In case you missed it, the eSourcing Wiki [WayBackMachine] launched today. Sponsored and launched by Iasta (acquired by Selectica, merged with b-Pack, rebranded Determine, acquired by Corcentric), the goal of the site is to publish information of best practices on topics within supply management. The wiki is devoted to building a knowledge/resource center for both Iasta clients and global purchasing professionals.

In the words of the spend evangelist Jason Busch, Wikis like eSourcingWiki allow readers to actually contribute to a collective body of knowledge and research. Imagine, for example, if a whitepaper on sourcing decision support was not written by a single vendor or analyst firm, but a collective body of the best minds in the market. And think about how that whitepaper could become a living document that was continuously evolving based on reader input and criticism. That’s a Wiki. And that’s the framework that David has created which allows others to come in and modify and contribute content as they see fit (with a few restrictions, at least in some areas of the site).

Although only three mini-wikis are live now, the site is set to explode over the next few months. Not only have Wikis been drafted for each major stage of the strategic e-sourcing process (as the reader will see on the main Wiki Series page), but wiki drafts on a significant number of related topics are already under development. (Look for a wiki on Cost Reduction and Avoidance, inspired by the original weekend series (I, II, and III) on e-Sourcing Forum [WayBackMachine] last summer, next month.) Iasta’s goal is to pump them out as fast as the editor-in-chief can get to them (and once their User Conference is over in May, I’m sure a few more will hit the wire in rapid succession).

Finally, you can read the full launch announcements over on Spend Matters and eSourcing Forum.