No-one likes to be kept in the dark. Yet indirect purchasing outside of the ERP system can leave you firmly in the dark. The culprits are all those manual touch points between departments like purchasing, accounting and marketing and the manual response to the requests of budget owners, buyers, requesters and managers.
Automating the purchasing cycle is as simple as switching the light on. Suddenly, you would have real-time budget and process control plus an efficient cash flow management at your fingertips. The risk of fraud would diminish and suppliers would be easier to manage efficiently.
The switch away from paper forms to online purchase requisitions would mean an end to trundling paper round for approval which would be automated with the right level of authorisation applied to every request. Imagine the level of efficiency when purchasing becomes aligned to company policies as requesters have access to preferred suppliers.
Complete Spend Visibility
The link between purchasing and accounts payable couldn’t be smoother as orders are pre-approved, all invoices become PO-based and can be easily matched with the corresponding PO and goods receipts. Accounts payable colleagues wouldn’t need to chase payment approvals in order to pay invoices on-time which would help them to access early payment discounts more easily.
Once automated, spending and payment becomes completely transparent from request to receipt of the goods or service. The tracking capability enables full reporting on requisitions, items purchased, orders processed and payments made. The dashboards give every user the level of information they need for their daily tasks. This means performances can be monitored, problems or opportunities spotted as soon as they arise and make every action smarter and more strategic.
Automation opens the door to better communication internally and improves the buyer-supplier relationship. The supplier self-service portal improves business efficiency and reduces the cost of supplying goods and services. Furthermore, the portal provides transparency, speed and productivity that manual processes fail to achieve. Who couldn’t argue that the move from manual processes to automation is like stepping from night to daylight?
