As a business, streamlining your sourcing, allows you to save time and money, build better working relationships with suppliers, and ultimately ensures the success of your procurement cycle.
However, this isn’t the easiest thing to do. Procurement teams juggle so many responsibilities that it’s easy to forget just how important sourcing is to the entire procurement process. This is precisely the reason why companies are turning to technology and embracing eSourcing as a key tool to better manage their procurement processes.
To help you make the transition to eSourcing and understand its benefits, we’ve rounded up the top 4 reasons why companies should really focus on eSourcing and make it their top priority. Check it out below:
- Reduces costs
Saving money is a primary KPI of efficient procurement processes. eSourcing is a good way to achieve that.
According to Aberdeen’s research, companies report an annual average savings of 16% from eSourcing. In addition, procurement teams are able to access a broad range of suppliers and review numerous bids in a streamlined and centralized way. This guarantees favorable results for businesses as it allows them to connect, screen, review, and shortlist suppliers efficiently.
- Improves supplier relations
eSourcing tools can help businesses conduct the bidding process in a more open and transparent manner. This essentially levels the playing field for suppliers who know that every other supplier bidding for the project has access to the same information. In addition, it helps assure suppliers that the process is being conducted fairly, and without bias.
It also makes the entire bidding process more efficient for suppliers. With a centralized eSourcing platform, they no longer have to sift through numerous documents or manually collate data from various people. A sourcing event is, in effect, like a first date. Ideally, it is the beginning of the strong, long-term professional relationship that you hope to build with your suppliers.
- Enables effective communication and evaluation of suppliers
The eSourcing process allows businesses to send details of the project in a centralized and streamlined way. This means suppliers can receive detailed requirements in a single eSourcing platform, as well as communicate and coordinate throughout the bidding process seamlessly. All information can also be easily accessed if necessary, reducing or eliminating protracted email chains and lengthy conference calls.
Also, when it comes to evaluating your suppliers, an automated sourcing process ensures that the evaluation process is faster and more efficient as well. You can say, “Goodbye” to the role of “Excel jockey,”
- Ensures time efficiencies
Anyone who has attempted to source suppliers using traditional methods knows that it takes time to find quality vendors. eSourcing helps reduce the sourcing cycle by letting you cast a wider net.
Additionally, because eSourcing lets you deliver information in a structured manner, you are almost always guaranteed that suppliers are able to submit their bids in the same format, in compliance with all your requirements. Additionally, providing standard channels of communication minimizes a lot of back and forth between stakeholders, saving time and effort.
Highly collaborative professional relationships with suppliers that contribute to a company’s growth don’t happen by accident. Effective implementation of tools to support this goal and a strong dedication to make eSourcing a top priority in your company is a significant step in the right direction.
If you want to automate and streamline your sourcing processes, find out how Vendorful can help. Get in touch with us today.