Definitions

Electronic Commerce (EC) is a broad term loosely applied to a wide variety of applications. Within EC, we all can agree, lies Electronic Procurement. Within Electronic Procurement can be found two essential, though often separate, components which are frequently but not always found in the typical government acquisition process. These two components are "contracting" and "purchasing." A purchase implies a contract. A contract, however, may be a purchase or may merely establish the vehicle for a subsequent purchase. Thus these two processes my be combined or may be entirely separate.

Without regard to the "electronic" aspect of these various terms, they can be defined as follows:

Commerce: The buying and selling of products and services.

Procure: To acquire by special effort [products or services]

Contract: To establish or settle by formal agreement

Purchase: To obtain [products or services] in exchange for payment

In the EC arena, private sector focus has been on the "purchasing" process. Our definition needs to be broad enough to include the "contracting" process as well because much public sector EC effort will be devoted to the establishment of contracts, especially centralized contracts from which purchasing may occur.

With the above in mind we offer the following definitions:

Electronic Commerce: The sale, acquisition or transfer of products or services using information technology systems.

Electronic Procurement: A process that includes Electronic Contracting, Electronic Purchasing or both.

Electronic Contracting: The establishment of agreements for the acquisition of products and/or services using information technology systems.

Electronic Purchasing: The obtaining of products and/or services in exchange for payment (or a promise to pay) using information technology systems.