28 September 2021
For companies, optimising the purchasing function is a necessity to improve performance. If they want to obtain the best results for their company, purchasing professionals must meet several challenges. In this approach, suppliers appear as real partners for process optimisation. The e-procurement marketplace model can be an excellent way to facilitate the daily life of buyers and industrial suppliers while meeting the challenges of both. Here are 8 good reasons to adopt the e-procurement marketplace model.
One of the main challenges for purchasing functions is to reduce costs for their business. Overstocking, low prices, errors, administrative management… Many components usually drive up the bill. The e-procurement marketplace model can help reduce direct and indirect purchasing costs. In addition to centralised management limiting the number of errors, the marketplace has the advantage of putting the different suppliers in competition within the platform. Prices are then self-regulating, which allows the company to gain profitability.
Whether for strategic or operational purchases, the processes must comply with the company’s purchasing policy. It is therefore essential to ensure better control and to limit unregulated purchases by analysing and monitoring practices. Through targeted reporting, the marketplace helps companies to analyse their activity to optimise the work of the purchasing functions.
Some of the tasks performed by buyers are particularly time-consuming. To make a purchase, employees generally consult a multitude of catalogs or websites, compare offers, select the product or service they are looking for, negotiate with the supplier, etc. The e-procurement marketplace model makes it possible to centralise offers. In the end, all the steps of the process are optimised, and buyers save time.
All purchasing professionals know that managing suppliers can be tricky. And for good reason: listing all the company’s suppliers in the ERP system requires a lot of work, which is sometimes not very profitable. The e-procurement marketplace is an effective way to facilitate supplier management and eliminate administrative difficulties. The work of the purchasing functions is simplified, and the relationship with suppliers is improved.
Even though most companies no longer manage their purchases manually, ERP systems do not always offer an optimal management experience. To streamline your supplier portfolio, you need to have a transparent view of your purchasing process… which the marketplace model provides. The digitalisation and mutualisation of processes allow optimising the entire purchasing cycle. Ultimately, buyers have more time to focus on strategic tasks!
If the marketplace model is advantageous for buyers, it is just as much for suppliers. Being present on an e-procurement marketplace allows suppliers to increase their visibility. The e-procurement platform represents a real showcase. The traffic flow is thus increased: the products are highlighted without the supplier having to undertake any commercial prospecting.
It is sometimes difficult for suppliers to have a global vision of their activity. This makes sales management more complex. In this respect, the e-procurement marketplace has the advantage of providing effective management tools to steer the activity of suppliers: management interface, reporting, dashboards, catalogue integration options… The experience of suppliers becomes optimal.
As payment on time is involved in most transactions between buyers and industrial suppliers, sellers need to have a payment guarantee. Certain key functionalities can then be deployed within the e-procurement marketplace, including credit insurance. Suppliers are then guaranteed to be paid in case of unpaid invoices from the buyer.
As a certified payment provider, Lemonway puts its expertise at the service of many e-procurement marketplaces to allow each actor, buyer as well as supplier to take advantage of this model. Do you have a project? Any questions? Tell us about your needs.
