General Procurement

Over the years, sustainability has become an integral part of any company’s operations. In fact, many companies are now leveraging this concept to increase their returns on investments while reducing their risks and becoming resilient during disruptions. Sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives have proven to be extremely effective when it comes to

Category Management is a powerful tool that can be used to create strong, long-term relationships between retailers and suppliers. It allows retailers to focus on merchandise categories in order to maximize sales potential and profits. Through this approach, both the retailer and supplier are able to benefit from an increased understanding of customer needs and

When calculating purchase price variance, it’s important to understand the basic concepts of margin, gross margin, and net margin. These concepts will help you understand how your purchase price compares to your sales price and how much profit you may be making. This post will provide an overview of these concepts and provide a few

Tail End Spend – The Ultimate Guide For many companies, tail end spend is an uncontrolled drain on their resources. In some cases, it can cost up to 10 percent of a company’s budget. In this blog post, we’ll explore the ins and outs of tail end spend, from what it is to how to

Procurement- The Ultimate Guide to Procurement and Software Introduction to procurement Procurement is the process of acquiring goods or services. It includes the evaluation, selection, and purchase of materials, products, services, and contracts. The goal of procurement is to obtain items or services that meet the needs of the organization while maximizing value for money. There are

How to Improve your Contract Management Process Contracts are the lifeblood of any business. They help ensure that agreements between parties are clear and enforceable, and they set expectations for both parties in a concise way. But managing contracts is often a tedious, manual process – one that can be easily improved with the right

What is Procurement? Types, Technologies, Procedures & Processes Procurement is a term that’s used in many different industries, but it can often be difficult to understand. It can include a wide range of activities, processes and technologies, all with the goal of successfully acquiring goods or services for an organization. In this blog post, we’ll

How Does a Company Lower its Procurement Costs? Many factors play into the cost of procurement for a company. But what exactly are those factors, and how can a company lower its procurement costs? This blog post will explore the various factors that affect procurement costs and offer some tips on how to lower those

What is the Difference Between Supply Chain and Procurement? The terms “supply chain” and “procurement” are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to two different aspects of the manufacturing process. Procurement is the process of acquiring goods and services, while supply chain is the process of managing the flow of goods and materials. In this

What Are The Three Types Of Procurement? Procurement is an important process in the business world, and it’s one that can be easily misunderstood. It involves the purchasing of goods and services, but there are three distinct types of procurement that can be used – direct, indirect and strategic. Each type of procurement has its

Cloud Based Solutions – Definition Cloud based solutions don’t only offer significant cost savings, but they also provide a number of other benefits. In this blog post, we will explore what a cloud-based solution is and how it can benefit your business. We will also be discussing some of the best tools available to help

What Is An E-Procurement Software and 5 Benefits Of Using One For Your Business Procurement/purchasing is one of the most important tasks that a business needs to do and most use an e-procurement software in order to stay on top of their industry. However, it’s not just about finding great deals. The article outlines many

What is Procurement Transformation? Procurement transformation has been given many different definitions, with this one from Nitor Partners summing it up nicely; “A cultural shift that will look to change the behaviours of an organization in the acquisition of suppliers, goods and services with the scalable infrastructure in place to ensure maximum value”. Procurement transformation takes time. Any change in

What is Electronic Procurement (eProcurement) What is e-procurement? Requisitioning, ordering, and purchasing goods and services online is known as electronic procurement (also known as e-procurement or supplier exchange). These are processes between businesses. While e-commerce uses a public system, e-procurement uses the closed system of the supplier and is only accessible to registered users. Using

Purchasing vs. Procurement: What’s the Difference? Procurement and purchasing are both involved in the process of acquiring goods and services. Often, these two terms are used interchangeably, but they describe two distinct processes. The procurement function handles the entire strategic life cycle of an acquisition, whereas the purchasing function handles the transactional (tactical) process of acquisition Exactly what

ESG – What Is It? ESG, or environmental, social, and governance, as it is more commonly known, has become increasingly influential in corporate decision making. It was originally used to differentiate the value that companies deliver beyond just financial returns, but its use has grown as companies and investors have become more aware of the long-term benefits. The

What Is A Procurement Cycle? Throughout our lives, we all purchase goods and services for ourselves. First, we identify exactly what we wish to purchase, and then, often subconsciously, consider what is going to deliver the greatest value to us, whether it is cost, or quality, or something else entirely. Once we have done this,

