Transaction Models

One-to-One (one suppllier to one buyer)

This model has been adopted and exists virtually within all organizations regardless of size. It is a straightforward business process requiring little technical governance or oversight. The business is able to govern through policy and applied management. It was perfected and thrived in the early 20th century with technologies that the Telecom industry took to market, such as the telephone and telegraph.

One-to-Many (one supplier to many buyers)

This relationship model came to large enterprises in the early 1980's and was further fueled by the Client Server era. The introduction of tier-one enterprise resource planning systems drove the creation of standardization bodies with the intent of creating document standards designed to streamline the procurement process and remove unnecessary redundancy. It didn't take large enterprises long to understand that if you are able to reach multiple procurement channels you can negotiate and receive fair pricing by creating competition.

One-To-Many (One buyer to many suppliers squared)

This relationship model was developed from the lessons learned and best practices developed from the one-to-many era. The concepts of creating lean markets with the focus on consumption vs. forecast began to answer some of the questions in relation to building demand chain execution environments. Digital marketplaces further validated the model from a business perspective but it was legacy integration technologies and industry acceptance that slowed its momentum. The shift in technology driving business signified the need for standardization bodies to become more aggressive as governance was often an afterthought. Technical integration standards such as ebXML provide a low cost governance model and enable functional processes to move beyond the function of data transformation.