Procurement is an inevitable process for all businesses. To grow, expand, and optimize your business operations, you obtain various goods and services from external suppliers that benefit you. Your company should aim to use the power of globalization and the fact that the best suppliers at the best rate are just a few messages away.
When you pinpoint an excellent procurement e-sourcing solution, you enable your organization to achieve its tactical and strategic goals. However, effective procurement can be time-consuming and costly. You need to have a robust procurement process in place to have success for your business.
Here are some tips on how to pinpoint a good procurement e-sourcing solution and make your procurement process better than ever before.
Define the Need and Supplier
The initial step of the procurement cycle is to identify what products, goods, and services your company requires. Goods and services can be internal or external, depending on each company’s needs.
Internal goods or services describe anything required to run the business. External products or services are what your company sells.
During the identification stage, you need to clearly define and identify which products, services, or goods your business needs alongside specific details such as the type, quantity, and time-frame in which you expect delivery. Breaking this down is not only one of the primary functions of the procurement team, but can be where the entire process is broken if there happens to be a misstep.
With a good procurement e-sourcing solution, the team is able to clearly state these needs and keep track of every decision made along the way.
Take Your Process Digital
Digitization has become the leading trend for companies’ procurement process in 2019 and shows no sign of slowing down in 2020. Methods like source-to-pay are becoming digital industry-wide. Automation is projected to increase with innovations like artificial intelligence, which is constantly evolving. With this evolution comes the fear of job security.
There is no denying that specific roles will change and may even become redundant altogether as a result of enhanced automation. However, automation is critical for improving workplace procurement
As the list of objectives grows at a rapid pace from a cost-based focus to risk management, innovation, improved cash flow, more revenue, and much more, e-Procurement is becoming more strategic each day. Since procurement is slowly becoming an advanced, innovative operation within most companies, you need to free capacity, which is a crucial benefit of going digital.
Don’t resist digitization; advanced technology-based solutions have been on the cusp of the procurement industry for years. Embrace the change, some leaders that have fully emerged themselves with the evolution are now automating up to 99% of their procurement processes.
Profitability V.S. Sustainability
Cost is a factor in success within strategic sourcing. However, a much more compelling factor is your ability to build long-lasting relationships with your suppliers to leverage the best value.
Both internal and external collaboration is essential for pinpointing the most robust procurement source as your business grows and becomes more connected and prevalent within your industry. Collaboration efforts allow procurement teams to get an in-depth understanding of what goods or services are necessary for their business, how to effectively manage time, contracts, and how to out-source particular key features of a company.
A company with seamless communication, both internally and externally, has a far better chance of success than one that does not carry the same levels of communication.
How Can ProcurePort Take your Sourcing to the next level?
ProcurePort’s unique suite of e-Procurement solutions includes a range of strategic sourcing software and services that can take your e-Sourcing capabilities to the next level and leave your competition in the dust. Strategic sourcing is about more than cost savings. The benefits of investment in e-sourcing include Real-time collaboration with suppliers and internal stakeholders both in the office and in the field.
A consolidated data repository with in-built alert functionality that ensures you aren’t missing a contract that is due to renewal and are keeping you up-to-date with supplier performance. Reverse auction technology enables your business to source the best deals most transparently and efficiently possible for you and your vendors. The possibilities for enhancing your procurement processes are limitless.
To discuss how ProcurePort’s range of e-Sourcing tools can help power your procurement, contact us to talk about your current processes and hopes for the future.