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Understanding where the money is being spent in your business is essential for optimal financial performance. But can you honestly account for every penny of expenditure?
If the answer is no, you could be losing money to inefficient procurement processes or incorrect or exaggerated expense claims.
Learn what steps you can take for better procurement.
In this article, we look at six popular procurement tools that will illuminate your spending, helping you to manage cash flow and spending more effectively.
1) Accountabl
Navigating business expenses can be tough, especially if you’re using a paper-based system. Collecting receipts and expense forms stunts productivity, and reimbursements can cause tensions between staff and management. They’re also open to abuse such as exaggerated claims.
This is where accountabl comes in, with its smart Mastercards and integrated central management dashboard and mobile app. When users make a purchase with their card, the app prompts them to take a photo of their receipt and upload it. Eliminating reimbursements and empowering workers to buy what they need to get the job done.
While managers can approve transactions in real-time, and set individual spend and category limits, making unauthorised spending a thing of the past.
All the digital receipts and spend data feed into the central portal, which integrates seamlessly with accounting software. So, finance departments save hours chasing after receipts and processing expenses, while boosting VAT returns.
The portal also gives managers and accountants a new level of insight, allowing them to review transactional data in one place, so it’s easy to identify waste and work to cut costs.
See for yourself and try accountabl for 30-days free.
2) eBuyerAssist
eBuyerAssist is a cloud-based procurement tool, catering to a wide range of industries.
It features an integrated, modular procurement system with applications for supplier management, strategic sourcing, warehouse management and contract management. Plus, it has modules for approvals, purchase orders, budget control, cost accounting, asset and inventory management, customer order, invoice matching and more.
One of its best features is vendor risk management, which allows users to audit vendors and suppliers to ensure that they’re observing regulatory compliance.
Plus, eBuyerAssist features a reporting engine so that users can generate custom reports; empowering decision makers to make informed choices.
3) Planergy
Planergy is a nifty tool for it simplifying purchasing.
It sets parameters for different departments; by setting budgets and spend limits, detailing pre-approved vendors and purchases, and automating the purchasing and procurement process.
The secure, cloud-based solution, grants total spend visibility anytime, anywhere, and from any device. Plus, it eliminates paper documentation with cloud-based document management. Which cuts costs by eliminating the manual processing of purchase orders, reducing irreconcilable orders, and eliminating unapproved purchases.
4) Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper is an AI-driven contract and vendor management platform that helps you to manage relations between your company, your employees, and external suppliers.
Its vendor portal increases supplier performance transparency with comprehensive tracking, and the collection of risk management and compliance data. Plus, your vendors can set up profiles and input data, saving you time. While the employee portal handles worker requests and makes it easier to collaborate with internal teams like legal and IT.
Combined, they make contract and vendor management more transparent and efficient.
5) BusinessBid
BusinessBid is another great tool for growing businesses. It simplifies the procurement process with an online dashboard for digitally managing requisitions, eliminating emails and paper documents.
Plus, its user-friendly interface makes creating RFx simple with questionnaires and pricing sheets that streamline supplier selection, evaluate bidding data, and allow for informed purchase decisions.
It also has a dedicated eAuction tool so you can cut costs, often saving up to 20%, with reverse auctions while ensuring that your supplier relationships stay strong.
6) Oracle Procurement Cloud
Unlike some of the other tools on this list, Oracle Procurement Cloud is a full-scale ERP (enterprise resource planning) tool with advanced features aimed at bigger businesses.
Oracle’s procurement tools have six capabilities:
- Purchasing – automating the procurement to payment journey
- Self-service procurement – managing employee requests for goods and services
- Sourcing – creating savings through transparency and reduced negotiation times.
- Procurement contracts – streamlining the process and ensuring supplier compliance
- Supplier portal – collaborate directly with suppliers.
- Supplier qualification management – assess supplier management and track all activities
Many SMEs don’t need this degree of functionality, but if you need a robust, comprehensive, and lasting procurement solution, Oracle is well worth a look.
Smarter procurement
Procurement is a complex and multi-faceted business operation, that’s vital to your cashflow and bottom-line.
Fortunately, there are tools that make procurement more transparent, efficient, and simpler to manage.
Of course, changing how you work can be a large and daunting task, but you don’t have to do it all at once.
Instead, why not do it in stages? Start with something easy like streamlining your employee expenses with accountabl and see how it transforms your company by reducing admin, boosting visibility, and empowering workers to buy what they need.
Try accountabl for 30-days free.
Once that’s done, you can move on to your wider procurement strategy and choose the right solution to help your business grow.
