19 January 2006 | Anusha Bradley

Demands to deliver quick returns on investment are hindering the full adoption of e-procurement, according to a survey.

The research, conducted by Oracle and the Bristol Business School, found that many companies are only using e-procurement to target the "low-hanging fruit". By investing more time and money in electronically procuring a fuller range of goods and services, greater rewards could be reaped in the longer term.

However, Andrew Douglas, Oracle's business development director for procurement, said the results revealed that the attitude of companies and the investment they were making in e-procurement had improved in the past 12 months.

The cost of implementing e-procurement was ranked the least likely barrier to take-up, with 10 per cent saying it was not an obstacle at all.

SMjan2006