E-Commerce May Help Colleges Cut Costs and Paperwork

Institutions see potential for huge savings with revamped purchasing systems

"That's the competition," says Stuart Benoff, pointing to a desktop telephone in a featureless cubicle in the University of Pennsylvania's Building 3401.

Mr. Benoff, a senior programmer analyst, has worked for months on an electronic-commerce system that, when completed, will link the university's internal purchasing process directly to suppliers. Penn officials hope that the new system will appeal to

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