I just read an interesting article with the sub-headline E-Sourcing Does Not Equal Reverse Auction.
I left a comment for the author telling him that I thought it was an interesting distinction. I have always equated the two concepts in my mind. The first time I ever heard of e-sourcing was circa 2002 and it was presented as a reverse auction.
One of the Buyers in my Purchasing Department was experimenting with it and bid out some computer equipment using the process. It never caught on after that though and I really did not hear any more about it at work. The only exposure was through outside reading.
Using the definition given in the article, I'm not sure if my current methods would be considered e-sourcing even though I now issue all RFP, RFQ's and RFI's via e-mail exclusively. That meets the part of the definition which mentions using the right tools. (I can't imagine physically mailing an RFP these days. The vendors will of course print and mail or [they prefer] to hand deliver the RFP responses.)
The article also refers to using online systems for various other functions. Maybe I have been doing sourcing electronically, but not e-Sourcing!
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