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Optimize eProcurement Efficiencies

By | E-Procurement Software

What you need to do to optimize efficiencies right away!
By Katalin Brennan

If you are reading this blog, you know that eprocurement offers many benefits over other traditional procurement methods. The efficiencies gained from adopting the right system will present tangible savings in order processing, order-to-delivery time, overall supplier price reduction and so on. In addition, the adoption can also result in spend visibility that can and should lead to more effective purchasing analytics and practices. The improvements tend to increase over time as people move along the adoption learning curve and companies integrate more eprocurement functionalities.

Eyvo’s eBuyerAssist solution was designed in a modular fashion so that our clients can accommodate both their speed of learning as well as functional needs at each stage of their adoption. We’ve seen clients start with price optimization as a primary focus and transition to process time optimization as they progress through the process. Perfecting one aspect of the procurement function tends to lead to more ambitious improvements like indirect spend visibility or enhanced collaboration.

The below optimizations are some typical examples of what we’ve seen. Naturally, there are many other goals that companies can have with respect to their procurement. Some may have multiple goals, though tackling many things at the same time may not lead to desired results because measurement may be difficult. It is, therefore, more prudent to identify the most important aspect and perfect it before moving on to further improvements.

Optimizing for “request-to-order” processing time

Many companies are still struggling with the time it takes to complete an order from requisition to placing the purchase order. Sometimes it is because of a company policy requiring signatures from approvers, other times it is the absence of the approver at the time of purchase request. Another issue may be that the request needs to be evaluated for vendor selection based on delivery time or price. Finally, staying in budget can present another obstacle to placing an order.

Eyvo’s eBuyerAssist solution can be configured to address all these needs to speed up the request-to-order time by:

utilize a simple limit-based approval process (one of 4 approval options)

set up a proxy approver

use the price history and delivery time reports to select the best supplier

use alerts for out-of-budget requests so that finance can make a determination about allowing the order or instructing for revisions

Optimizing for lowest price

One of the main concerns of companies is to obtain the lowest price for products and services. This is especially true for companies in the hospitality and manufacturing industries where product prices frequently change and suppliers are in abundance. Eyvo’s solution provides price history reports as well as more complex tools to address this.

use the built-in price history report to see price trends and vendor comparisons to select the best option

use the vendor contract management function to lock in prices and ensure that all supplier invoices adhere to contracts

use the RFX module to request and analyze vendor prices to find the best supplier

use the Vendor Portal have your supplier upload their latest pricing

Optimizing for cross-functional collaboration

Procurement had a long tradition of working in a silo which is now changing to become a strategic partner to other departments. Not surprisingly, companies approaching Eyvo often state that their goal (above price and speed) is to connect their departments through the purchasing process. Our eBuyerAssist solution makes it easy to have production, procurement, finance, and CEOs see the same data that can drive both immediate efficiencies and long-term strategy.

use multiple segmentation to define complex approvals (with exclusion rules if necessary)

use group approval to include otherwise disparate organizational members or effectively manage project-type purchasing

use the extensive alerts to keep everyone in the loop

Eyvo can help!

Eyvo’s eprocurement solution comes in many configurations and optional modules which allows for the optimization of your choice. We enable you to select the most suitable configuration that fits your current needs without worrying about long-term consequences. So start small or go all in, Eyvo will accommodate just about any need… and of course, we are here to support you all the way.