Electronic commerce player Elcom Systems Inc is closing the buying loop with the launch of PECOS Procurement Manager, a system to enable organizations to fully automate their buying processes and manage supplier relationships. The new product, PECOS.pm version 2.0 enables companies to enter purchasing rules – such as who is allowed to buy what; store electronic catalogues from multiple suppliers; and set up workflow-type routing. It also interfaces with back-end systems, enabling automatic payment of invoices and invoice and order reconciliation. The system also stores transactional data, enabling buyers to track their purchasing with a particular supplier, thereby giving them data with which to negotiate discounts and contracts. The procurement management system uses technology from Elcom’s existing PECOS Commerce Manager, a product launched in 1992 for the vendor side of electronic commerce. Elcom parent company Elcom International Inc’s founder Bob Kroll apparently had the electronic commerce vision back in the early 1990s, and having developed PECOS.cm Commerce Manager, set up a personal computer distributor Catalink Direct Inc as a vehicle to prove the concept of electronic commerce using the commerce management system. Catalink is now a $1bn company, and in 1995 Elcom turned the software into a product that it has sold to several PC, consumables and office supply vendors including UK-based Lantech Information Systems Ltd, New Zealand office supplier Blue Star Group, US computer supplies distributor Daisytek International Inc and oil drilling equipment distributor National Oilwell. The new PECOS.pm procurement system has been in beta test since 1996 with US utility company Boston Edison, and the company claims it has made savings of $500,000 so far. The system starts from around $135,000, but is said to reduce processing and procurement costs averaging $115 to $135 per purchase order, down to as little as $10. PECOS.pm is available now. It runs on Windows NT, HP-UX, AIX and Sun Solaris on the server, and any client that supports HTML, including Windows 3.x , 95, NT and Macintosh.
