Supplier Enablement

Big company want e-Invoicing - little company say ooh!

I have written in the past about the dilemma for the SME who is challenged by big companies (their customers) to respond to initiatives like e-Invoicing.

There is an interesting article published by Channel Insider that talks about this, here is an excerpt: "The problem is that none of this works very well in the SMB (American speak for SME) space. IT investment activity among smaller companies is almost completely driven by the "need/solution" mindset - i.e. the customer is generally looking for safe, hassle-free and cost-effective offerings that address immediate problems and opportunities. There are exceptions, but typically smaller businesses don't have the time, resources, breadth of skills or inclination to get involved in the same speculative or exploratory activities as their larger cousins". Click here for the full article.

As I have commented before in a recent blog, SMEs are not all the same, they have differing attitudes and appetites for innovation, progress and risk.

The article I have referred to contrasts the reality of big versus small business attitudes to exploring the use of new technologies. Big "can and do", small "might like to but don't".

The UK public sector has taken a different approach and for example the Zanzibar marketplace that serves the UK public sector provides for suppliers' participation in their purchase to pay initiative at NO COST TO THE SUPPLIER and meets the requirements of "safe and hassle free and totally cost-effective". That is progressive thinking on the part of the public sector! Click here for more about Zanzibar.

Click here if you are a SME

Click here if you are a buyer looking to implement e-Invoicing

posted by FrankB @ Friday, July 28, 2006