The time it takes to progress a requisition through to a purchase order and onto the supplier must be reduced. The speed yields a higher level of service for the end user and often reduces inventory. (See case study.)

If it take you more than 2 days to go from the start of the requisition to a PO in the hands of the supplier, you are wasting money. Most of today's procurement systems offer electronic requisitioning and purchase order management. If you have the capability … use it. If you don’t look to e-commerce to provide the capability at least with regard to supplier communication.