High Quality Procurement Data Can Help You Make Better Decisions The explosion of data available to companies has been growing at an exponential rate over the past few years. This is due to the collection of data by digital systems in every aspect of our daily lives, both work and personal. Using this data, businesses can continually improve

The Ultimate Guide To Purchase Orders What Is A Purchase Order (PO)?  As a starting point, it would be logical to answer the obvious question, what is a purchase order? In order to purchase products or services, purchase orders (POs) are documents sent from you, as the buyer, to a supplier requesting products or services. It is expected

What Are The Benefits Of eSourcing Software? When we purchase goods and services, we use a process that has either been taught to us or developed by us from experience with the goal of getting the best value. While the best value process is often effective on a day-to-day basis, it usually fails to consider a business’s

The Time Benefits Of Using A Procurement Software In every area of their businesses, companies are increasingly implementing digital solutions to drive business efficiencies. These solutions often provide significant financial savings in procurement – often by delivering both cost reductions and cost avoidance against actual baseline spend. In addition to saving money, these digital procurement solutions also deliver substantial time-savings across every phase of the procurement process. eSourcing

How To Improve Profitability by Managing Third-Party Spend Profitability is the goal of every business. For companies to achieve this, they invest in marketing and sales to increase turnover, which results in increased profitability. There is another way to increase profitability, and that is by managing the spend of third-party suppliers. In addition to saving

What Values Are Important To Your Suppliers? When choosing a good or service, the first two things we usually consider are the quality and the price. Our perception of both tells us if what we are purchasing represents value for money. The concept of value for money varies from person to person and therefore from company

How Can eProcurement Help Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)? What is eProcurement? Procurement software, also known as eProcurement, is used to purchase goods and services from suppliers.  Recent years have seen an evolution of eProcurement. Traditional eprocurement systems focus on procuring goods and services from suppliers via sourcing, eTenders and eAuctions. However, newer and more advanced systems on the market have

Procurement Should Be About Cost…And Value We make decisions based on the values that we are brought up with at home, in school, and in the workplace. These values impact most purchasing decisions and are particularly important when evaluating suppliers to better understand how they can provide value beyond just a price difference. The first thing you’re

Cloud Procurement Software for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) As a result of cloud computing , business software solutions that were previously only available to larger companies with deep pockets have become democratised. For many years, these larger companies invested significant funds in on-premise software that was customised, implemented, supported and updated by consultants. They gained competitive

How To Manage Third-Party Supplier Spend And Increase Profitability Profitability is the goal of every company. Most companies increase profitability by investing in marketing and sales in order to generate turnover. Another way to increase profitability is to manage third-party supplier spend. Actively managing this spend saves companies not only money, but also valuable time, allowing them to better

Is Digital Procurement Right For My Business? All companies procure goods and services, from start-ups to companies with billion-pound turnovers. No matter how large or small a company is, the basic procurement processes are similar. A sourcing process entails identifying suppliers, negotiating and managing contracts, and monitoring the savings produced. Compared to a small start-up, larger companies have more

Profit From Managing Your Supplier Contracts Better As we come to the end of the year and plan for 2022, there is still a huge amount of financial uncertainty in the world due to Covid, the global economy and the prospect of inflation and interest rate rises in the UK. This only continues to make it difficult for

Work With Suppliers Who Share Your Values A charity is nothing without its values. Having a strong and easily communicable set of values builds trust between a charity and its supporters, giving employees, volunteers, donors, and beneficiaries the confidence that the organisation is acting ethically and in their best interests.  Most importantly, it shows that the money they raise is going to

A Procurement Process Benefits Both Buyers and Sellers Purchasing is not the same as procurement. Although, both are involved in the acquisition of goods and services, they are two distinctly different processes. Understanding this can help companies become better at both buying and selling. Purchasing is the transactional part of doing the actual acquiring; from creating

Benefit From Following A Procurement Process As we approach the end of the 2021, companies are looking for ways that they can strengthen their finances after Covid and against the threat of inflation and interest rate rises next year. Following on from Cop 26 companies are also beginning to place more importance on sustainability and want to reduce their carbon footprint, which includes working more

Suppliers Play A Crucial Role In Business And The Journey To Net Zero Cop 26 has reignited news headlines across the globe to focus on our environment and people are now talking more than ever before about the practicalities of delivering what the politicians have promised the world and the impact it will have on their businesses. One

