It does not matter how much the company earns - it is important how it spends them. Automate Purchasing in an Organization with Flexbby
Currently, the information space is filled with a huge number of articles related to sales, CRM systems, sales optimization, customer acquisition, etc.
But this is only part of the iceberg called "Organization" and its business processes.
An important element of any business system is procurement.
')
Purchasing is not a supply department.
Purchasing is a built process of selecting the most optimal suppliers for a company, which allows you to select a supplier as quickly as possible, cheaply and transparently - from service providers related to office cleaning to companies supplying complex integration and production solutions.
Another important and positive aspect of having transparent procurement processes is a good business reputation, as your partners know for sure:
Moreover, the built-in procurement process allows the company to significantly save money, since, according to some studies, up to 70% of all costs of an enterprise fall on purchases.
Purchases, in general, as well as sales , from the point of view of the process approach, proceed in completely different ways in organizations, and the more successful an organization is, the more qualitatively they have a procurement process.
Why is this so?
Transparent processes virtually eliminate abuse of authority, as well as simplify internal and external audits.
Depending on the amount of the purchase, it is possible to organize and automate various processes of supplier coordination , tender procedures, conclusion of framework and model service and supply agreements.
Arranged procurement processes allow you to attract the most efficient and innovative suppliers.
For IT solutions, this is very important, since systems are quickly becoming obsolete, and if you don’t look around you can stay with an outdated solution provider.
Properly structured procurement procedures always involve the involvement in the competition of at least 2 or 3 alternative technology suppliers.
Of course, the reality makes its own adjustments. As often happens in many IT competitions, the technology supplier is already a priori defined. The tender (purchase) is held formally and in order to determine who will carry out financial transactions.
If this happens, it is because the procurement processes are not aligned correctly. In any case, there should be a technical justification for why an alternative technology provider is selected, a protocol for reviewing alternative technologies, assessing the risks of its use, cost of transition, benefits, etc.
And only after this, the IT procurement commission should determine whether the technology provider is not alternative.
You can look at the procurement processes in an organization differently, and, as in sales, there are both small, rare purchases of small amounts, and long tender procedures for multi-million and / or even multi-billion deliveries.
As a rule, it depends on what contracts the organization most often concludes:
As in sales, you will have to build several procurement processes in areas for which you will need to choose an automation system.
To select suppliers of raw materials and components you need:
For small, one-time, rare purchases enough:
For IT procurement, you can also describe and automate the processes that will allocate the main technology suppliers (vendors), run the processes of inviting alternative suppliers to the procurement, which will analyze new technologies on the market and significantly reduce the cost of the current supplier.
How do we start automating your purchases:
After you describe these processes, you can begin to describe the functional requirements of the automation system for procurement.
The main modules of the procurement system should include:
Automation Solutions from Flexby
The Flexbby One solution includes a special procurement management module that allows you to automate procurement procedures, approving counterparties, concluding standard and non-standard contracts, reconciling and controlling payments, accounting and archiving of original contract documents, as well as primary financial documents.
Unified supplier base
The Flexbby solution allows you to:
An example of a legal entity card.
Single base of contact persons
Flexbby solutions provide a single base of contacts. Contact persons (individuals) are associated with legal entities through the position of an employee, which allows you to track the movement of employees between your counterparties, avoid duplicates, organize more effective personal interaction with people.
An example of a table of individuals.
An example of an individual card.
Counterparty negotiation process
Counterparty matching module allows you to flexibly configure:
As a result, a coordinated counterparty appears in the system as a supplier or customer, in the parameters of which are defined the types of contracts and purchases in which the supplier can participate, individual conditions and other parameters.
The process of negotiating the counterparty.
Counterparty Matching Parameters Matrix
The matching matrix can contain an unlimited number of parameters of various types. These parameters can be filled by employees of different departments.
At the same time, intellectual rules can be configured in the system, on the basis of which individual conditions for each counterparty will be agreed.
This approach to automation can significantly reduce the abuse of authority and increase the transparency of procurement procedures, automatically determine the possibility of entering into framework and model contracts.
