is more so. This situation arises since suppliers will use different types of systems and 

different models for integration. There are three fundamental models for location of 

B2B  e‑commerce:   sell‑  side,   buy‑  side  and   marketplace‑  based  (as  explained  in  Chapter 2). 

These are summarised in Figure 7.4 and the advantages and disadvantages of each are 

summarised in Table 7.6.

Figure 7.4

The three main e‑procurement model alternatives for buyers

One-to-many

(sell-side @ supplier site)