E-Procurement Evolving in Europe

Translating Orders into the Buyer's Language Automatically

Customers can fax their purchase orders to Unitec. But many are utilizing the e-procurement option. They use the Internet to access their supplier database at Unitec and send orders electronically. If the supplier is domiciled in another country or speaks a different language from the buyer, the application will translate the order into the supplier's native tongue. "In Europe we have a new language every 300 kilometers," Marino jokes. Unitec employees review the translations to make sure the interpretation is correct.
The application allows Unitec to send purchase orders to suppliers real time. If the supplier does not have the technology to receive orders via the Web, Unitec will send a fax instead.
Warehousing the goods is a critical piece of the supply side operation. Unitec immediately pays the supplier, financing the purchase until it bills its customers.
Vendors - its suppliers circle the globe -- ship goods to Unitec's ubiquitous warehouses, which are set up to accept small quantities. The warehouses are typically just 100 kilometers apart. Unitec guarantees it can move goods from one warehouse to another within three hours.
The outsourcing provider explains that in Italy, industrial districts have concentrations of industry groupings. For example, Turin has a cluster of automobile manufacturers because that is the home of Fiat. Bologna is known for its furniture makers. Many of these companies have their own warehouses. "There's a lot of duplication. You can have 500 companies with 500 warehouses with 500 administrations," Marino explains.
Unitec has purchased some of these warehouses and taken over the administration of others on an outsourced basis. The company then combines the contents of all these warehouses into a single database, creating a "virtual warehouse". Owners of warehouse A can now sell their goods to owners of warehouse B through Unitec.