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Benefits of e-Procurement:
- Inventory management
- Differentiated pricing
- Contract management
- Customer interaction
As e-Commerce improves within a B2C setting, so do the natural expectations of buyers securing new contracts within B2B. e-Procurement is a cloud-based software as a service system, offering a cloud-based purchasing solution that is aimed at simplifying the procurement cycle and speeding up the P2P process. This provides consistency and peace of mind for buyers by confirming that the supplier aligns with their particular business needs. These needs may be time-saving such as improved purchasing speed or a financial need such as a reduction in human error.
Creating PunchOut catalogs with procurement markets such as Coupa Procure and SAP Ariba quickly becoming the new norm in the B2B procurement process, with buyers demanding merchants e-Commerce stores offer PunchOut system software for their procurement system.
Why Should You Offer a PunchOut System for Purchasing?
Many large corporations are now using e-Procurement software due to its clear ease of use, reduction in errors and time-saving opportunities. It is unlikely that the majority of companies will operate outside of a paperless, highly visible buying network in the future as B2C purchasing edges closer to what we are familiar with in B2C. These changes have been encouraged by government-led requirements for public sector purchasing to consider the benefits of e-Procurement. This creates more resilience in their supply chain due to the impact we have seen from COVID. Below are key benefits when creating a PunchOut with a buyers e-Procurement system:
Large companies have internal purchasing systems to help control the buying and approval process. They may have many users who all need to purchase from the buyer’s website. It can be hard to manage if each buyer has their own password, placed orders on the account and had no approval process internally. PunchOut is able to remove many of these barriers to purchase.
Find out more about PunchOut here
Benefits of Creating an e-Procurement PunchOut System
- Improved standardization with PunchOut catalogs
- Making procurement less complex
- Prompt invoicing and payments
- Reduced errors
- Single sign-on opportunities using PunchOut software
Improved Standardization
E-catalogs offer B2C levels of product visibility to modern procurement through full-price and product visibility to merchants in an easy to digest format. e-Procurement allows for standardizing offerings, clear comparisons with their other suppliers and enables the buyer to make an informed decision. e-Procurement platforms such as Coupa and Ariba also create the chance for new buyers to find a merchants products without any promotion needed.
Making e-Procurement Less Complex
Automate currency, language, tax rates and logistics to create relevant, personalised procurement portals. The simplicity of this on the supplier’s side allows for opportunities to globalise with minimal investment or complication. One e-Commerce platform offering a clear set of value propositions without any limitations. Large corporate buyers are beginning to demand a more simple procurement process from their suppliers if new contracts are to be rewarded.
Prompt Invoicing and Payments
By automating human dependent roles, orders can be placed at any point in that 24-hour window without the risk of time-consuming bottlenecks. This supports opportunities for expansion into new markets in which businesses may have previously thought unobtainable. Purchase-to-pay automation removes the need for requisition approvals, instead, 1 click approvals can communicate with automated stock control and warehouse solutions to create a seamless P2P cycle. e-Procurement makes fulfilment across the globe almost as simple as supplying domestically.
Reduced errors during procurement
Human error and a lack of communication are fundamental causes of mistakes during the P2P process. Mistakes are not only costly over the short term, being perceived by customers as somewhat unreliable may be detrimental to customer relationships and therefore for word of mouth opportunities.
An effective PunchOut solution that offers a fully automated, wageless data entry role clearly shows why the solution has the potential to offer a healthy ROI. From real-time, accurate portal catalogs, to an algorithm that allows for ordering of supplies to ensure fulfilment; a Punch Out automation is a tireless workhorse that offers consistency during each essential process of the procure to pay cycle.
Single sign-on opportunities using PunchOut software
Single sign-on has become the norm in a B2C environment, removing the need to unwillingly hand over data by logging in with previously connected accounts, such as Google or Facebook. This not only gives peace of mind to the consumer, it also ensures GDPR compliance for the host. Passing this solution into a B2B environment, (known as a PunchOut Catalog) means a buyer may log in seamlessly to a supplier’s e-Commerce portal using their in-house procurement system. As well as simplifying GDPR, this massively speeds up the P2P cycle, automating purchase order requisitions and allowing for headache-free procurement.
What is SAP Ariba?
SAP Ariba offers the world’s largest B2B marketplace, with greater sales volume than Amazon, Alibaba or eBay. Buyers ask suppliers to join Ariba Network so you can work together more efficiently and effectively on all the shared aspects of business commerce: proposals, contracts, orders, invoices, and payments.
What is Coupa Supplier Portal?
Coupa offers a cost-free tool for suppliers that makes the procurement process simple. The Coupa success portal (CSP) allows companies to set Purchase Order communication preferences or create online catalogs for each customer.