An example of setting parameters for vendor negotiation.
Card vendor approval process.
As a result of the vendor approval procedures, the system creates a single supplier base, which can be included in the procurement processes or enter into framework and model contracts with them in accordance with the set business rules.
Counterparty approval process, automated with Flexbby solutions, allows you to:
Procurement reconciliation and tendering processes
Flexbby solution allows you to customize any rules for conducting procurement procedures. It’s enough for the user to select only the type of purchase, to create a specification, and the system will start the necessary business process, involve all the necessary departments, tell you which documents to request from the supplier, add the necessary approvers to the process and print the required protocol, as well as approval sheets.
The provision of such transparent procurement procedures makes it possible to significantly facilitate internal and external audits and ensure optimal conditions for procurement from suppliers.
Card purchase.
Setting up the procurement process.
Financial planning and control processes
An important point in the automation of procurement in the company is to agree with the approved budgets. To do this, the system provides various tools.
The process of comparison with the allocated budget can occur both in automatic and in manual mode.
In this case, it all depends on how budgeting is automated in your organization.
The Flexbby One solution allows you to automatically import and use:
When creating a purchase, the initiator will only have to complete the payment schedule and select one or more cost centers.
Further, the system will check for itself the required budget, add the budget owner to the coordinators on the basis of business rules and reserve the required budget in case of approval of the purchase.
The second method of integration is the manual mode, when a financial controller is added to the system based on business rules, and it is already conducting a reconciliation of the allocated budget, the costs already incurred with the planned costs of the procurement.
If the budget is not enough, Flexby One provides the ability to create a budget change request.
Depending on the configured business rules, the system will independently add the necessary approvers and, if the approval process is successfully completed, send the necessary budget changes to the accounting systems.
Before sending the purchase for approval, the initiator must enter the payment schedule for the purchase.
This information allows you to control the budget within the cost centers and process payment-related events (for example, initiate additional agreements or control invoicing, or monitor the receipt of the necessary primary financial documentation).
Payment schedule in procurement
After approval and approval of the procurement system can independently start the process of negotiation and conclusion of a model or non-standard contract.
Flexbby solution allows you to automate the end-to-end process of working with suppliers - from finding and maintaining a supplier base, conducting procurement and tender procedures to concluding an agreement and monitoring the performance of contractual obligations.
The benefits and benefits of automating the end-to-end procurement process are obvious:
In the next article, we will look at the following processes in more detail:
But this is only part of the iceberg called "Organization" and its business processes.
An important element of any business system is procurement.
')
Purchasing is not a supply department.
Purchasing is a built process of selecting the most optimal suppliers for a company, which allows you to select a supplier as quickly as possible, cheaply and transparently - from service providers related to office cleaning to companies supplying complex integration and production solutions.
Another important and positive aspect of having transparent procurement processes is a good business reputation, as your partners know for sure:
- What stage is the purchase,
- When the signing of the contract is planned,
- What documents, justifications, etc. must provide.
Moreover, the built-in procurement process allows the company to significantly save money, since, according to some studies, up to 70% of all costs of an enterprise fall on purchases.
Purchases, in general, as well as sales , from the point of view of the process approach, proceed in completely different ways in organizations, and the more successful an organization is, the more qualitatively they have a procurement process.
Why is this so?
Transparent processes virtually eliminate abuse of authority, as well as simplify internal and external audits.
Depending on the amount of the purchase, it is possible to organize and automate various processes of supplier coordination , tender procedures, conclusion of framework and model service and supply agreements.
Arranged procurement processes allow you to attract the most efficient and innovative suppliers.
For IT solutions, this is very important, since systems are quickly becoming obsolete, and if you don’t look around you can stay with an outdated solution provider.
Properly structured procurement procedures always involve the involvement in the competition of at least 2 or 3 alternative technology suppliers.
Of course, the reality makes its own adjustments. As often happens in many IT competitions, the technology supplier is already a priori defined. The tender (purchase) is held formally and in order to determine who will carry out financial transactions.
