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PURCHASE PROCESS AUTOMATION... WILL IT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE??

purchase process automation

I, as an Inside Sales, Lead for PRM360. My job involves interaction with the Purchase heads of the organizations across various verticals such as E-commerce, pharmaceuticals, Healthcare & Hospitals, Agriculture, Poultry, Construction & Engineering, Power Energy, Industrial Manufacturing, etc. In my last year, I have interacted with over 300 Purchase heads to understand their current Procurement process and how the purchase process is being handled. When I talk about Procurement process automation, most people ask me what is the need and how does it benefit the organization?

Well, the traditional procurement process involves a lot of paperwork that requires manual efforts which is time-consuming and inefficient. And that is why organizations should step towards digital transformation to automate their procurement processes. Procurement automation not only streamlines the entire workflows but will also increase the revenue by giving insights on the saving opportunities. To be more precise, let’s have a look at how eProcurement solutions impact the key aspects of business growth.

PRM360 helped a wide range of businesses either by automating individual procurement processes or the entire procurement lifecycle based on the business needs of the organizations from various industries. To make you understand better why there is a need for purchase process automation, we have listed the most important benefits of Procurement automation.

Benefits of Purchase Process Automation:

Procurement is a complex process to handle manually and the purchase teams need to work hard to strike a balance between each step of the purchasing process. Purchase process automation helps organizations to eliminate the unproductive time and efforts of their employees which in turn accelerates procurement management.

Among the numerous benefits of purchase process automation, here are a few that convinces businesses to invest in eProcurement solutions:

  • Increased Efficiency
  • Faster Approval Workflows
  • Improved Visibility in Cash flow
  • Effective Contract Management

Increased Efficiency:

Maintaining multiple PRs and coordinating with vendors for quotation submissions with frequent follow-ups is a tedious task for the purchase teams. With an automation system, the sales team can work most efficiently through automated emails and reminders to the vendors which save time to focus on strategic work and eliminate miscommunication.

Faster Approval Workflows:

The purchase requests are often get stuck due to the hierarchical structure in the organizations that results in a delayed approval process. Purchase automation enables the team to send automatic reminders through emails seeking online approvals for clearance, which cuts down the possible delays in the workflows.

Improved Visibility in cash flow:

CFO's are not only challenged with growing the business but also running the operations effectively. An automated purchasing system will provide a detailed view into the cash flow including Purchases that are received but not invoiced; Standard invoicing aging reports; Predictive analytics on the cash flow requirements based on the purchasing history and trend. Purchase process automation also gives the management granular insights on overall corporate spending and cost-saving opportunities to reduce maverick spending that helps organizations to make the right spending decisions at right time.

Effective Contract Management:

It is really difficult for organizations to coordinate with multiple suppliers during the contract lifecycle. Purchase process automation helps the communication between purchasing teams and suppliers easily and ensures consistency across the contract documents while reducing errors. It also helps with compliance management and real-time tracking of the progress that results in better contract lifecycle management.

Automating the procurement functions is not only a better option but, it has become a necessity for every business no matter of its size and industry. If you want your company to be competitive in its domain, the procurement organization must not be merely transactional but more strategic.

A procurement tool might not be the first thing that comes to mind while designing a procurement strategy but it should be an integral part of it. E-Procurement is a way to transform your Purchasing Experience and to increase the standards of your business growth.

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