Adopting e-purchasing software for your business
Corporate purchasing generally involves setting up a purchasing file with physical transactions, usually on paper. However, the Internet and the digital revolution have brought with them a host of innovations for companies, particularly in the form of management software. The e-purchasing system makes it possible to dematerialise these operations using web-based solutions. Whether it’s a cloud solution or a traditional software solution, your company’s productivity is the main objective. This is why e-procurement software allows you to streamline purchasing processes and control expenditure management. Find out more about the concept of e-procurement software and how it can help improve business administration in this article.
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What is e-purchasing software?
E-purchasing software is a business system that automates and integrates an organisation’s entire purchasing cycle. A good e-procurement software solution promotes control over spending with approval processes. For example, for an online purchase, an e-procurement system allows internal customers to :
- Browse equipment catalogues,
- Send purchase requests,
- Track the progress of orders.
However, e-procurement automation goes far beyond the user experience of buying online. It involves numerous procedures, functions and management workflows, making it fast and cost-effective. Its implementation reduces manual errors and paper-based processes through intelligent automation and real-time visibility of the purchasing process. The e-procurement platform relieves the purchasing team of virtually all document management, most of which is administrative. This means they can concentrate on tasks with high added value, rather than time-consuming formalities.
Efficient online purchasing software streamlines purchasing procedures and delivers visible savings. Purchasing management solutions differ in terms of functionality and options provided. Some are suitable for large companies, while others are less complex and more suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
An online procurement and purchasing process
Purchasing plays an important role in almost every business, whatever its size. Purchasing staff can be involved in everything from buying office supplies to working on more complex orders. This can include wholesale and retail equipment. The aim of digitising purchasing is to make these operations easier and faster.
The purchasing system is a set of processes containing many steps and interactions with other departments and suppliers. Traditional procurement involves obtaining quotes and approvals, and preparing and submitting purchase orders. The manager is responsible for planning the purchasing strategy to reduce costs and for finding cost-effective offers and suppliers. A good purchasing system can significantly reduce costs. This can make a significant difference to a company’s budget management.
Both traditional purchasing and e-procurement solutions have their advantages and disadvantages. For small volumes and with a limited number of employees, traditional purchasing management may well be sufficient, although the traceability of the process may not be reliable. E-purchasing software, on the other hand, is designed to optimise purchasing processes and increase the transparency of spending and approval processes. Essentially, e-procurement transfers order management online. It automates the majority of the steps involved, enabling economies of scale to be achieved.
Optimising the spending process
Analysis of expenditure, cost control and access to contractual information such as warranties are all part of good corporate financial management. It’s important to encourage everyone to spend smarter and save on day-to-day running costs. This is one of the objectives of purchasing software, whose main functionalities include effective expense control, contract management and reconciliation of supplier invoices with purchase orders.
E-procurement software helps you stay within budget, eliminate unwanted expenditure and really improve savings. It helps buyers, finance departments, management bodies and various managers to systematically enforce compliance with procedures via pre-purchase approvals. It provides them with maximum visibility in real time. Purchasing management software is an excellent way of automating the purchasing process and controlling expenditure. It helps to optimise total costs, make more informed strategic decisions and establish a digital culture internally. With the door open tomorrow to new online management solutions.
Reducing operating costs and adopting strategic purchasing
Obtaining an overview of a company’s purchasing operations in real time is an asset for a company’s operational departments. Online requisition management, for example, makes it possible to take stock of the different spending streams and find strategic alternatives to optimise costs. For example, repeated purchase orders from the same supplier can lead to better stock management. In fact, processing supplier invoices represents an intrinsic cost. So why not place a single order with a stock rather than repeat purchase orders and the costs that go with them?
E-purchasing software enables you to track these indicators and monitor their status closely so that you can make the right spending choices. It helps create smooth, intelligent workflows, while offering a pleasant purchasing experience. This financial management saves time and enables better budget management. But that’s not all! Purchasing software also provides supplier management, analytical code breakdown and risk management. More than just spending intelligently, it creates opportunities.
Intelligent automation of purchasing processes within e-procurement software has become a trend in recent years. It allows the purchasing department to spend less time and resources dealing with administrative processes and management. With the help of Weproc, you’ll be able to focus more on the strategic initiatives that help grow your business.
Want to learn more about our procurement management software Weproc? Contact us or request your free 15-minutes demo below!
Weproc is a SaaS software specialized in digitizing the procurement process of companies. From purchase requests to supplier invoicing, through the validation process, Weproc is designed to simplify the purchase management of SMEs and mid-sized companies by centralizing all purchase-related activities.