7 REASONS WHY YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS PROCUREMENT SOFTWARE

Ever tried finding information you urgently need without using Google? Would you fancy doing complex calculations on paper instead of in Excel? Can you imagine what it would be like to design artwork if you had to replace Photoshop with crayons, paint and felt pens? While all this might actually make for an enriching middle school project, the answer to why we let technology do these tasks for us is as clear as day – it’s easier, faster and far more efficient.

The procurement space is no different; in this day and age, could you see yourself sifting through hundreds of line items to derive the remotest understanding of your organization’s spend? How about tracking the performance of your thousand-something suppliers, measuring their individual performance and ensuring compliance? Surely doing all this in the traditional manual fashion is far from practical, if not downright unnecessary considering that the specialized tools we have at our disposal today could do exactly the same in a fraction of the time and with faultless accuracy.

Let’s face it; there are things today that we could never do as well as ‘the machine’ and trying would simply be a futile waste of time. Alternatively, our best efforts are actually required elsewhere, and we are better off and far more productive when we focus on areas where we can add real value.  

Enter Procurement Software

Why are German cars and machine tools thought of with such high regard? Most people will tell you that it’s because the Germans have been at the cutting edge of engineering for quite a while, and are world renowned for their impressive track record of precision, efficiency and performance. These products are the result of decades of intensive R&D, continuous improvement and sheer manufacturing excellence. In other words, they are built to be the very best. And much like our friends from Western Europe who clearly know their trade extremely well, there are companies like GEP that have mastered the procurement domain. They are well versed with its challenges and have entirely invested themselves in overcoming them. To sum it all up, think about a software platform built for procurement professionals by procurement experts. A comprehensive procurement solution that drives greater efficiency and performance, specifically designed to streamline and automate the source-to-pay process – that’s precisely what procurement software is, in a nutshell. However, its benefits are much more far-reaching.

What’s all the fuss about?

There is no doubt that Procurement is on the move. While new requirements and higher expectations plague procurement teams, contemplating whether a large enterprise really needs Procurement software is probably as absurd as thinking about posting a letter instead of sending an email! So, the business need for Procurement software is quite apparent - You need tools and technology that help you make a difference, and Procurement software offers just that, and a lot more. It makes complex processes easier, faster and more efficient, thereby enabling the Procurement organization to deliver on business expectations. Choosing to resort to archaic methods, despite knowing this, is equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot. You will put your organization at a clear competitive disadvantage. 

If you’re still a little unconvinced by this opinion, here are some of the less obvious, yet equally rewarding advantages of using Procurement software:

• The Flexibility: Sourcing and procurement software applications like GEP SMART^TM are native to cloud, mobile and touch technologies. This means that users can access it anywhere, anytime and on any computing device – laptop, tablet or phone.
• Everything Under One Roof: As a single, unified platform that includes all relevant functionality at its core, such a tool offers smoother information, process and work flows. And unlike modular products, integration is literally seamless, so you don’t have to worry about integration costs, delays or glitches.
• Speed: Designed to speed up and support the way procurement pros actually work, such software enables you to switch fluidly between related tasks.
• Boost Adoption & Happiness: Intuitive, easy-to-use tools flatten the learning curve, increasing adoption and sustaining use over the long term, thereby needing no extensive or expensive re-training.
• Proven Best Practices: Standardize on documented, best practice processes field-tested across a wide range of industries, requirements and uses that help your procurement team achieve tangible savings faster.
• Boost Savings: The comprehensive functionality of sourcing and procurement platforms enables the realization of significantly higher savings, typically in the 25 to 40 percent range.
• Save Time: Slash time and effort spent on supplier discovery and on-boarding a new universe of suppliers already integrated into your core sourcing and procurement platform, entirely integrated with your native work flow.

So in conclusion, if you aren’t already using Procurement software, you’re effectively losing out on the opportunity to automate and thus simplify significant parts of a very complex system which could very easily be costing you millions with every passing day. This then just begs the question – what are you waiting for?