Of the 50 manufacturing, packaging and purchasing professionals we interviewed for this premiere issue of Net Sourcing, the vast majority has not procured anything via the Web.
It’s ironclad proof that throwing technology, money and marketing at business-to-business buyers isn’t enough to compel them to buy. Especially when dot-com companies and commerce-enabled suppliers working at Internet speed collide with decades of entrenched purchasing behaviors.
However, there’s hope: Our survey reveals that the few purchasing agents that have begun to buy via the Web love it, for all the reasons the technologists have been telling us: done right, it can be faster, cheaper, better.
Enter Net Sourcing magazine, published by the same top-notch team that brings you Packaging World. While there are plenty of publications that explain how to sell over the Web, this one will tell you how to buy–whether it’s traditional or reverse auctions, product marketplaces, directories, portals, electronic catalogs or commerce-enabled supplier sites.
We will publish real-life case studies of buyers–like you–who have actually used these sites to purchase machinery, materials, components or supplies for their manufacturing businesses.
But this publication isn’t just for purchasing people. Anybody who is interested in using the Web to slash purchasing costs and cycle times will benefit from this hands-on guide to Internet sourcing.
Sure, the prospect of Web-based procurement can be intimidating. The sites themselves change daily. But armed with hands-on information, you will soon be able to harness the power of Internet procurement for you and your company. We hope you’ll join us.
