Science Warehouse: When the Spend Devil is in eProcurement/Catalog Scientific Details (Part 1)

In the US, SciQuest is a vendor I’ll be taking a closer look at later this summer and fall. They have done a remarkable job of beating out best of breed competitors and the ERP providers to capture the largest market share within life sciences and higher education for core eProcurement. But SciQuest is not alone in vertical specialization within eProcurement in these areas. Science Warehouse, a UK-based vendor we spoke with earlier this summer, has managed to build out a similar following in the UK market, albeit with greater focus on catalog content management and search than delivering a broader eProcurement suite (which they are capable of if a customer requests it).

In a series of posts looking at Science Warehouse’s capabilities and specialization, I hope to provide a perspective that suggests it’s still possible to carve out a much needed niche in the broader Spend Management market, despite aggressive solution expansion and sales moves from larger providers. I’ll start our analysis with a screen shot because even in such a technical and process-oriented subject as eProcurement, it’s true that a picture can tell a thousand words.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

What you see above is an example of a k. lactis Expression Kit that offers “an easy method of expressing a gene of interest in the yeast kluyveromyces lactis.” A paperclip or stapler in an eProcurement catalog it is not! The SKU attributes, images and related materials and attachments are all important to the potential buyer, yet it’s unlikely that a standard catalog content management solution could easily manage all of the attributes and information, especially in an environment where suppliers self-manage at least some aspects of their own information…