Take Control Of Your Procurement Processes Eliminate phone calls, emails, spreadsheets & verbal approvals. Increased Efficiency Saves Money Bellwether Purchasing Software helps reduce supply costs, cut administrative costs, and shorten the length of the purchase cycle. Gain Control of Spending Company-defined approval levels help eliminate maverick purchasing, providing greater transparency into spending. Customize Workflow Provide controls for establishing budget tolerances & thresholds, while automated PO processing frees up precious time. Access anywhere, anyplace 100% web-based software offers flexibility & customization for your specific needs and keeps company information safe & secure. Streamline Your Procurement Processes For 34 Years Bellwether Has Provided The Best Value In Purchasing And Inventory Software Or Your Money Back! Bellwether procurement software is a cloud based solution system that helps small to mid-sized businesses automate purchasing processes while saving time and money. Whether you need to use our cloud procurement software as a stand-alone application, of if you need to integrate our software solutions with other existing business systems, you’ll find our software is an integral part of your overall workflow. TRUSTED PROCUREMENT SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE Here are just a few ways our eProcurement solution can benefit your business: Our integrated e-procurement software solution is ideal for supplier management, e-sourcing, and contract management and it gives your organization the tools they need to drive process efficiency and cost savings. Save Time – When you’re running a business, spending valuable time on purchase orders could be costing you the time you need to make beneficial vendor relationships. When you automate your workflow, you’ll free up all of that necessary time spent handling the purchasing process to focus on the things that matter most to your business.Control Costs – They say “time is money” for a reason. You could be wasting money by waiting on approvals or other aspects of your current purchase order process that are too slow and difficult to mange. By switching over to a purchasing system, you’ll save money and promote productivity in the workplace.Eliminate Problems – While purchasing software may not eliminate all of your problems, it will sure help delete human error from your purchasing process. Minor errors can quickly turn into major problems and an effective PO system will prevent those in the future, making running your business a little less stressful. PROCUREMENT VS. PURCHASING: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? Procurement and purchasing are often mistaken for the same thing and used interchangeably. However, these two functions are distinct in their intent, tasks, people involved, and what they do. There is software to help automate both procurement and purchasing, and some that do both in one robust purchase order system. While organizations may choose to use one to describe both terms, it’s essential to know the key differences between purchasing and procurement. If you don’t know the differences, your organization may be overlooking key components that are negatively affecting the bottom line. Procurement Procurement is a set of tasks that involve buying a product or service. It is more of an umbrella term that covers all of the functions happening before, during, and after the purchase of goods or services. Procurement is an internal process used in a production environment. It starts with the identification of needs and ends when the requirement is fulfilled. A beginning to end, or end-to-end procurement process may consist of some or all of these steps: Surveying the marketFinding potential vendorsCreating an approved vendors listSpotting internal needsCreating purchase ordersRequesting quotationsSelecting vendors and negotiatingReceiving goods and performing quality checksDeveloping and managing contractsObtaining invoice approvals and fulfilling payment terms Establishing a beneficial supplier relationship Purchasing Purchasing is associated with acquiring the goods and services that your organization requires. Purchasing is a part of procurement. However, procurement is not part of purchasing. Purchasing is an external process used in a wholesale environment. This aspect of procurement is basic and deals only with products and compensation. The purchasing process includes ordering, expediting, receiving, and fulfilling the payment. These are the typical steps for purchasing: Obtaining purchase requisitionEvaluating quotationsDispatching purchase ordersReceiving products or servicesChecking the quality of shipmentsEffecting payment Short Term Vs. Long Term Goals Purchasing focuses on the short term goals, like fulfilling the five rights in a transaction. Right QualityRight QuantityRight CostRight TimeRight Place The procurement cycle focuses on more strategic and long term goals, such as aligning itself with corporate strategy or goals or gaining a competitive advantage. Because this process looks more into the needs of the organization, it is proactive, while purchasing is reactive. Procurement is about the bigger picture, while purchasing is about the needs of the business right now. Relationship with Vendors Both processes do work towards a beneficial relationship with vendors. Purchasing focuses more on creating beneficial relationships through purchases. The buying of items and proper payment is sure to make vendors happy. However, procurement focuses on how vendors and buyers can help one another. Procurement involves making a list of approved vendors. The priority is making those vendors happy so that you can achieve a long-term relationship. This relationship not only benefits your business but the vendor’s as well. This will continuously make them happy with your business, and they’ll want to give you certain benefits, such as lower prices, or better contractual terms. Procurement Software Robust e-procurement software will have a purchasing function that will help you improve the procurement process and purchasing process in one easy to use interface. When