If this happens, it is because the procurement processes are not aligned correctly. In any case, there should be a technical justification for why an alternative technology provider is selected, a protocol for reviewing alternative technologies, assessing the risks of its use, cost of transition, benefits, etc.
And only after this, the IT procurement commission should determine whether the technology provider is not alternative.
You can look at the procurement processes in an organization differently, and, as in sales, there are both small, rare purchases of small amounts, and long tender procedures for multi-million and / or even multi-billion deliveries.
As a rule, it depends on what contracts the organization most often concludes:
- Framework contracts for the supply of raw materials;
- Framework contracts for the supply of components;
- Financial services;
- IT services, software;
- Office expenses;
- Construction, etc.
As in sales, you will have to build several procurement processes in areas for which you will need to choose an automation system.
To select suppliers of raw materials and components you need:
- Automation of tendering processes;
- Checks the reliability of suppliers;
- Analysis of their financial stability, etc.
For small, one-time, rare purchases enough:
- Conducting price reconciliation procedures;
- Simplified procedure for concluding a contract, coordination of payments and activation;
- For small purchases, it is possible to envisage the signing of a template agreement agreed in advance by your company's lawyers, which significantly reduces the time for concluding a contract and receiving services and goods.
For IT procurement, you can also describe and automate the processes that will allocate the main technology suppliers (vendors), run the processes of inviting alternative suppliers to the procurement, which will analyze new technologies on the market and significantly reduce the cost of the current supplier.
How do we start automating your purchases:
- Determine what types of procurement procedures are implemented in your company;
- What do you buy, when you buy and who is responsible for it;
- How do you segment suppliers;
- How is the verification and coordination of a potential supplier;
- Are there any simplified procedures for small purchases;
- How is the process of concluding contracts in accordance with the agreed templates;
- How is the process of harmonizing the procurement budget;
After you describe these processes, you can begin to describe the functional requirements of the automation system for procurement.
The main modules of the procurement system should include:
- A single supplier base;
- A single database of supplier contacts;
- Vendor approval process;
- Procurement harmonization processes;
- Planning and control of finance;
- Conducting tender procedures;
- Signing and conclusion of contracts;
- Electronic and physical archive;
- Accounting of primary financial documentation;
- Process control subsystem.
Automation Solutions from Flexby
The Flexbby One solution includes a special procurement management module that allows you to automate procurement procedures, approving counterparties, concluding standard and non-standard contracts, reconciling and controlling payments, accounting and archiving of original contract documents, as well as primary financial documents.
Unified supplier base
The Flexbby solution allows you to:
- Automatically fill in counterparty cards from the Unified State Register database;
- Find duplicates in real time;
- Merge cards of legal entities in case of duplicates in the system;
- Keep records of employees of counterparty companies and their positions;
- Store all information on the supplier in one place (tenders in which he participated, concluded contracts, payment schedules, financial documents, acts, invoices, invoices, invoices, etc.).
An example of a legal entity card.
Single base of contact persons
Flexbby solutions provide a single base of contacts. Contact persons (individuals) are associated with legal entities through the position of an employee, which allows you to track the movement of employees between your counterparties, avoid duplicates, organize more effective personal interaction with people.
An example of a table of individuals.
An example of an individual card.
Counterparty negotiation process
Counterparty matching module allows you to flexibly configure:
- Matrix matching (credit limits, deferments, delivery methods, etc.);
- The questionnaire counterparty;
- Checking the availability of scanned copies of documents depending on the parameters of the coordination matrix.
As a result, a coordinated counterparty appears in the system as a supplier or customer, in the parameters of which are defined the types of contracts and purchases in which the supplier can participate, individual conditions and other parameters.
The process of negotiating the counterparty.
Counterparty Matching Parameters Matrix
The matching matrix can contain an unlimited number of parameters of various types. These parameters can be filled by employees of different departments.
At the same time, intellectual rules can be configured in the system, on the basis of which individual conditions for each counterparty will be agreed.
This approach to automation can significantly reduce the abuse of authority and increase the transparency of procurement procedures, automatically determine the possibility of entering into framework and model contracts.
An example of setting parameters for vendor negotiation.