What are Scopes 1, 2 & 3 and How Are They Relevant to Procurement? With COP26 wrapping up next week, carbon emissions are as high as they’ve ever been on the international agenda. Inaction will lead to severe hunger levels, mass migration as a result of floods, the collapse of financial markets, along with many other socio-economic disasters,

What Is A Cryptocurrency? A cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. Many companies have issued their own currencies, often called tokens and these can be traded specifically for the good or service that the company provides. Think of them as you would arcade tokens or casino chips. You’ll need

What is Blockchain? Blockchain technology is the concept or protocol behind the running of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Blockchain technology makes cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin work just as the internet makes email possible. Blockchain is based on two fundamental properties. It’s an immutable (unchangeable, i.e. a transaction or file recorded cannot be changed) distributed digital ledger (digital record of transactions

oboloo Joins Tech Zero oboloo has joined Tech Zero, a group of tech companies who are joining forces to accelerate progress to net zero, support tech companies in making a climate action plan and use tech to help the customers they serve live more sustainably. Tech Zero is led by Bulb and industry body Tech Nation,

What is Three-way Matching? To eliminate fraud, save money, and maintain adequate records for auditing, three-way matching involves matching purchase orders (POs), goods receipt notes, and supplier invoices. In most cases, payment is issued to the supplier after a 3-way match has been made. Verification of invoices through three-way matching involves examining relevant documents proving that: In

What is Procurement Management? The procurement management function makes sure that all the processes involved in a business’s acquisition of products, materials, goods, and services run smoothly. Depending on the business and industry, purchasing, procurement, and sourcing may be used interchangeably. Purchasing and procurement provide the actual operational function whereas sourcing is considered the strategic function.

Tips For Sourcing Goods & Services The sourcing of goods and service is the one part of procurement process that every company does to ensure they get best value from suppliers and also work with the right suppliers whose values align with their own. Companies either do sourcing activities without following a formal process or they

A Simple Sourcing Process For SMEs For many companies the Sourcing of goods and services is often as far as the procurement process goes, as it’s seen as the focus to get best value, to work with the right suppliers and to ultimately protect the company’s bottom line. It’s definitely a great place to start,

When Should A Company Use A Digital Procurement Solution? Every company from a start up to a billion-pound turnover company procures good and services. The basic processes of procurement will be the same for all companies, irrelevant of their size. The processes being the sourcing of the goods or services, managing supply contracts and suppliers and monitoring savings achieved

What’s The Difference Between Procurement And Purchasing? Both procurement and purchasing are involved in the process of acquiring goods and services. The two terms are often used interchangeably to describe this; however, they are two distinctly different processes. Procurement deals with the whole strategic life cycle of acquisition whilst purchasing is the transactional (tactical) process of doing

The Emergence Of Cloud-Based Software for SMEs Cloud based computing has helped to democratise business software solutions that were previously the preserve of only larger companies with deep pockets. Historically these companies invested significant amounts of money into on-premise software that was customised, implemented, supported and updated by consultants. These companies benefitted from the efficiencies and cost savings that

What Is oboloo And Who Is It For? oboloo was created to help SMEs save time and money working with their suppliers, reduce supplier risk and enable them to work with the right suppliers. oboloo is a cloud-based procurement software that gives them full visibility and control over every part of the procurement cycle, from sourcing and contract management to supplier

What Is Procurement and Why Is It Important For SME’s? Every company, everywhere in the world is doing it. It’s the opposite to customer sales as its’ where the company is the customer being sold to. It’s been an important part of most larger companies for many years and its playing an increasingly important role in SMEs

What is ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)? ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’, or ‘ESG‘ as its more commonly referred to, is having an increasingly important influence on how companies operate. Originally used as a way of differentiating the value that companies deliver beyond just financial returns it has grown as companies and investors have become more

We All Follow A Procurement Cycle We all make personal purchases of goods and services throughout our lives. First, we identify exactly what we wish to purchase and we then, often subconsciously, consider what’s going to deliver best value for us, this might be based on cost, or quality or something totally different. Once we’ve done this, we’ll

Can Procurement Software Save You Time? Companies are increasingly investing in digital solutions to drive efficiencies and financial savings across every area in their business. One area that these solutions deliver significant financial savings is in procurement with the solutions often recording projected and realised savings delivered by both cost reduction and cost avoidance measured against actual baseline

How To Easily Increase Profitability by Managing Third-Party Spend Every company wants to increase its profitability. To achieve this most companies, invest in marketing and sales to generate turnover that leads to increased profitability. There is another way to increase profitability and that is to manage third-party supplier spend. By actively managing this spend companies not only

