Workflow Automation for Procurement

Procurement is often associated with purchasing goods and services. However, it’s a much broader concept. The procurement process involves defining a company's needs, searching for suppliers with suitable goods and pricing, preparing purchase requests and delivery contract drafts, negotiating on terms and conditions, etc. The procurement workflow also covers the checking and approving of invoices, the payment stage, and examining goods after delivery. Thus, it’s a complex business process of supplying a company with products for its operational activity or internal office needs.

The procurement process includes a number of actions to be taken to acquire goods and services with minimum risks and maximum benefit. It involves planning, searching for vendors with the best offers and prices, negotiating on contract conditions, and delivery control. All these steps are time-consuming and paper-heavy, so using an automated purchasing system is preferable. Automated procurement solutions like airSlate help supply managers eliminate hassles and make purchases.

eProcurement stands for electronic acquisition and sale of materials, equipment, services, etc., via electronic trading tools, including web auctions and tenders. It’s a streamlined procurement process compared to the traditional one, as all its steps are automated. With no paper contract exchange, it creates an environment for faster delivery, eliminating delays and disruptions in the delivery of goods. Supply chain managers should choose an efficient automated purchasing system like airSlate to reduce errors and improve their supply cycles.

Many companies still prefer using MS Office tools for managing their business processes. Excel is the most popular program for creating product catalogs and price lists, keeping records on product purchases and sales, and analyzing executed deals. Despite having many instruments for data processing, Excel can’t handle procurement automation the way you need for streamlined results. Alternatively, consider implementing automated purchasing systems, like airSlate, to get more deals done in less time and with fewer costs. With procurement automation, you can effectively plan your purchase, negotiate on price and other contract terms, and set control over the delivery process.

Every procurement process starts with defining the company’s needs in goods or services and verifying the list of vendors to find the one that meets your requirements and budget. After that, you step into the negotiation stage, discussing and agreeing on prices, amount of items, orders, delivery terms, etc. When the contract is signed, it’s time for the payment stage: preparing the purchase order, receiving and checking the invoice, and passing it to the accountants for payment. Using a single automated procurement system instead of several different tools can reduce errors and help you better handle your supply chain. airSlate enables you to automate all steps in your procurement process with its no-code Bots and instruments for managing and eSigning documents.

A procurement system is a software solution that enhances a company's supply procedures, cutting costs and hassles in purchasing goods and services. The modern IT market offers a great number of programs for effectively managing your supply chain. When looking for a suitable procurement system, consider using the one that combines such features as workflow automation, easy contract negotiations and tracking, payment tools, analytics, and integrations with other systems. airSlate provides you with all of them at a reasonable price.

It’s a computer program or web-based solution that provides procurement automation at every stage of ordering goods and services. It enables users to automatically manage their supply contracts, make purchase requests, control, and audit product delivery. Implementing procurement automation helps find and resolve bottlenecks in your supply chain, and significantly improves your procurement workflows. Try airSlate as your automated purchasing system to minimize time spent on regular tasks and accelerate turnaround at your company.

The public procurement process involves public and governmental organizations purchasing goods, work, and services from private companies. It generally includes the same steps as in the public sector, however, can require more people in approving documents. Multiple checks and controls in public purchasing cause delays in the supply and pause federal and local projects. Using workflow automation tools like airSlate can help public organizations resolve those bottlenecks in their procurement processes.

Automation tools for procurement workflows may be difficult in use and require particular technical knowledge. Choose airSlate, an end-to-end workflow automation platform that is totally user-oriented. It can be utilized for procurement automation as well as for streamlining any other regular processes. Plus, the platform offers free courses for everyone who wants to learn how to work with airSlate and set up a procurement workflow. Sign up for the airSlate Academy and become an expert in automating workflows.

There are tons of solutions for automating procurement processes. In order to choose the right one, you should pay attention to how easy it is to onboard and the number of features and integrations provided, and of course, the price. We recommend you choose airSlate. This cloud-based platform automates just about any business process including procurement workflows. The tool uses no-code Bots, embedded small robotic software that help automate any business process and integrate the platform with other applications. “No-code Bots” means that you don’t need any particular technical skills to work with them. Thus, any employee can easily set up a procurement process workflow in less than 15 minutes.