Card vendor approval process.
As a result of the vendor approval procedures, the system creates a single supplier base, which can be included in the procurement processes or enter into framework and model contracts with them in accordance with the set business rules.
Counterparty approval process, automated with Flexbby solutions, allows you to:
- reduce the risk of signing a contract with an unreliable supplier,
- increase procurement transparency,
- provide the necessary control and audit,
- speed up the contracting process.
Procurement reconciliation and tendering processes
Flexbby solution allows you to customize any rules for conducting procurement procedures. It’s enough for the user to select only the type of purchase, to create a specification, and the system will start the necessary business process, involve all the necessary departments, tell you which documents to request from the supplier, add the necessary approvers to the process and print the required protocol, as well as approval sheets.
The provision of such transparent procurement procedures makes it possible to significantly facilitate internal and external audits and ensure optimal conditions for procurement from suppliers.
Card purchase.
Setting up the procurement process.
Financial planning and control processes
An important point in the automation of procurement in the company is to agree with the approved budgets. To do this, the system provides various tools.
The process of comparison with the allocated budget can occur both in automatic and in manual mode.
In this case, it all depends on how budgeting is automated in your organization.
The Flexbby One solution allows you to automatically import and use:
- Reference centers cost centers (financial responsibility centers) of the suggestions of the accounting system (for example, SAP or 1C).
- Cost item guides;
- Directories of cost center owners;
- Budget periods;
- The sums of allocated budgets in terms of cost items, cost centers and planning periods.
When creating a purchase, the initiator will only have to complete the payment schedule and select one or more cost centers.
Further, the system will check for itself the required budget, add the budget owner to the coordinators on the basis of business rules and reserve the required budget in case of approval of the purchase.
The second method of integration is the manual mode, when a financial controller is added to the system based on business rules, and it is already conducting a reconciliation of the allocated budget, the costs already incurred with the planned costs of the procurement.
If the budget is not enough, Flexby One provides the ability to create a budget change request.
Depending on the configured business rules, the system will independently add the necessary approvers and, if the approval process is successfully completed, send the necessary budget changes to the accounting systems.
Before sending the purchase for approval, the initiator must enter the payment schedule for the purchase.
This information allows you to control the budget within the cost centers and process payment-related events (for example, initiate additional agreements or control invoicing, or monitor the receipt of the necessary primary financial documentation).
Payment schedule in procurement
After approval and approval of the procurement system can independently start the process of negotiation and conclusion of a model or non-standard contract.
Flexbby solution allows you to automate the end-to-end process of working with suppliers - from finding and maintaining a supplier base, conducting procurement and tender procedures to concluding an agreement and monitoring the performance of contractual obligations.
The benefits and benefits of automating the end-to-end procurement process are obvious:
- Effective human resource management. Why spend a lot of time and effort on procurement processes that carry minimal risks when they can be fully automated?
- Setting up an unlimited number of procurement processes for various cases and the ability to modify them during the operation of the system.
- Conducting a transparent procedure for reconciling prices, launching tender procedures and, if necessary, controlling budget expenditures.
- Incoming and outgoing procurement documents that automatically get into the system or are formed in it and have the ability to send on the desired route approval and signing.
- End-to-end processes for the conclusion of framework and model (template) contracts , significantly accelerating the business on the basis of the procurement.
- The uniqueness of the Flexbby solution, which is not “boxed”, with rigidly programmed business logic and limited customization capabilities, but uses the newest approach in business process automation, based on events, thereby significantly simplifying and speeding up the entire automation process.
- An event that is a program unit that occurs as part of a process, user interaction with a system, or interaction with other systems.
- Analysis of events that occur and on the basis of customized business rules form actions.
- Using the event-based approach in the application architecture, automation of sales processes, procurement, workflow, which occurs without the involvement of expensive developers by ordinary business analysts and consultants.
In the next article, we will look at the following processes in more detail:
- Automate the conclusion of template and framework contracts;
- Archival storage processes;
- Monitoring the performance of contractual obligations;
- Payment approval;
- Control of the provision of primary financial documentation.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/341890/
All Articles