What Is e-Sourcing & How Does It Work?

Traditionally, reviewing and comparing suppliers to find the best one was a lengthy and time-consuming process. However, these days, technology has made it much simpler and quicker. Because of e-Sourcing, gone are the days when you needed to go through an individual evaluation of suppliers to find which one best suits your organisation’s requirements and budget. 

e-Sourcing is the process of finding, evaluating and deciding upon which supplier to collaborate with using a cloud-based platform. During the e-Sourcing process, suppliers respond online directly into the system. The technology has been specifically developed to help organisations save time and money on procurement and purchasing activities.

If you’d like to know more about this technology, this article will summarise the key details for you. 

The Software: How It Can Help You

e-Sourcing software covers many different functions, depending on the manufacturer, but in essence, here are some of the sourcing aspects it takes care of:

• Request for quotations: The process wherein the buyer sends out forms to suppliers in the same industry, asking for the prices of their products or services and responses to specific questions.
• Evaluating responses: The process where the buyers assess which of the suppliers’ proposals are viable for them. The software will consolidate all the returned information from the suppliers to make this is simpler. 
• Contract awarding and management: The supply deal is awarded to the successful supplier and contract terms agreed upon. The on-going management and monitoring of the supply can also be completed within the system.

As well as this, the software can help an organisation develop a strategy for sourcing, analyse their expenses, and facilitate their negotiations. 

Why Get One?: Advantages of e-Sourcing Programs

Companies invest in e-Sourcing software because of the following benefits: 

• Provides transparency – e-Sourcing is specifically designed to help both the buyers and suppliers. From the buyer’s perspective, the software allows them to see all the key information they need to know about the supplier and their products or services. The two parties can easily see the process status or the deadline. That makes the process smoother and more transparent.
• More manageable processes – Since everything about the process is transparent, checking compliance and missing documents are faster to track. It also makes following any regulatory procedures easier to accomplish. 
• Helps your organisation get best value – e-Sourcing can help you see all your supplier options at a glance. By referring to your data, you can easily recognise which service provider fits your budget.
• Saves you time – From creating an activity to awarding it to a supplier is a simple, proven process that is all within the system. Valuable records are created that can be referred back to any time.

Conclusion

Today’s fast-paced world requires organisations to have the right tools to help make their work more efficient and effective. For the finance, procurement and purchasing teams of any company, having e-Sourcing software is a game changer that will benefit the whole organisation. Consider getting one for your team. 

Do you need e-Sourcing software for more efficient work? oboloo is the smarter way to take control of your sourcing activities. Start your free trial today or book a free demo to see how this cloud-based sourcing program can help you. www.oboloo.com