About 47% of the firms surveyed reported that they are in the earliest stages of adopting the Internet. Large-dollar purchasers and nonmanufacturers report the most progress. The biggest obstacles to Internet activities were cited as the efforts required to integrate online buying with internal systems and the lack of clear, visible benefits.
"The Internet continues to expand as a buying channel but it's no longer a panacea," said Bruce D. Temkin, group director at Forrester. "Buyers realize that e-procurement takes more than surfing on supplier Web sites. That's why we're seeing a growing number of organizations changing their procurement practices - and running into difficulties of integrating their purchasing systems."