Improve Vendor Relationships with Eprocurement Software

Posted by articlelink01 on October 24th, 2014

The cliché “No man is an island” is 100% true when you talk about businesses. In order for it to survive, you need three groups of people: customers, human resources, and vendors or suppliers.

Your customers are considered the lifeblood of the business, for without them, you can’t support the other two. Meanwhile, your team ensures that the needs of the business and the customers are met at all times. Vendors are responsible for providing you with the goods, whether raw materials or items for sale, so you have something to offer to your clients.

Because vendors are just as essential as your customers, you want to extend all efforts to maintain a good relationship with them, and you can do that with eprocurement software.

Improving Communication

One of the areas where the epurchasing software can be such a huge help in the VRM (vendor relationship management) is in enhancing communication. The program allows you to store all invoices, purchases, and reports that the vendors may need to perhaps verify receipt, settle disputes, or reconcile figures, among others. These data may be downloaded or sent directly to them via e-mail or fax. Moreover, since the software is web-based, you can heed to requests anytime and anywhere.

Setting of Expectations

Vendors don’t only provide you with the goods you need; most of all, they ensure they can fully support you in meeting your business goals. But for them to do that, they should also be in the same page as yours.

Eprocurement software can be used for business analysis, whether to forecast needs in the coming days or months or to determine variances between expected results and realities. The information may be presented in graphs and charts, so they are easily understood. Data may be filtered and sorted according to different categories including by vendor and supply (or raw material).

Demonstrating Your Character

Vendors also understand the importance of taking care of their customers, and they’re willing to go the extra mile for them. They can, for example, give you the least possible price for their products and retain it over the next few months or even years, shielding you from two of the most common issues in purchasing: price increase and cost fluctuation.

The epurchasing software supports you in this area by making sure you can pay your bills on time. You can set up notifications that alert you or your purchasing officer when bills are already due. Delays can also be avoided since the proper documents are always accessible. You can also use the information provided by the eprocurement software to negotiate payment terms and schedules.

Supporting Each Other

A relationship is based on many different things including mutualism. This means that both of you experience advantages by working together.

How does the epurchasing software fit into the picture? By analysis, you and the supplier can make the entire purchase process more efficient by identifying issues or improving certain phases. You can conveniently share progress reports and participate in goal setting and business planning.

Resource Box

Automate your purchasing process today and have more time leading, marketing, and building revenues and cash flows. Invest in a customizable and http://bellwethercorp.com/why-bellwether/customers/ secure eprocurement software from Bellwether. When you invest in its epurchasing software, you also invest in the company’s over 29 years experience in requisition and purchasing management.