A Well-designed Solution for Sourcing: Its Technological Foundation and How It Works
P.J. Jakovljevic - August 1, 2006

The Technological Foundation Explained

TradeStone Software, Inc. (www.TradeStoneSoftware.com) has displayed consummate perseverance in becoming a provider of collaborative e-sourcing solutions for Global 2000 companies. The vendor offers what is possibly the first composite application to the retail global sourcing market that leverages an organization's information technology (IT) infrastructure. This application operates either on a stand-alone basis, or as a layer into an application mix to cover any global sourcing functional gaps. Built on modern technology and conveniently accessed through simply a web browser, TradeStone's offering, initially named SteppingStones (and recently renamed TradeStone Suite), supports most of the key functional areas of international buying and selling, such as the request for quote (RFQ) pre-buy process, ongoing order management, sourcing logistics, track-and-trace visibility, government-related compliance processes, and payment processing. It also provides underlying event management and alerting. It works across currencies, languages, and countries, without necessarily invoking the need to train users, even if they have lower levels of computer literacy...