How is e-Procurement Changing the Landscape?
September 25, 2019 | 3 min read
If it’s not broken don't fix it - this mentality is killing your companies growth and efficiency levels, and it's more common than you think. And why wouldn’t it be? It's impossible to realize a system is broken until you try a better way of conducting business. In recent procurement news, it was highlighted that e-procurement software is disrupting the current landscape.
Change is imperative. Without it, we would still be using landlines as phones, radios as T.Vs and horses for transport. Technology makes our lives easier, and e-procurement software is a perfect example of that.
So what has led to an industry stuck in its ways? Failure to welcome change and adapt to technology.
What Is e-Procurement software?
Simply put, e-procurement software streamlines each aspect of the purchasing process, which helps businesses purchase goods and services without the fear of overspending and blowing your budget. Typically the e-procurement process is carried out like this:
Requisition - Identify a need, determine all details about the products and services you require, Identify where you intend to acquire them and place a request order.
Authorization - An employee within the approval department confirms that the request for the products or services is required and that the request does not jeopardize any existing contracts, and verify that the cost to procure the goods and services is fair.
Purchase Ordering (PO) - Once the request has gained approval, you create and send a purchasing order to the relevant suppliers.
Receipt and Inspection - Usually, you inspect the goods delivered by your supplier. Once they have been inspected, you decide whether to accept, reject or make changes to them.
Invoice approval and payment - Upon accepting the goods or services, you must make a payment. Once you have confirmed that the information and details on the invoice refer to the items on the purchase order and the goods or services have been received, reviewed and accepted.
Documentation - Keep a record of purchases for insurance, warranty, audit and reference purposes.
There are ambles amounts of features that e-procurement software brings to the table to generate positive change. For example, unified, real-time dashboards. They allow your entire purchasing team to view records, run reports, and act as a central workspace for your team. Otherways e-Procurement is changing the current industry landscape:
Automation of Workflow
E-procurement software lets you automate and design a workflow that reflects your unique business procurement process. From requisition to sending purchase orders, goods inspections to data recording, the software effortlessly in the backend to ensure each purchase goes through every step smoothly. This means that instead of relying on humans to carry out the process, the software does. Eliminating human errors, and financial costs that arise from those errors.
Power With Accuracy
e-Procurement software supports automation tools that carry out the transition of tasks from step to step. Once a step in the process has been carried out, the software sends out task notifications to the relevant parties. The software also only allows for tasks to be carried out in numerical order. Task #4 can not be carried out until task #3, 2 and 1 have been completed. This changes your process by allowing you to never overlook or skip a step in your spend process.
Visible Data
When you promote change within your company and use e-procurement software, you get access to dashboards. You can share these dashboards with other team members and set them up to showcase ongoing purchase order updates, important information, and display any other relevant data that promotes change within the spend management team. You can also monitor records by allowing access based on a role within the company, keeping data safe and secure.
Change Your Process with Vendor Management
The most important step in B2B purchasing is vendor vetting. You can’t purchase goods from just anyone. Your goal is to only deal with honest, reliable suppliers. A robust e-procurement system allows you to load business records that help procurement managers and B2B buyers pick where their company buys from.
Productivity Sky Rockets with e-Procurement
We live in a world where proficiency is the number one priority. To stay on top of the competition, you need to adapt and integrate with technology. e-Procurement software such as Procureport allows businesses to take control of spend management. As you conduct procurement tasks, the software will filter, cut, analyze, record and report what is happening. This feedback allows you to gain a deep understanding of your current procurement process and how you can change to become the most efficient you can be.
