As internet savvy consumers we are all used to sourcing, comparing and buying increasingly complex packages of goods and services online, making use of web applications that hold usability as their central watchword.
We don’t care about what programming tools are used, the infrastructure required to deliver the site, redundancy, load balancing or any other technical issue that may have confronted the development team. All we want is to electronically procure or source goods as efficiently and as quickly as possible – no training required.
And that is the key. Can users interact in complex chains without having to reach for the phones, e-mail a helpdesk or just simply give up? If not then these systems have failed to deliver.
Consumer-facing applications have risen to this challenge very effectively, driven on by the highly competitive environment in which they operate – fail to engage with your customer and you are dead.
Not so yet in the business world. Almost daily we are confronted by IT departments justifying ERP based eProcurement or eSourcing systems that are “a bit clunky” (for which read a nightmare to use for anyone other than the expert user) as the norm in the B2B world.
There remains a genuine disconnect between the B2B world and consumer web sites where the user can expect a far simpler, more intuitive and ultimately better purchasing experience.
So when the board asks why an eProcurement solution did not deliver against expectations, the underlying answer is normally the one that hits users right in the face every time they access it (which they do as rarely as they can!).
The ROI case has under-performed because the system is difficult to use and requires a lot of training, ultimately alienating stakeholders within and outside the organisation (never forget about supplier users!)
Happily, a number of eProcurement vendors make it their business to apply consumer application design techniques to enterprise purchasing and sourcing systems .So make sure that if you’re in the market, you’re insisting on a solution where end user training is largely removed, the benefit is delivered without enormous roll out costs and the return on investment is significantly positive.
Sounds simple – and to users it should be!