How To Protect Your Company’s Bottom Line With eProcurement Software Over the last few years, an increasing number of large companies have begun to take advantage of eProcurement systems to deliver better visibility and control over third-party supplier spend and ultimately to protect and grow their profit margins. This increased investment in eProcurement systems has been driven by the

You Get The Quality You Pay For Once you’ve established that you want to purchase a good or service you’ll invariably look at the various features available that are offered and the price. As part of the price consideration you’ll also check the quality that you’ll receive in return. The rationale being that you pay for what

The Price Is Part Of The Cost The values that we are brought up with at home, school and in the work place help determine how we make decisions. These core values influence purchasing decisions and are especially important when evaluating suppliers to better understand how they can add extra value beyond just a price differential. Whenever you want

Key Considerations When Selecting An eProcurement Software Companies are turning increasingly to technology to deliver efficiencies and ultimately improve profitability. One area that technology is thriving in, especially in larger companies, is eProcurement. Finance and procurement teams have sought to use technology to deliver solutions to traditionally labour-intensive roles and leverage the processes to give them better control and

How To Make Better Decisions From High Quality eProcurement Data The explosion of data available to companies has increased exponentially over the last few years. This is due to the collection of data by digital systems in every aspect of both our daily work and personal lives. The collection of this data is being used to help continually

4 Easily Avoidable Procurement Mistakes Your organisation’s approach to procurement is one of the most important areas that can impact your business’ growth. It is what helps you to identify and deliver best value from suppliers, including reducing costs and streamlining your processes. Ultimately, it is what drive your bottom line.  Ideally you should create a strategy

5 Benefits of Using a Cloud-Based eProcurement Software When it comes to the procurement of goods and services from suppliers for your business, a robust procurement strategy is important. This strategy is an established process to improve your company’s purchasing activities, from data collection and spend analysis to tendering, negotiation, contracting and supplier management. The goal is optimise the efficiencies of the process to deliver

What Managers Should Look for in an e-Procurement System Manual procurement processes, although reliable, are a costly, document-laden process. The time you spend on email or paper exchanges could be allocated to marketing and finding ways to become more competitive in a digital, tech-first business landscape. Among managers surveyed in Deloitte’s 2018 Global CPO Survey, 83 per cent

Two Signs You Should Switch Over To A Cloud Based Procurement Software The prominence of cloud computing today has exceeded consumer expectations because more industries seek to leverage the technology to advance their operations. From the world of finance to the comfort of our own homes, the influence of “the cloud” is now ubiquitous because of its application

How Does E-Procurement Help Upgrade Your Business The development of software to support B2B companies continually drives different industries to greater success. The better businesses work together with each other, the more effective they become are as individual businesses. Implementing an e-procurement platform for your company is an excellent way to increase productivity whilst streamlining your various

Top 3 Benefits Procurement Teams Get From SaaS Solutions Businesses that heavily rely on purchasing goods or services from a third-party may get involved in a long complex procurement process. It can take many weeks for the procurement team to evaluate the RFPs, showcase the findings to executives, negotiate terms and review all the responses to reach a successful

How to Improve Your Organisation’s Spend Analysis & Procurement How to Improve Your Organisation’s Spend Analysis & Procurement The most important business strategy today, according to a report on a survey conducted by Deloitte, is reducing costs. Organisations need to do a thorough analysis of exactly where they are spending money and on what. They must

4 Reasons to Upgrade Your Procurement Process 4 Reasons to Upgrade Your Procurement Process There are always a series of processes to follow in any organisation. Whether it is in the general decision-making or specific to procurement, there are specific steps that should be followed. These processes are governed by rules that encourage everyone in the

Why use a cloud-based procurement software? Why use a cloud-based procurement software? With the modern business landscape becoming ever more technologically-dependent, it’s clear that there is no reason for companies to not take advantage of the opportunities at hand. Thanks to the paradigm shifts affecting digitally-driven tools, the processes that each organisation follows are more efficient,

What Is a Procurement Platform? What Are The Latest Trends In Procurement Software’s? The business world can be incredibly fickle, so ensuring that every aspect of your business is working as it should is important as it helps insulate it from any external factors that may affect it.  One of the most important parts of their business

What Is a Procurement Platform? What Is a Procurement Platform? When it comes to profitability, the procurement section of any private organisation serves as its strategic arm. Procurement is the division that helps make the process of outsourcing and supplying goods more efficient. For it to be effective, it needs to be optimised while still following the