With the introduction of ecommerce, the purchasing department's traditional way of working changed from being an operative department responsible for requisitions and control of the organisation's call-offs/purchases to one in which tasks are becoming more strategic.

NTNU makes 30% of all its business purchases through ehandel.no. NTNU joined in the eMarketplace ehandel.no initiative as a pilot project in autumn 2001. ehandel.no is delivered and run by IBX A/S.

"Our big hope was that the initiative would lead to clear improvements in loyalty to our framework agreements, and that it would cut the cost of the entire purchasing process from placing the order to payment," explains Olav Holden, Purchasing Manager, MA Section, NTNU.

"Initially, we went with two suppliers, one of which was VWR, who put their catalogues on the eMarketplace. The pilot stage was so successful that, in spring 2002, NTNU decided to invest in the eMarketplace ehandel.no. We also opted for IBX' search engine so we wouldn't have to download the supplier's catalogue to all of our purchasing systems. That way, we can also use free text orders which make it easier to register all types of orders through the system."

"In 2005, we also started using a system for scanning, checking and approving all incoming invoices. This has now been integrated with the purchasing system, so that invoices that match the order and goods inwards receipt are processed automatically without further approval. It makes the whole process considerably more efficient and invoices can now be checked quicker and more accurately than before."

"In 2005, around 30% of all business purchases, approx. 160 million were processed through the eMarketplace ehandel.no. We're also seeing between 60-70% of invoices matching up with these orders automatically in the system."

"The results so far have shown themselves in increased loyalty to the framework agreements, better control of purchasing, fewer returns as a result of misunderstandings from verbal orders, and a more effective process overall. We're now planning to focus fully on the receipt of electronic invoices, which will bring further big savings for both the supplier and purchaser.

Positive experiences of the eMarketplace ehandel.no from the supplier side

"In 2001, we received an enquiry from our customer NTNU as to whether we would consider joining the eMarketplace ehandel.no as a supplier" says eHandel & Marketing Manager, Per-Ola Bratt, VWR International AS.

"We already had a good web solution for our customers and we were uncertain about whether this thing with marketplaces would go the distance. However, the tests during the pilot stage were so successful that we agreed to join the eMarketplace ehandel.no as a supplier from 2002."

"We soon found out from users of the eMarketplace ehandel.no that it was often difficult to find the products they were looking for, and that they thought it much easier to use our web solution vwr.com." We therefore wanted to look more closely at how we could combine the functionality of our own website with the purchasing solution NTNU used on ehandel.no."

"We therefore agreed to test the functionality from IBX, which enables the user to log in to the eMarketplace ehandel.no and be directed on to  VWR's website. The user is therefore already logged in with access to NTNU's agreement products and prices. The user can search for, find and place products in his shopping basket in the usual way. The big difference is that when the user sends the order, it doesn't go to the supplier, but back to the user's purchasing tool."

"Nearly all orders from NTNU now come via the eMarketplace ehandel.no and it is working as we'd hoped. More and more of our customers from the public sector are now choosing to make their purchases through the eMarketplace ehandel.no."

"The next step for VWR is to integrate the orders into its own order system (SAPR3) and to send electronic invoices to NTNU. This should be in place in the course of the next few months. Once this is ready, both parties will benefit from major savings."