Source from Ebay…the new strategic sourcing option
1 comment August 1st, 2007 Sean Delaney - Iasta UK
In a recent survey carried out by Supply Management 61% of the respondents were not against the idea of sourcing from Ebay.
The benefits listed were:
• Speed of Service
• Diversity of product
• Good market research capability
I can just visualise the Corporate Head of Purchasing waiting until just before 8pm with 30 seconds to go to place a killer bid on some obscure bit of IT kit. Oh please!
However, after reading through the article I was glad to see that there were more balanced views represented. Some of the following concerns were then raised:
• Lack of warranty
• Limited information about the vendor
• Absence of prequalification criteria
• The possibility of purchasing stolen goods.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as Ebay was designed for rapid transaction of simple goods. Corporate procurement is strongly controlled for quality and visibility and Ebay will not exactly address those issues. What was most surprising was that none of those interviewed questioned whether this was a good use of Management time or what checks were in place to stop employees purchasing items for personal use.
I think Ebay is a great B2C/C2C site. It is sometimes a good source of revenue for some organisations selling excess stock, however what it is not, is a sourcing tool.
Entry Filed under: General, Supply Management Best Practices, Technology, e-Sourcing Marketplace
