The first phase of the partnership was to put together bids to supply aircraft components manufactured in China, said Zhang Wei, executive director of the supply-chain management and procurement division of AVIC International Holdings.

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For example, say you have an employee e-commerce site with several web pages for someone to browse a catalog and then order a new chair for their office (as is the case in more and more integrated procurement and supply chain partnerships these days).

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"But the main story is the relatively mundane but terribly important activity in electronic procurement and supply-chain optimization" made possible by the Net.

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Businesses need to determine the processes where they can drive strategic differentiation and then begin that automation process, Hurd said, adding that those slices of competitive advantage can differ from company to company and industry to industry: sometimes Customer Experience, sometimes procurement, sometimes supply chain or something else.

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Hello to stores that have a favored position in their procurement processes and their overall supply-chain practice.

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In so doing, IP expects to improve procurement, replenishment orders, reduced stock keeping units (SKU), and the supply chain, including its warehouses, notes Zacks.

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