Greenwoods Communications - a leading independent network solutions provider to the communications industry - today announced details of phase II of its ecommerce roll-out - known as eGreenwoods. Having successfully introduced and grown phase I to address the need for e-procurement within the telecoms industry, the company has further developed new cost saving capabilities that have already been adopted by major industry players. Both Orange and THUS plc have signed up to the initiative to benefit from the substantial cost and time savings the system delivers.

The eGreenwoods system currently provides users with easy to access information on thousands of telecom consumables with this number continuing to expand. The online procurement system will benefit all job functions involved in the purchasing and use of network consumables. Engineers are seamlessly provided with readily available product information through a secure Internet connection. Purchasing managers are able to identify spend levels and usage patterns of consumables products, to help effectively manage future buying trends. Finance departments now have control of products that although low value, are frequently purchased. As such, total expenditure visibility across the organisation is made clearer.

The increasing uptake of ecommerce solutions across the telecoms industry will simplify the entire procurement process, with eGreenwoods already proving a popular alternative for partners previously using paper-based methods. Two of the industry's key players - Orange and THUS plc - have both already benefited from the streamlined procurement processes eGreenwoods offers that impact on bottom-line profits.

According to Raymond Reid, Technical Manager, Orange, "Greenwoods has worked with us to introduce e-procurement across the UK. We have introduced Greenwoods system to our national engineering field force and Greenwoods has supported this initiative with training and continued support. We have achieved increased control of consumables purchasing and everything purchased is 100% visible."

The interest in eGreenwoods is not surprising given the financial implication it can have on process cost savings. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply estimate that the traditional cost of raising a purchase order is £50. However, when using ecommerce this falls to £10 per order. Whilst this may vary between companies, the underlying fact is that due to less paperwork, increased control and improved visibility e-commerce results in process efficiencies and reduced costs.

This is illustrated by Ken Moncrieff, Head of Procurement, THUS, who stated, "We decided to consolidate our consumable purchasing with one supplier - Greenwoods. With many suppliers this could be quite risky, but Greenwoods' experience and commitment has enabled us to save time and achieve cost savings. Using one supplier to procure consumables via e-commerce, we no longer have to administer 60 separate suppliers and allows our managers to concentrate on other aspects of their roles."

There are many benefits associated with using eGreenwoods including cost savings achieved through simplified processes, reduced paperwork, consumables control and increased visibility. These are achieved as follows:

	Customers consolidate their consumables with Greenwoods as a single source supplier to vastly reduce supply chain management time and resource.
	Employees can access a single system to order required consumables and to access product information such as technical datasheets.
	With information controlled by the customers' head office or designated manager, only approved items need to be added to the consumables list.
	With Greenwoods acting as a single point of contact, partner details on the system can be quickly amended to ensure constant accuracy.
	Once logged in to eGreenwoods, it becomes specific to a particular customer, showing only pricing and products that have been approved.
	The system introduces an approval process, so customers can manage their purchasing flows more effectively.
	Dependent on the level of access permitted to the user, orders placed within an organisation can be viewed and reported on.
	There are no costs associated with using the system and set-up is very quick for immediate benefits.