Have you ever watched a busy intersection without functional traffic lights? It’s a perfect manifestation of chaos. Vehicles headed in every direction without any sort of system, flaring tempers, incessant honking, or, worse, accidents.
This is pretty much what a procurement process looks like without automated workflows in place. A typical procurement system has plenty of moving parts and requires multiple people to perform their respective tasks in a seamless, orchestrated manner. However, without a clear workflow in place, it devolves into chaos very easily.
Automated procurement processes can change that with ease. They keep the organization’s efforts focused on achieving efficiency.
There are a host of benefits from automating your procurement processes. Some of the most significant ones are described below.
Streamlined process flow
The first perceivable effect of automation is process streamlining. From filling out forms to routing requests to the right people in the process and prompting stakeholders to complete their part, the entire process becomes completely hands-off with automation. No more forgotten requisitions, lost forms, or costly delays.
Human intervention is minimized where it isn’t required and reserved for tasks where it is necessary. The automated procurement process then begins to function like clockwork.
Reduced costs
At the outset, automated procurement management reduces paperwork and manual efforts. Over time, this results in a significant reduction of organizational costs. Redundancies are also eliminated further enhancing efficiency.
Since all procurement requests need approvals, it gives managers the chance to ensure whether the expenditure is really necessary or not. Automated processes also provide easily accessible historical data about supplier spend, which can prove useful in negotiating lower purchasing costs.
Enhanced savings
Once you implement automation in your procurement software, you’ll discover time, effort, and resources you didn’t know you had. It’s sort of like finding hidden pennies between your couch cushions. Optimized cycle times will allow your teams to take on more responsibilities. Also, low-value or non-core tasks can be taken off the team’s hands. This allows you to reallocate your resources to more critical activities.
Greater compliance
Automation can facilitate greater compliance with industry regulations. In-depth process performance reports can function as audit trails to demonstrate adherence to financial and legal requirements. In the 2018 Contract Management Insights Report by Levvel, 57% of participants in the survey noted improvement in compliance with the use of automation.
Improved overall visibility
When you automate any process, you are paving the way for better overall process visibility. According to a survey conducted in 2018 by Paystream, 52% of respondents reported an improvement in visibility and transparency with cloud-based eProcurement software.
Customizable dashboards allow you to keep a check on multiple procurement processes at once to identify and resolve bottlenecks and errors in real time. Additionally, comprehensive analytics allows you to delve into areas where change or improvement is required to optimize processes. Greater visibility minimizes errors and bolsters efficiency.
Apart from the benefits listed above, there are also advantages to automating procurement processes such as easy contract retrieval (thanks to centralized storage), improved employee morale and experience, ease in tracking and managing supplier performance, and more.
What to look for in procurement automation software
Automating procurement processes is not rocket science. All you need is the right software for your unique requirements. The right software is easy to use and set up to suit the needs of teams who will be using it regularly. Software like Kissflow requires no coding knowledge and is intuitive enough for everyone to use.
Cloud-based business process management software is probably a better option compared to ERP solutions. This way productivity won’t be impacted by network downtime and mobility is enhanced with a centralized database.
The right automation software will facilitate maximum control over who can access sensitive data. Role-based conditional access can ensure that employees have access only to the data relevant to their function.
Automating procurement processes is no longer optional. To keep up with competition and exceed growing expectations of consumers, organizations need a renewed focus on maximizing operational efficiency.
