Today, one of the main goals of companies in terms of sourcing automation is to increase the transparency of sourcing processes. This article explains the importance of automating sourcing activities and why transparency is something that SMBs need to strive for.
With transparent sourcing, the data is “just a few clicks” away, so if the controller discovers during a review that purchasing costs have increased, it would be clear which item groups have increased in price or how many purchases have exceeded the planned volume. The purchasing manager can easily see what criteria buyers are using to evaluate suppliers.
Sourcing transparency can be achieved through a combination of approaches:
In theory, these approaches should work. In practice, they do:
The human factor is an obstacle to the development and transparency of sourcing processes. People forget, don’t want to do something, or simply don’t have the time. Automating all or part of the sourcing processes means minimizing the influence of the human factor.
A convenient E-Sourcing platform allows managers to increase the transparency of each stage of the purchasing process:
Planning and Budgeting – you can create procurement plans and budgets, monitor and adjust expenses, and analyze spendings.
E-Sourcing – allows managers to conduct various forms of sourcing events using pre-defined algorithms and evaluation criteria set by buyers. Data on purchases and results of sourcing events are recorded.
Contract Management – monitor the execution of the contracts and record the violations to identify unsustainable suppliers. Ensure compliance.
Supplier Management – onboard suppliers with a few clicks, and document all interactions with them in one system. Create your own supplier database, filter suppliers, and keep only sustainable ones.
Digitizing procurement is not limited to managing purchases. It also includes analysis of past spend and reporting that the CPO, CFO, COO or other managers can review with just a few clicks. In Acquirell, for example, there are more than a dozen reports that are automatically generated for the convenience of managers.
Implement Acquirell to your business processes and enjoy utilizing a reliable E-Sourcing Platform!