What is procurement management best practice?
Procurement management refers to the strategic organisation of a business’ spend, which includes the purchasing of goods and services up towards the payment. The main purpose of procurement management is for a company to source and acquire the best possible goods and services to fulfill business objectives. When considering procurement best practice, it is important for businesses to think about the opportunities there are to save on costs, acquire the best suppliers and make operations as smooth and efficient as possible.
To achieve best practice, one key solution is to adopt a robust purchase management system.
An integrated purchase management system streamlines workflows, reduces administrative burdens, and fosters better supplier relationships. This enables businesses to identify cost-saving opportunities, improve budgeting accuracy, and enhance financial control. That way, companies can negotiate better terms with suppliers, consolidate purchases, and eliminate inefficiencies.
By looking towards automated and modernised procurement processes, companies can achieve greater transparency and accountability and work on other strategic initatives, ultimately driving better financial performance and operational efficiency by implementing best practice.
Benefits of procurement management systems
Digitised procurement management systems have a wide array of benefits for companies looking to gain control over their spending. Here are some key ways best procurement management enables improved financial health:
Clearer visibility
Implementing best practice for purchase management provides unparalleled visibility into company spending. With all purchase requests, approvals, and invoices consolidated in one place, organisations can gain a comprehensive view of their financial outflows. This transparency allows for better tracking of expenditures, identifying spending patterns, and spotting anomalies. As a result, decision-makers are equipped with accurate and real-time data to make informed and strategic financial decisions, ultimately leading to improved financial governance and accountability.
Increases cost-saving opportunities
In providing clearer visibility towards where spend is going, procurement management also allows businesses to identify areas where they could be reducing costs. Here are some of the hidden types of spend that could be costing your business:
- Maverick spending: purchasing services and goods from unapproved suppliers with no negotiated contract pricing
- Duplicate payments for a single invoice
- Late paid fees that make a company unreliable in the eyes of suppliers and frequently lead to late payment penalties
- Non-negotiated spending: supplier costs passing through without negotiations can lead to excessive spend for a business
After identifying relevant spending problems, companies can find cost-reduction opportunities without disrupting the supply chain. For instance, they can spot goods and services that don’t directly affect the final product while taking up a considerable amount of money. Then, companies can benefit by substituting these items for cheaper solutions.
Simplified cashflow forecasting
Procurement management can ease the cashflow forecasting and budget building processes. With a clear and consolidated view of all financial transactions, companies can accurately predict future cash needs and allocate resources more effectively. Automated procurement systems can provide real-time data and analytics, which help finance teams to identify trends and anticipate financial bottlenecks. This proactive approach not only ensures that budgets are based on precise and up-to-date information but also allows for more strategic financial planning. As a result, businesses can maintain healthier cashflows and make better-informed decisions that align with their long-term financial goals.
Enhanced user experience
Procurement management systems prioritise the user experience by streamlining and automating complex processes. Automation make it easier for employees to raise purchase requests, get approvals, and manage invoices through intuitive interfaces and natural language processing. This reduces the learning curve and the time spent on administrative tasks, allowing staff to focus on more value-added activities. Additionally, automated workflows and real-time visibility into the procurement process reduce errors and improve efficiency. By making the entire process more user-friendly and efficient, companies can increase compliance rates and overall satisfaction among finance and procurement teams.
How AI automation enables best practice for procurement management
In the realm of financial operations, managing purchase orders and requisitions has long been a source of frustration for businesses. The traditional processes are often seen as cumbersome, leading to low compliance and adoption rates. This is largely due to the behavioural resistance towards raising purchase orders, which are perceived as bureaucratic hurdles rather than integral components of financial control. The challenge lies in transforming this perception by rebranding purchase orders and making the approval of spend a more intuitive part of the workflow. Moreover, the lack of early visibility into invoices and the complexities of budget management further complicate the situation, resulting in wasted spend and late payment penalties.
Luckily, companies like Kloo identify the main pain points within the purchase requisition process to create seamless user experience and enables full visibility over your payables. Through AI-powered automation, Kloo provides earlier visibility over invoices, preventing late payment penalties and eradicating wasted spend, making the adoption process much easier for finance and business users. Here are some of the few ways Kloo’s AI-powered automation enables best practice improvements for spending and purchasing:
- Natural language purchase requests
- AI-assisted supplier negotiation requests
- Approval workflows (that actually flow)
- Automated PO generation
Conclusion
Procurement management is a crucial process that allows business to reach strategic business goals. Implementing best practice involves identifying cost-saving initiatives, having clarity and control over company spend, empowering finance and business users, and acquiring the best suppliers. By integrating AI automation into procurement management, companies can achieve greater efficiency, transparency, and financial control, setting a new standard for best practice in procurement management.
Author: Kloo