From the April 19, 2002 print edition

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Cultural barriers stand in way of e-procurement

TAMPA -- George Gordon offers advice to publicly traded gas and electric utility companies, some with reputations tainted by the Enron Corp. collapse.

"I think it's incumbent upon them to run their businesses responsibly and ethically with good management and as efficiently as they can," said Gordon. "They owe that to their shareholders."

Gordon is chairman and chief executive officer of Enporion Inc., an energy industry e-procurement firm headquartered in Tampa.

He heads a "Sam's Club" type of operation on upscale Harbour Island, an electronic marketplace where suppliers and buyers join forces to make purchasing more cost effective and efficient.

Enporion electronically merges member gas and electric utility companies with more than 25,000 suppliers selling everything from janitorial supplies to wire, cable and nuclear fuel.

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The energy industry, including gas and electric concerns, reaps annual revenue totaling more than $350 billion, said Michael Grohman, Enporion's vice president of marketing and business development. Those companies can save as much as 10 percent to 20 percent, $35 billion to $70 billion, by implementing electronic purchasing, he said.

Enporion founding member utility companies include Allegheny Energy Inc. in Hagerstown, Md., St. Louis, Mo.-based Ameren Corp., PPL Corp. in Allentown, Pa., and Allete Corp. in Duluth, Minn.

Enporion was incorporated in Chicago in August 2000. It garnered attention when it established headquarters in Tampa in 2001.

Business and civic fanfare greeted the new company.

Bob Martinez, former Florida governor and mayor of Tampa and chairman of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, described it as "part of the so-called New Economy, Internet arena."

A January 2001 chamber newsletter announced Enporion would employ 80 in Tampa by April 2001. Martinez said the company would offer 200 jobs.

Enporion currently employs 45 and includes a help-desk operation, not a call center, said Gordon, a Silicon Valley veteran and Tampa Bay Technology Forum board member.

So if such savings can come with e-procurement, why not do it?

Organizational resistance stands as the greatest challenge to e-procurement and is a key reason many firms struggle to get e-procurement initiatives off the ground, he said.

Enporion is part of the evolving technology revolution, said Gordon.

"History shows us no technology revolution has resulted in fewer jobs as an end product," he said. "They have resulted in more and different jobs, more than they eliminated."

Enporion is a business and cultural change agent, said Craig Sanders, vice president of sourcing operations.

The "we've done it for the same way for 30 years" syndrome and job loss fears due to automation are cultural barriers to change, he said.

TECO Energy Inc. in Tampa is not an Enporion customer, said Ross Bannister, TECO spokesman.

"We don't currently have a business relationship with Enporion at Tampa Electric," Bannister said. "A lot of those functions we handle ourselves."

To reach Pamela Griner Leavy, call (813) 342-2479, or send your e-mail to pleavy@bizjournals.com.

Copyright 2002 American City Business Journals Inc. Click for permission to reprint (PRC# 1.1665.583286)

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