The impact of electronic data interchange on purchasing: An empirical investigation

As the use of inter-organizational information systems such as electronic data interchange (EDI) increases, it becomes important to determine what impact, if any, their adoption has on different functions of an organization. Since the purchasing function is among one of the most affected by EDI adoption, a survey of purchasing managers was conducted to assess the extent of EDI's impact on purchasing. The results, based on 122 EDI users, indicate that increasing the percentage of purchasing transactions using EDI permits more automation but some of these benefits may not be fully realized due to some associated inefficiencies. However, those organizations that have encouraged their vendors to use EDI appear to have significantly improved organizational efficiencies. These organizations also did not perceive any significant organizational changes due to EDI adoption. The implications of these findings are discussed.