Don't miss the second story in PURCHASING'S IT Procurement Best Practices series (p. 45). In it, Gary Beaudreau, VP, technology acquisition, and Barney Kantar, purchasing manager, DuPont, demonstrate the value an IT procurement operation adds at their companies. Says Beaudreau: "Companies most successful at making improvements are those that have very good measurement systems." Measurement systems he and Kantar have put in place do more than monitor cost savings—they track IT procurement's performance at reducing cycle time and improving customer service levels—two metrics especially important not only to IT managers, but to a company's overall competitiveness as well. The next installment in PURCHASING'S August 23 TechPlus Edition continues with stories on best practices in contract/supplier management at Corning and Bayer.