Manual procurement processes are characterized and fraught with the following challenges:

1. Paper invoices strung about on desks, in no particular order waiting to get processed.
2. Contracts are buried, not actively monitored and nearly forgotten in filing cabinets.
3. Spreadsheets with purchase data, incorrectly entered in some cases, on the server waiting to make an accountant’s life a nightmare.

Automating your business’s procurement processes and policies can bring numerous benefits to your operations. Not only does it save time and effort, but it also reduces the risk of errors, increases efficiency and unlocks savings. Let's take a closer look at why automating the following five (5) procurement processes is essential:

1. Purchase Requisition

Automating purchase requisitions can streamline the entire procurement process eliminating process bottlenecks that consume a lot of time to move through the complex hierarchical structure. It allows employees to submit requests electronically, which can be approved or denied quickly. This eliminates the need for manual paperwork, reduces the risk of errors, and ensures compliance with procurement policies for completeness.

2. Bid Analysis

Automating bid analysis can help organizations make better-informed decisions. It allows for a more objective and transparent evaluation of bids, fostering confidence and trust. Bid evaluation criteria such as cost, delivery time, quality, payment terms etc. are weighted to select the best supplier offering the best terms. The software application can also analyze data and identify patterns and trends that provide insights. Ultimately this can lead to better supplier selection and cost savings.

3, Purchase Orders

Automating purchase orders can help organizations manage their procurement process more efficiently. Much like purchase requisitions, purchase orders often go through multiple touchpoints before approval. Automation allows you to create a workflow that automatically routes your purchase orders through the appropriate steps based on predefined business rules preventing bottlenecks and allowing them to reach final approval faster. It allows for faster processing of orders, reduces the risk of errors, and ensures that all necessary information is included in the order.

4. Goods Received Notes

Automating goods received notes can help organizations keep track of their inventory more accurately. It allows for real-time updates on inventory levels, reduces the risk of errors when inputting data, accurate valuation of stock position and ensures that all goods received are properly recorded.

5. Payments

Automating payments can help organizations manage their cash flow more effectively. Far too often, there are challenges surrounding supplier manual invoice management. Procurement teams have to deal with misplaced or poorly managed purchase orders, missing goods receipts and any other relevant documentation that's required to support payment requisitions. Furthermore, submission delays, uncontrolled (maverick) spending, growing tabs of spreadsheets and insufficient transparency in the payment requisition process pollute the prevailing organization’s culture when it comes to combating risks to do with procurement. Having an application in place supports faster, more accurate and complete processing of payments.

In conclusion, automating procurement processes can bring numerous benefits to any organization. It saves time and effort, reduces the risk of errors, increases efficiency, and helps organizations make better-informed decisions. So, if you haven't already, it's time to consider automating your procurement processes.

Tradata is a web and mobile application that streamlines, optimizes and drives cost savings for the procurement function of financial services companies and SMEs.

Our solution uses process automation, real-time insights and data analytics to deliver on the unique requirements of our target market at a lower cost than our competitors Some of its advantages are as follows:

1. Run and execute procurement processes with optimal process efficiency and reduced costs

2. Streamline the procure-to-pay cycle and mitigate purchasing risks.

3. Track and store all purchasing transactions and contracts in a centralized location

4. Study the organization’s spending habits to better budget allocation