Introduction

Procurement historically was "the activities which ensure the availability of material in the desired quality, quantity, place and time to the requesting unit" (European Logistics Association, 1994). The intervening years have seen subtle change; in particular today "procurement" encompasses both materials and services, particularly with the emphasis moving from service delivery to purchaser provider models in the public sector around the globe.

This chapter covers the main issues in relation to the procurement environment and benefits evaluation of IT projects in the public sector. These issues are by no means limited to the public sector however, as corporate social responsibility Web sites such as the "Business in the Community" site demonstrate (Business in the Community, 2002). The details of the case study are described together with the research method. The usefulness and validity of the various benefits frameworks are then discussed and conclusions are drawn on ways that they can be improved.