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Establishing better procurement procedures is a topic near and dear to our hearts at Procurify – we wrote a white paper on the topic just last year.
And, most importantly, our software is built to help companies of all sizes streamline their procurement and purchasing processes. We love procurement. We just want to make it easier for businesses.
Of course, we want everyone to use Procurify to streamline their procurement functions, whatever their state or size. But before jumping in and utilizing a solution such as Procurify, there are a few simple steps every business should take to ensure they have established better procurement procedures.
Let’s took a quick look at our top three recommendations.
#1 Establish Stronger Policies.
I know – easier said than done, right? But, even in a large, potentially unwieldy organization, establishing strong procurement and purchasing policies will lead to establishing better procurement procedures.
A few policies to consider are: create spending thresholds throughout your organization. Spending thresholds are rigid dollar amounts applied to different employees in the company. Those rigid dollar limits allow each of the decided-upon employees to spend a certain amount of money each month. By structuring your spending as such, you free up your employees to focus on their spending, free of worrying about approvals. If you know how much you have to spend, you will work within it.
Once you have spending thresholds, the next step is to establish approved vendors. Approved vendors are sources for various products that a buyer has negotiated discounted prices or services with.
#2 Enable Smarter E-Procurement
So, you’ve established some spending thresholds. Good. And, you’ve located some approved vendors. Even better – you’re on the road to better procurement procedures.
Now it’s time to modernize your dated paper-based purchasing process. For some companies, that means using emails and spreadsheets to mange their spending. Simple as this may sound, this represents a big jump for some organizations.
For others that are using some electronic systems in their procurement/purchasing process, it may be time to implement an electronic procurement system. As you surely already know, there are loads of procurement software solutions available on the market. The question your organization faces at this point is which software is right for you.
There are “large-scale” options such as Oracle and SAP, favoured by larger organizations with intricate purchasing functions. They are expensive solutions. For small and medium sized businesses, there are numerous cheaper options available, including SaaS options, such as Procurify.
#3 Gain Better Visibility
Okay…you’re almost there. The exciting land of better procurement procedures is within sight.
The last critical procedure is to get better visibility into your spending. Who is spending what? What are they spending it on? And how frequently are they spending? These are all very important questions, each of which are answered by using an electronic procurement solution.
But, if you haven’t gone “paperless” yet, things become a bit more tricky. You will have to duplicate your purchase orders and receipts, as well as keep a hard copy spreadsheet detailing all of your purchases.
This sounds cumbersome (and it is) but it will give you much-needed visibility into your spending. Now, of course, if that sounds like too much work then procurement software is your answer. It will help.
But before you make the jump, consult this list and establish some best procurement procedures. You’ll be grateful you did.
