A little here and a little there goes a long way...

In 1999, 3M needed a way to cut back on its expenses incurred through the manual processing of purchases orders between its buyers and suppliers. The procurement department project lead Kathy Van Keulen stated the following regarding the costs involved with purchase orders, “the average cost of processing a purchase order at $120; those were expensive transactions for low-dollar items.” According to the June 2000 article in Communications News Magazine, purchase orders only contributed 2% of 3M’s purchasing dollar volume, but greater than 70% of their transaction volume; meaning that in the long run saving a little here and a little there can go a long way in increasing revenues.

To combat this problem 3M recognized they did not have the means to effectively build an electronic catalog. It was then that 3M outsourced this project to TPN Register to create a TPN Marketplace database for 3M’s buyers and suppliers to purchase goods all in one link. By doing this not only does it save 3M money spent towards expenses, but it also saves on processing and shipping times so that others receive their orders more quickly and accurately.

Sean Kelly "Outsource catalog services - 3M, TPN Register - Company Business and Marketing". Communications News. FindArticles.com. 16 Oct, 2010. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CMN/is_6_37/ai_62893697/