This IDC study provides the latest worldwide market shares of more than 100 supplier relationship management applications vendors for 2002?2004 by four major segments: contract management, core purchasing, strategic sourcing, and supplier collaboration. The supplier relationship management applications market is going through different stages of development, with vendors in segments like strategic sourcing growing rapidly because of globalization and increased outsourced activities.

"With supply easing and commodity prices stabilizing, many SRM vendors and their customers could benefit from this upswing,'' said Albert Pang, research director of enterprise applications at IDC. "However, growing pains are stalling the momentum of vendors in segments like contract management because of their inability to broaden their reach across different industries."