SAP has finally disclosed the date of its next eSourcing release cycle as Q3 2009, when it intends to deliver better usability (shouldn’t be too hard!), support for complex pricing structures and finally to release dutch auction capability. 

After this, don’t expect any major improvements until well into 2010 – always assuming that SAP sticks to its own roadmap – when a further release will focus on coupling process integration between eSourcing and the overall Business Suite. 

For the next general release, SAP users out there will have to wait until at least 2011 when SAP, with more functional enhancements including the tight integration of SAP PLM and SAP SCM as well as industry specific business processes.  

The big issue for purchasing teams looking to (or saddled with) SAP isn’t really addressed by any of this however. Namely, whether the various SAP modules that compete in this space – such as SAP eSourcing and SAP sourcing within the SRM module – are ever going to be truly integrated and free of overlapping functionality. How SAP eSourcing users (and data) will interact with the sourcing capabilities resident in SAP SRM, especially the complex operational sourcing and bidding capabilities SAP SRM 7.0 remains an unanswered question. 

Could be time to look elsewhere?