Not surprisingly, planning and training are key to any e-commerce activity. Michael Owens, vice president of marketing, logistics planning, purchasing at Robin Hood Foods, Markham, Ontario, found more work than expected to get to a clear position of what Robin Hood wanted to auction, as well as what percentage of ingredient requirements should be up for auction and how that might relate to current suppliers. New suppliers must be qualified, so a company may not want to put up a huge percentage of needs, while giving enough to make the online sourcing profitable and making sure the specifications are delivered accurately by the supplier.
"There was a fair amount of work by both the online exchange and Robin Hood Foods," Owens said. "None of that is computer/Internet friendly. The relationship (with the online exchange) led to putting Robin Hood's specifications and other criteria into an Internet-friendly format for communicating to bidders. This information is always there. The fully B2B web-based purchasing system will allow a full profile there and available."