What are the Steps in eSourcing?

One thing that we all do in our daily lives that we also do frequently in business is to make purchases. It’s something that we learn to do when we’re young and then generally follow the same simple process throughout our lives. The amount of time and effort we put into the process varies depending on the cost and complexity of the purchase. The purchasing decision that we make at the end of the process comes down to what represents best value to us based on what matter to us most.

Whenever we make a purchase we always follow the same simple thought process:

1. What exactly am I looking to purchase?
2. What factors are going to influence where I purchase it from?
3. Who sells what am I looking for?
4. Consider the above and make purchase

We follow the same steps when purchasing on behalf of a business. Except this time the cost of the purchase may be significantly larger and there are other external factors to take into consideration.

The specifications of the purchase may well be determined by others and not just yourself in order to deliver on their requirements and budgets. The specifications may be influenced by any number of reasons that are outside of your control.

The factors that influence where the purchase is made from can be varied, depending on the values that are important to the business. The cost may be the most important factor, or it may be all about the quality with the cost being almost irrelevant. However, nowadays more and more businesses are also beginning to take into account other factors such as sustainability and social value.

The list of potential suppliers to purchase it from may be made up of incumbent suppliers, recommendations, internet searches etc. The market place exists to provide a choice for customers looking to make purchases based on different values.

The final decision of what to purchase will be made by considering what’s required and evaluating the supplies based on what’s important to the business.

Unlike personal purchases, in a business there is also the need to have transparency and control over the purchasing decisions so that they are made objectively and with the best interests of the business in mind. With this in mind its helpful to also have a clear record of the decisions that have been made, when and by whom.

One of the best ways to have transparency and control over the process is to use a cloud-based eSourcing tool as these create permanent records that can be easily audited. These systems follow the same steps that we use in our everyday lives meaning they are intuitive and simple to use and also share knowledge and encourage collaboration between employees.

oboloo is a self-service cloud-based software that offers a simple and cost-effective eSourcing tool that has been designed specifically for SMEs. oboloo is an intuitive self-service solution that also incorporates Contract, Supplier and Savings Management to enable companies to be supplier smart. To learn more please visit www.oboloo.com