This classic guest post from sixteen years ago is just as relevant today as it was then. Especially since the new fangled technology hallucinates more than we ever could!

I say, what is with this new fangled procurement technology?

Back in my day we used a ledger
and a calculator
and we were able to track our costs just fine.
When it came time to negotiations, we offered incentive carrots
like free meals at fine upscale restaurants
and free trips to exotic locales like Aruba and Cancun.
If that didn’t work we brought out the big stick
and threatened to take our business to the supplier down the street
or to expose all the kickbacks the supplier rep took from the last deal.
We didn’t need any new fangled e-Sourcing technology to conduct our negotiations
or marketplace technology to handle our invoices
or e-Payment systems to pay our bills.
When we received the goods at our warehouse
we just handed over a big wad of cash
and everyone was happy.
Now get off my lawn!