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And no wonder, they’re feeling the impact in terms of:

• Costly accelerated supply chain logistics
• High carrying costs for inventories
• Limited reporting drill-down capability
• Inadequate auditing
• Poor policy compliance

The cloud-based Procurement software solves this puzzle. It integrates data across the source-to-pay process, incorporates in-depth spend analysis, and employs modern supplier Management steps with zero processing error.

But picking the ideal procurement management solution for your organization might be difficult. Not just because of the plethora of software solutions available, but also because of crucial factors such as deployment options, customization, affordability, scalability, and commercial value. So, we’ve identified the top-priority eProcurement features to make sourcing and procurement management a breeze for your business.

Features to look for in a VAR Procurement Management Software

An ideal Procurement Management Software goes beyond the basics, using its innovations to remove barriers, connect all expenditure categories in one location, and foster deeper, dynamic, and end-to-end cooperation.

So, what features make up an ideal procurement management solution? Let’s take a look:

1. Real-time Insights and Reports

Organizations want to move from insights to action in the quickest time possible. Or in other words, people don’t want dashboards, they want decisions. And the core element to support this capability is to have real-time procurement analytics.

In addition to real-time data, there should also be a way to ensure the data integrates to the firm’s policies, contract management, and business rules, within the established budget and of course fulfilling buyer’s smart preferences. And as users can now easily access catalogs from one centralized marketplace, supplier sales will increase, even in a cutthroat eCommerce world. This leads to healthy contract management and negotiations that are best for both the supplier and procurement teams, driving additional cost benefits.

2. Automated Purchasing Workflow

If there’s a single process that eats away a huge chunk of time, it’s the purchase order processing. The employee is unsure whether the requisition will be approved or not, and the manager is overloaded with tons of requests. An automated workflow dissects these redundant steps into discrete steps easily, infusing productivity into the approval process.

Investing in procurement software allows purchasing teams to enter parameters such as supplier, order value, manufacturer, warehouse, inventory, etc. And the shopping cart then auto-converts to POs and sends it to the distributor who fulfills the order. Finally, the software expedites tracking information, buyer/supplier interactions, and instantly changes alerts to improve transparency and compliance.

3. End-to-end Vendor Management System

Vendor management is a tactical process that companies use to manage and collaborate with vendors. This involves identifying the most appropriate suppliers, sourcing and acquiring price information, assessing job quality, managing vendor relationships, evaluating performance, and ensuring timely payments.

This is where the vendor management system comes in. An effective vendor relationship management strategy aids the procurement department in many ways:

• Simplified contract negotiations and expenditure with an automated management process
• The entire workforce can keep track of vendor information from a single window
• Vendor processes are compliant with governmental regulations and corporate onboarding policies.
• Shortened purchase requisition cycle time
• Informed decision-making using robust analysis and reporting of vendor data.

4. Seamless Integrations

eProcurement systems perform best when they have access to catalog data, requisitions, purchase orders, contracts, and delivery details. Without a system to connect and streamline data transmission across systems, procurement experts must spend hours manually entering information given by suppliers via paper mail or emails.

This is where B2B integrations can help suppliers maximize their procurement strategy:

ERP: While current software solutions may manage program expenditure, they are not designed to provide total insight across a product or part’s life cycle, especially in direct procurement.

That’s why the procurement system must communicate with the ERP. Furthermore, the ease with which ERP and procurement software are integrated increases flexibility, expenditure management, visibility, and forecasting.

CRM: CRM integration offers discussion groups, notifications, and a more effective method of data management and transfers to promote productive interactions among employees, buyers, and businesses.

CRM readily integrates with ERP and third-party systems to centralize all of your data. Activities and KPI performance are transparent and real-time, so weekly and monthly reports are automatically generated. CRM also assists buyers in discovering exciting deals in their data through standardized searches.

Accounting: Connecting procurement management software to an accounting platform makes it much easier to match expenditure to budgets and analyze the impact on cash flow.

For example, when a purchase order is authorized in your eProcurement system, it instantly syncs to Quickbooks Online, as do any revisions to active and archived POs. When a Quickbooks PO is closed, it is marked as paid in your software, and vice versa.

PunchOut Automation: PunchOut centralizes and automates contact between consumers, buyers, and suppliers, as well as optimizing the product search process in general. As PunchOut contains a detailed database (availability, discounts, shipping costs, etc.), there’s zero room for error as no manual intervention is needed. Overall, PunchOut offers an eCommerce-like shopping experience, streamlining spend management and purchasing consolidation.

5. Aggregated Product Catalog

Value-added resellers must provide their clients with an IT Product Catalog in the form of a hard copy, soft copy, or a subset of the same. They must also supply the contract pricing as requested by the consumers.

With the aid of an aggregated product catalog, resellers may deliver all of the information to clients with a single click. The aggregated catalog is rich in content and will include critical info such as the price, description, delivery, product data, category, and sub-category. As sourcing and procurement management relies on truckloads of data transmission, an aggregated catalog can prove to be a lifeblood for your business.

The Closing Phrase

Procurement management is critical to maximizing B2B eCommerce’s success. Procurement professionals are being pushed to aid innovations and business growth while also streamlining compliance and lowering costs. And manage supplier risks and supply chain interruptions while coordinating multi-tier supply networks.

So, if your current system is in any way falling short, it’s time to shift from traditional, disjointed ways of managing spending to a unified procurement management solution.

Interested in seeing how procurement management software can enhance your spend management and sourcing process? Book a free custom demo and discover how VARStreet boosts your margins with streamlined sourcing and procurement management.

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