Sun Microsystem's strategy in using reverse auctions has come a long way over the last five years. And now, it's going even further.
Besides using them for everything from low-end memory circuits and low-capacity disk drives to high-end chips, power supplies and virtually every capacity disk drive the company buys, Sun is now using reverse auctions with its electronics manufacturing services providers. It awards not just printed circuit board assemblies, but entire systems, including servers and mass storage units, to contract manufacturers through reverse auctions.
"This has taken some time to figure out how to do because it is a much more complex bidding environment," says Kurt Doelling, Sun's vice president of supplier management.
Source: Purchasing, http://www.purchasing.com