In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations are increasingly turning to cloud-based procure-to-pay (P2P) systems to streamline their procurement processes, improve efficiency, and gain better control over their material spend. However, selecting the right cloud procurement system requires careful consideration to ensure it meets your organization’s needs. Here are the top factors to evaluate when choosing a cloud-based procurement solution:
A smooth implementation is critical to minimizing disruptions during the transition to a new system. Larger systems have more features but commonly have implementation schedules that can take multiple years and require outside consulting vendors. All these factors can increase the costs substantially. In contrast, smaller and lightweight cloud procurement systems will not have as many features, but will have a much simpler implementation. Some cloud-based procurement platforms can be setup within a couple of hours depending on the number of an organization’s users and suppliers. Deciding on the right system requires evaluating the tradeoffs between large systems with a more complex set of features and smaller systems that are less complicated, but have less features. Identifying which features are needed and the costs associated with each are an important step in choosing a cloud procurement solution.
Having an intuitive, easy-to-use interface can dramatically reduce the learning curve for an organization’s users. There can be major differences across various cloud procurement platforms with respect to the amount of training and user-guidance needed just for daily use-cases. Larger systems with complex features and workflows can require substantial investments in user training and still lead to frustration when trying to complete basic procure-to-pay processes. Smaller systems will have more manageable workflows, be more intuitive for users, and require minimal training. It is important to right-size a system based on an organization’s needs. Not having critical features can be a deal-breaker, but other times, non-essential features can add unnecessary bloat, slow down your organization, and discourage adoption.
Having the right set of procure-to-pay system features requires assessing the needs of the organization against what the cloud-based purchasing software provides. However, the basics should include:
The pricing structure should match the needs of the organization and ideally be able to scale to the volume required at a particular point in time. Some cloud-based purchasing platforms charge one large annual sum, a per seat price, or a price by volume. If consistency in spending is important, then a flat fee model would fit this need. If an organization desires to right-size their procurement software costs to what they need then a per seat or even a per volume pricing structure could be considered. If there is a period of months where an organization is purchasing a much larger volume than normal, at the start of a new project for example, the cloud system can seamlessly scale to meet this demand. Then when the project is completed and platform is not being used as heavily, the price will scale down to this reduced demand level.
Tracking and analyzing real-time procurement data along with historical spend data can help drive down costs and improve organizational efficiency. Cloud based procurement system can provide full visibility into the procure-to-pay process and quickly identify inefficiencies. The reporting solutions should also have a simple and easy to use interface to filter and export the required data. This will allow relevant stakeholders to quickly get access to data related to requisitions, purchase orders, invoices, and receipts. Having the right data in real-time is crucial for effective procurement strategies and cost-control efforts.
A cornerstone of a successful cloud based procure to pay system is effective supplier management features. Supplier information and contacts are constantly updating and need to be able to seamlessly add and update supplier information. The cloud procurement platform should likewise have an intuitive interface with easy onboarding. Some larger systems can require suppliers to pay a fee to join their platform whereas with others, the supplier can simply create a free account and see all the purchase orders from their customers. Confusing user-interfaces and platform fees can also dissuade suppliers from adopting your chosen cloud-based platform. Ensuring you choose a platform that your suppliers are able to easily adopt and use is also a key consideration when choosing a procurement platform.
Those are a few of the top considerations when deciding on a cloud-based procurement platform. Lasso is a simple and easy to used cloud based solution that offers the full procure-to-pay solution features and a pricing structure that can scale to your spend. Suppliers can easily create a free account and immediately view all of their quoting opportunities, contracts, and invoices.
Lasso is free to start and offers an all-in-one cloud procurement solution. Get started by creating a free account or check out additional platform tutorials.
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