Normally the decision to implement e-procurement tools, as a technological leverage for the transformation of purchasing into a strategic sourcing area, does not go directly to the buyers but to the management, who despite the holistic knowledge of the process (from planning to invoice payment), in many occasions, have not experienced firsthand some of the most common bidding problems.
Stages of e-procurement
1.Sending the application
In the traditional method, without e-procurement tools, the invitation mailing is sent, with hidden copy to all invited suppliers and copy to all those involved within the company itself, so that the whole team obtains information to make the best decision.
In addition to the initial mailing, an additional mailing must be sent to communicate the vendor list and if for any reason additional clarification is required, the decision to do it in a new sequence or over the original becomes a major task.
Carrying out this process manually makes the list of difficulties endless: each inquiry and response from the supplier involves a new sequence of mailings that is not easily consolidatedSome of the participants initiate new mail sequences in which the originals are not copied, which causes the communication to break down; not to mention when new recipients are included in the mail, which means that the mail exchange starts without the full context.
Deadlines
Continuing the process, and without the aid of e-procurement tools, defining and adhering to timelines is not a succinct task. If the processes are well established, any untimely submissions should not be considered among the proposals to be evaluated, but it may be the case that proposals received outside of the submission deadlines for which the stakeholders (copied within the initial solicitation mailing) lobby for them to be considered because it is a good economic opportunity. This clearly undermines the company's image of transparency and traceability and makes the processes impossible to audit.
It is not an easy task to establish limits to the concerns. Of course, it is possible to communicate, but its correct control is not easy, since the bidder may send questions that imply a complete review of the process, very close to the schedule established for sending the final quotations.
3. Receipt of proposals
The restriction of information to user areas of the company depends on who the provider copies. When you send your information; in this case a new cycle of emails begins with the flow of approvals depending on the specialties (HSE, Technical, Economic, Financial, Legal, among others) and if for any reason clarification is required, the flow of emails with the supplier begins again. Processes of document correction, clarification of proposals and the control of mail flow at this stage are quite delicate and require attention from the buyer.
4. Negotiation
Sending thank you letters to suppliers not selected for opening rounds of negotiations is another mail chain that usually involves separate, personalized mailings to maintain good relations with suppliers.
Inevitably, at this point, a chain of e-mails of requested explanations and responses from the buyer are initiated. explaining in general terms the reasons for the decision, trying not to affect relations.
The opening of negotiation rounds implies starting all over again: from the sending of the blind copy mailing, to the receipt of responses described above.
5. Adjudication and thanks
This last mail exchange is relatively short compared to the other processes, except for the chain that may occur with suppliers that were not selected in this last stage.
As described above, buyers perform a titanic task of much filigree and concentration, and if for some reason there are additional bidding stages (RFx), such as starting with a market study and ending with a firm proposal, this generates an endless transactional task for the buyer.
This is just one example, within the supply cycle, in which e-procurement tools help in the conversion process The buyer's operational work is transformed into a strategic manager for the company. In this way, the buyer's time is optimized, since the time-consuming task of organizing mail chains is eliminated, giving way to process analysis, understanding of needs, market knowledge, specialization in category management and value-adding tasks in the supply chain.
