Structure has always directed human action! From the pyramids to the high rises, the shape and distance of structure has caused mankind to act in ways sometimes foreign to his own thinking. The church and the military have counted on structure to maintain order and humanity over time. Corporations sometimes cling to structure as to the order of the universe, rarely changing, for fear chaos and waste will accompany the difficulty of change. Technology, as we all know, has changed the underlying structure of business, has changed the “structures” of where we work and how, and has caused the restructuring of how some organizational functions think of their roles. Eprocurement has reshaped and in some cases, dismantled a structure that worked for years at the heart of every large and small business. It has caused controversy and praise. Controversy from the internal customers suddenly thrust into a procurement world where they rarely acted; Praise from a procurement community pressured to save money and create efficiency of operation. Oft times these functional communities had different values and goals making this transition much more difficult that it should be. As one head of Research said, “Low cost is not always the overriding value…sometimes it’s speed or simply availability of unique capabilities a supplier’s possesses.” To rethink these values and the subsequent roles each area plays is in itself difficult at best, but essential for survival of all. Purchasing has been forced to reinvent themselves! Next >>