you look at either of these processes, there are many stakeholders involved, such as internal parties and employees, to external parties such as vendors and contract negotiators. Both processes demand documentation. A single purchasing cycle can last for weeks, but a procurement cycle can last for months. That time can double if they are performed manually. Revising documents, evaluating bids, and reviewing invoices will cause a huge delay in the procurement cycle. However, efficient procurement management software lets organizations store all purchasing and procurement files in one database. Procurement software solutions automate tasks to offer convenience and efficiency that a manual system cannot match. Does My Business Need Procurement Software? If you are currently usual paper-based, manual purchasing and procurement processes, it’s time for a change. Digital solutions will help you manage your business processes more efficiently. They also offer real-time data so that you can make important organization decisions based on concrete information. Which is best: Purchasing or Procurement Software? You need to pick an approach based on your business’ unique needs. Every organization is different. Small businesses may choose purchasing with the intention of keeping the process simple. Enterprises may prefer a robust procurement process to make it a part of their entire corporate strategy. With Bellwether, you don’t have to choose between purchasing and procurement. With our e-procurement solutions, you’ll have access to robust purchasing functions that allow you to manage your purchase orders more efficiently and effectively. That’s not all. Our software helps automate the entire procurement process so that your business can save time and money. It’s clear; manual tools like paper forms and spreadsheets do more harm than good. They cost your employees time, which costs you money. The delay can also hurt the relationships that your business relies on to remain successful in the competitive marketplace. Cloud-based procurement software improves productivity by standardizing the regulated processes of purchasing and procurement. Our software helps organizations shorten purchasing procurement cycles, improve collaboration, and ensure compliance. Procurement Software and ROI Many customers come to us worried that procurement software may cost them more than their manual processes. However, e-procurement software pays for itself, offering you an ROI in no time. With improved productivity and efficiency that it offers, you are actually saving money. Think about your approval process and how long it takes for a purchasing requisition to be approved. You can set your software to approve specific criteria so that purchasing is easier and less time-consuming. If you’re worried about budget, your employees can easily see what’s in the budget and what isn’t with tools right on the screen. This will help get rid of any unnecessary requisition approvals that may reach upper management. Your procurement software pays for itself and then some. You’ll be amazed at the savings once you implement an automated procurement process that helps optimize workflows and improve communication across departments. It can often be difficult for your accounting department to keep up with your purchasing department, leading to mistakes in budgets and other areas of finances. You can avoid financing errors that cost time and money with e-procurement solutions. The Relationship Between Procurement and MRO Inventory Management Procurement and inventory management go hand in hand. In order for your procurement process to be successful, you need to be able to manage your Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) inventory effectively and efficiently. MRO purchasing includes those purchases necessary to keep the business running. In some cases, these purchases might include cleaning. However, in other types of organizations, such as a manufacturing plant, MRO purchasing will be made up of a significant number of different purchases. MRO items can include any of the following: GlovesEquipmentEquipment PartsMaintenance and Upkeep SuppliesCleaning SuppliesComputers With so many parts, products, and services in motion, any overstock can slow down production and cause unnecessary spending. However, a prudent purchasing manager should be able to determine which parts are used frequently and predict when they will need to place an order. Procurement’s Role In MRO Inventory Procurement software can help manage the regular purchasing of stock as well as MRO purchasing. It can be integrated with Maintenance Management System (CMMS) so that all the materials and maintenance contracts can be managed and the demand understood. When it comes to the bottom line, there are certain situations that can lead to your business spending more on MRO than necessary. For example, if a part should be available in the inventory, but isn’t there because it has been used and not documented, you may need to purchase another part immediately. Now the request for the part has become an emergency and the purchase will be expedited. Both of these things cost you money. Preventing Unnecessary Spending If MRO purchasing requisitions and inventory are not tracked properly, spending can quickly get out of hand. You should be able to estimate what items your business will need and when. Bellwether helps you easily manage procurement for maintenance and MRO inventory. Our software helps control costs by enforcing approval processes and using negotiated pricing. With Bellwether, you’ll also reduce the overall procurement time with access to supplier catalogs, streamlined PO issue, and expediting. Monitor your purchase orders from creation to completion with every delivery and payment. Digital Procurement Solutions Any Time, Anywhere Bellwether’s e-procurement software is not just available on computers. You can view real-time data on your mobile phone or tablet, no matter where you are. Our software allows you to check the status of purchase orders and requisitions even when you’re on the go. Your procurement process never needs to be delayed.