Optimise and facilitate procurement processes

Handling suppliers can be a complex task at the best of times, which is why using business optimisation tools are so invaluable to make it a more simple and more efficient process. By automating processes, procurement departments can become more productive and switch their focus away from administrative duties towards finding better deals for the company.

Rather than dealing with paperwork and searching through files, staff can analyse reports on the performance and look at how cost rationalisations can be made, improving productivity and leading to better results which reduce costs and lead to a greater profit margin once it comes down to the production and manufacturing of a product or service.

Thanks to the ability to integrate into existing Enterprise Resource Planning products in both the company and their suppliers, communication can become smoother and easier both internally and externally. This provides a gateway to achieve new efficiencies which may currently seem unachievable. By opening up this door to new cost savings and methods of improving supplier relationships, businesses will find that there can be an exponential return on investment for procurement which provides the opportunity to achieve long-term goals.

Countless pages of paperwork needing to be processed and filed? Difficult communication with suppliers? Value leakage at a far higher rate than expected? Struggling to keep track of all the contracts and invoices that need to be paid? These are just some of the common challenges facing Chief Procurement Officers and their teams.

Business automation tools can help to resolve all of those and more, ensuring that procurement officials can combat the issues which blight their day to day working lives. By easing processes from start to finish, these solutions are a much needed part of any procurement work kit. Elements such as Enterprise Content Management and a Document Management System are increasingly becoming fundamental parts of the procurement puzzle that companies must consider when looking at how to make their department as dynamic and strategic as possible.

Representing anywhere between 50% and 80% of the total cost, according to a PWC report, optimising a business’ procurement costs is one of the most fundamental ways of cutting total costs, meaning that firms can either drop prices to compete or, even better, grow their profit margin.