[London, ENGLAND] Global telecoms group
Cable & Wireless
said Wednesday it plans to put online much of
its own purchasing in a company-wide scheme to
e-enable its business.
Initially, Cable & Wireless is conducting
a pilot project in conjunction with e-commerce
solutions provider Commerce One and collaborative
marketplace software vendor SAPMarkets. It says the
project will go beyond simple catalog ordering to
include dynamic procurement of goods and the management
of all facets of the supply chain.
Mike McTighe, chief executive of global operations,
Cable & Wireless, said that e-procurement was
working in a way that the company believed its own
customers would be working — by saving money through
using the Internet.
“This project clearly demonstrates Cable & Wireless’
own commitment to the power of IP technology that forms
the core of our whole business strategy going forward,”
said McTighe.
During the pilot scheme, Cable & Wireless will
use four commodities and eight suppliers from the
U.S. and U.K., rolling out the entire operation
globally next year.
However, e-procurement is not entirely new to the
Cable & Wireless group, as in Australia
Cable & Wireless Optus
implemented the Commerce One solution for its own internal
procurement in March this year.
David Stokes-McKeon, director of e-solutions at Cable &
Wireless Optus reported that the time taken to process a
purchase order was reduced by 75 to 90 percent.
“This brings us the true cost savings of e-procurement and
frees up staff for other activities,” said Stokes-McKeon.
Operating in 70 countries, Cable & Wireless is
developing advanced IP networks globally, and had
revenues of US $14 billion in the year to March 31, 2000.
