Finding The Right Source-To-Pay Solution: Unlocking The Power Of Eprocurement
E Procurement Open Source
The world of optimized economics is reshaping the ways in which businessesource and purchase the goods and services that they need to fuel their operations. As the strategic value of efficient and data-driven procurement grows, organizations are turning to eProcurement solutions to seize the platform-driven supply chain opportunities before them. This revolutionary approach to streamlined cost control and expense management helps organizations overhaul their source-to-pay processes.
eProcurement offers an effective way for the finance team to gain total oversight and control of all purchase orders, invoices, and supplier contracts throughout the entire supply chain. By leveraging the power of this open-source solution, organizations can generate even greater strategic value from their processes and procedures, boosting their overall financial bottom lines and operational success.
This guide breaks down the steps that organizations of all sizes should take in order to evaluate and choose the right source-to-pay solution that meets their unique eProcurement needs. Specifically, organizations must consider the following:
1. Establish Clear Objectives: Before embarking on the search for source-to-pay solution, it is imperative that organizations fully determine their exact needs and goals. It is best practices to assess each component of the procurement process and explore the areas where an eProcurement solution can provide the greatest impact across the board. Establishing tangible objectives up front helps organizations evaluate the right solution for their unique needs.
2. Explore Possible Solutions: Once the objectives and goals have been defined, organizations should begin researching all the available eProcurement options that can meet the needs established. The search should include both the most popular, proven technologies as well as all new and emerging eProcurement solutions. Organizations should not limit their search to just those that offer source-to-pay solution from one vendor, as many providers offer loosely integrated solutions.
3. Identify the Core Features Needed: Organizations need to identify the core elements that the eProcurement solution must incorporate in order to best meet their existing operational requirements. These could include, but are not limited to, advanced search capabilities, integrated workflow, supplier management, analytics and reporting, visibility, risk controls, and invoice processing.
4. Assess Solution Scalability: business, especially those with plans for ongoing growth, need to ensure that any source-to-pay solution they select accommodates their real, long-term needs. Doing the legwork to assess the scalability of the solution, both in the short and long term, ensures the maximal ROI from the chosen source-to-pay solution.
5. Evaluate Supporting Infrastructure: Any successful eProcurement solution must be built on stable and secure infrastructure. At the bare minimum, organizations should look for solutions that are certified and compliant with private and public data regulations, as well as local and international regulations. Additionally, organizations should look at the flexibility of the vendor?s solution to accommodate and adapt other enterprise products, such as accounting applications.
6. Consider Your Data Security Needs: Given the value of the data accumulated and stored during the procurement process, organizations must choose an eProcurement solution that includes critical data security components. The solution should protect data from unauthorized access, while also allowing authorized personnel the freedom to fully take advantage of the data in order to generate business intelligence that otherwise could not be gleaned from standalone applications.
7. Assess Cost of Ownership: Certainly, the total cost of ownership (TCO) should also be considered when selecting an eProcurement solution. This would include all costs associated with the software, such as usage/license fees, training, integration, and support. When assessing the total cost of ownership, it is critical to assess the direct short-term and long-term costs of the solution and to weigh the true value of the features, integration, and scalability that was identified earlier in the selection process.
8. Review Technical Support System: The eProcurement solution should be backed by robust technical support system that ensures business can take full advantage of the best practices and minimize the risk of lost opportunities during the implementation process. Organizations should explore the vendor?s support policy, ensuring its level of responsiveness, as well as its ability to help with problem resolution by providing comprehensive training and support to in-house personnel.
In the modern world of data-driven decision-making and procurement, the successful implementation of source-to-pay eProcurement solution helps organizations create unprecedented value across the board. Organizations should take the time to evaluate each potential solution on the list and assess whether it truly meets their needs. With the right source-to-pay solution in place, the investments made up front will provide long-term returns that both the finance team and companieshareholders can appreciate.
