How do you manage change and adoption of e-procurement for indirect purchasing?

1 Benefits of e-procurement and automation for indirect purchasing

E-procurement and automation can bring many benefits to your indirect purchasing processes, such as cost savings, compliance, visibility, efficiency, and satisfaction. Cost savings can be achieved by reducing manual tasks, errors, and inefficiencies. Compliance is improved by enforcing policies and procedures. Visibility is improved by capturing and analyzing spending data. Efficiency is boosted by automating and simplifying workflows. Finally, satisfaction is increased by enhancing user experience and supplier relationships. All of these benefits can lead to better pricing and discounts from suppliers, avoidance of fraud and maverick spending, improved budgeting and forecasting, faster cycle times, reduced workloads for staff, increased stakeholder satisfaction and loyalty, as well as a culture of collaboration and innovation.

2 How to define e-procurement and automation KPIs for indirect purchasing

Measuring the impact and value of e-procurement and automation solutions for indirect purchasing requires defining and tracking relevant KPIs. When doing this, it is important to ensure that your KPIs are aligned with organizational goals, have an accurate baseline, realistic and achievable targets, a regular frequency, and clear ownership. This will help you measure and report on your e-procurement and automation results accurately and effectively.

3 Examples of e-procurement and automation KPIs for indirect purchasing

When considering e-procurement and automation KPIs for indirect purchasing, the most common and useful ones include spend under management, spend compliance, spend savings, cycle time, and user adoption. Spend under management is the percentage of indirect spending that is controlled and managed by e-procurement and automation solutions. Spend compliance is the percentage of indirect purchases that comply with policies and procedures. Spend savings is the amount of money saved by using e-procurement and automation solutions. Cycle time is the average time it takes to complete an indirect purchase from requisition to payment. Finally, user adoption is the percentage of users who use e-procurement and automation solutions for their indirect purchases as well as their satisfaction and feedback levels.

4 How to overcome challenges and barriers to change and adoption

One of the main challenges that you may face when implementing e-procurement and automation solutions for indirect purchasing is the resistance and reluctance of your stakeholders to change and adopt the new processes and systems. Common reasons for this include lack of awareness, involvement, training, and support. To overcome these issues, it is important to adopt a proactive and comprehensive change management strategy. This should include communicating clearly with stakeholders about the purpose and benefits of the solutions, engaging them in the development and implementation process, providing them with training resources, and offering them support throughout the transition.