Purchasing teams are at the forefront of sourcing goods and services, negotiating with suppliers, and managing contracts and relationships with vendors. However, with the rapidly developing business landscape, traditional procurement methods may no longer be enough to meet the modern organisation’s evolving needs. The solution to this is Guided Buying, which is a procurement strategy that’s gaining traction as it enables purchasing teams to make smarter decisions, improve efficiency and drive savings.
By providing a consumer-like buying experience while ensuring compliance with organisational policies, contracts and sourcing standards, Guided Buying empowers purchasing teams to make data-driven decisions and become more agile and strategic.
We delve into how Guided Buying can revolutionise procurement and empower purchasing teams to make intelligent decisions that drive business success.
Defining Guided Buying
Guided Buying is a procurement strategy that involves the use of technology to guide and facilitate purchasing processes for an organisation’s employees. The technology provides a simple, consumer-like buying experience for employees while ensuring that purchases comply with organisational policies, contracts and sourcing standards.
The benefits of Guided Buying are numerous and with its ability to improve compliance, organisations can reduce the risk of non-compliance penalties, legal liabilities and reputational damage. This is achieved through real-time guidance that helps highlight any potential risks for businesses before they occur. Guided Buying also reduces purchases made outside of established procurement policies and procedures. By enforcing contract compliance and pre-negotiated pricing, organisations can reduce their costs and increase efficiency.
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Guided Buying empowers purchasing teams to make data-driven decisions by providing them with real-time spend data and supplier information. With this information readily available, purchasing teams can make better-informed decisions when selecting the best suppliers, negotiating better contracts, and optimising their spend.
One example is the utilisation of Guided Buying by purchasing teams to monitor and evaluate supplier performance through the integration of supplier management within SAP Ariba. This integration enables organisations to conveniently select preferred suppliers from within the SAP Business Network. This capability empowers purchasing teams by providing them with valuable data for making informed decisions when choosing the most suitable supplier. Additionally, with access to real-time spend data, purchasing teams can effectively monitor and track expenses, identify potential cost-saving opportunities, and optimise spending across various categories.
Analytics and reporting play a critical role in Guided Buying, enabling purchasing teams to track performance, identify trends, and make informed decisions. With analytics, purchasing teams can monitor key performance indicators such as supplier performance and spend across categories, and use this data to identify opportunities for improvement. Reporting allows purchasing teams to share this information with stakeholders across the organisation, enabling them to make informed decisions that align with organisational goals.
Process Improvement
Guided Buying is not just a tool to improve compliance or provide a better user experience; it also offers an opportunity for process improvement. By streamlining procurement workflows and automating manual tasks, Guided Buying enables purchasing teams to be more efficient and effective in their day-to-day operations. This, in turn, frees up time for procurement professionals to focus on strategic initiatives such as category management, supplier relationship management and cost reduction.
One of the key features of guided buying is the use of workflows. Workflows are pre-defined processes that guide users through the procurement process, from the initial request to the final purchase. These workflows can be customised to reflect an organisation’s specific procurement policies and procedures, ensuring compliance, and reducing the risk of errors or delays.
By automating these workflows, Guided Buying eliminates many of the manual tasks associated with procurement, such as data entry, paperwork, and approvals. This not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors or delays, empowering procurement efficiency.
Contract Management
Guided Buying empowers purchasing teams with real-time visibility into contract terms, obligations and compliance, enabling them to identify areas for improvement and negotiate more favourable terms with suppliers. Customisable workflows ensure that all purchases align with contractual obligations, mitigating risks associated with non-compliance.
Purchasing teams can also optimise contract negotiations by leveraging contract terms and obligations. For instance, if a contract offers an early payment discount, Guided Buying can flag invoices due for payment within the discount period, ensuring that the organisation takes full advantage of the opportunity.
In addition, it helps enforce compliance with contractual terms, such as purchases from specific suppliers or within designated categories. Workflows can be designed to ensure that all purchases align with these requirements, ensuring adherence to contractual obligations.
Furthermore, it helps in the reduction of contract leakage by monitoring compliance and identifying areas where the benefits of a contract are not fully utilised. By proactively identifying and correcting contract leakage, Guided Buying helps optimise contract performance and ensure maximum value from contracts.
User Adoption
With Guided Buying, purchasing teams can engage users by providing a simple and easy-to-use platform that meets their needs. Workflows can be customised to reflect an organisation’s specific procurement policies and procedures, ensuring compliance, and reducing the risk of errors or delays. This allows purchasing teams to increase user engagement by offering a user-friendly platform that meets their specific needs, preferences, and buying habits.
Through a consumer-centric buying experience, we believe that Guided Buying empowers users to make informed decisions while adhering to organisational policies, contracts and sourcing standards. This not only boosts user satisfaction but also prevents unnecessary spending by purchasing teams, ultimately reducing procurement costs and safeguarding organisational budgets.
Guided Buying is reshaping the procurement landscape by empowering purchasing teams to make data-driven decisions based on intelligence. Its ability to enhance compliance, reduce costs, and deliver a seamless buying experience has made it the preferred procurement strategy for modern organisations, driving its increasing popularity in the industry.
