By Sydney Tierney
The ways in which companies can purchase products and services depends on a number of different variables. For example, how effective a business is and its ability to run itself. If, however, the company is negligent when it comes to the way they run their e-sourcing, they can run into a number of procurement mistakes that can drag the business through turmoil.
Many businesses will also assume that workstation technology has been put into place in order to do all purchasing tasks and fix any possible issues. This, however, is not the case with certain tasks and issues requiring human completion.
Whatever the possible problem facing your e-sourcing strategy, do not overlook it, instead take the time to fix and solve the issue to help prevent additional problems from being created further down the line.
In this article, we will be discussing the top 5 e-sourcing mistakes most frequently committed and how you too can avoid them. This way, you can ensure that any purchasing conducted by your business will be completed with success and a strategic sourcing strategy.
Going Over Budget
Possibly one of the easiest problems to come face-to-face with when running a business and that is overspending. Going over budget when purchasing resources for the business is usually done through a lack of communication or general knowledge on what is actually required. By doing this, the company money is instantly wasted when in fact it could’ve been spent in a far more efficient way.
This problem can usually be avoided with a few simple steps. Firstly, it would be beneficial to communicate about any purchasing required with the entire team so that everyone knows what has been brought, and what budget has been left. This can be conducted through weekly bud updates or an online platform that offers the information at any given time.
Another method could be to use a quality procurement software, that will allow them to implement a better purchasing technique and control over the entire purchasing process.
Problematic Suppliers
Some suppliers make the most of their money by refusing to compromise and negotiate with the companies that order and work with. They may decide to add incessant charges that were not highlighted at the beginning or refuse to offer discounts to those who order in bulk.
Before racing ahead and choosing the first supplier you find, ensure to decipher all other possible options. Take the time to research and look around for the best services available and by companies that offer the same service, however, at a cheaper rate. Along with the affordability of the product, also consider the flexibility and ability to negotiate other resource discounts or bundles.
It has also been found that there is a collection of suppliers out there that view themselves to have a moral obligation to accommodate the needs of their business clients. This is because they see how this maximises and runs the clients’ performance, in turn increasing their profitability for their own benefit.
Not Having An Internal Policy
While there are other features within a company that are important, having a clear and reputable internal policy is one that will positively affect the business procurement strategy. If the policy is not followed by each individual member of the team, employees who work in the purchasing sector have no guidelines to follow. This can then lead to mistakes being made, and the employees not knowing how to deal and resolve the issues.
Therefore, be sure to establish a procurement policy that the whole company can follow with ease. This will help to ensure that the purchasing processes run smoothly and effectively, avoiding any mishaps from happening. And this way, if a problem arises, the team will know the right steps to take to resolve this and prevent it from happening again.
Making Rash Decisions
Rushing the buying process can lead to a handful of poor decisions and challenges. Along with an increased rise in errors, making rash decisions can also lead to an accidental order. For example, the wrong resource, the wrong quantity, or the wrong size of product, which will not only waste money and resources but time too.
Because of rushing, ordering errors are more common than ever. To prevent this from occurring, it is recommended that simple steps are put into place, helping to minimise the risk of error.
It would be recommended to implement a strict protocol within the office, this protocol could ask that when an order has been raised, that more than one person is involved in the purchase. This way, a set of fresh eyes will be able to see if any mistakes have been made and if so, can work to resolve the issue before a payment is required.
Being Secretive
In the workplace with so much going on at once, it can be easy to forget about communicating with the rest of the team on the progress of a task.
An example, within E-Sourcing, if the business is running low on a particular item, then simply purchasing more shouldn’t be an issue? However, it’s purchases like these that can cause annoying procurement problems further down the line.
By not informing and communicating with the rest of the team, a fellow colleague could go ahead a make a similar purchase, creating duplicates and wasting money.
Avoiding being secretive not only in the purchasing department but in the whole workplace is a sure way to keep everything running smoothly. When it comes to e-sourcing mistakes and how to avoid them, it is recommended that you communicate and keep colleagues and different departments in the loop. This helps to ensure that everyone who is involved in the purchase is kept up to date, whether they are the project lead or an assistant.
Summary
With a strategic e-sourcing approach, a company will be able to quickly and efficiently work through all of their purchasing endeavours within the business. However, without the correct steps in place, a whole host of issues can be brought up that will not only waste company money but their working time.
Instead, focus on the simplest of decisions to help improve smoothness and efficiency. This includes keeping the entire team in the loop with the latest purchasing processes, having a set of guidelines to follow, while ensuring that the business has the best supplier at hand so that even the silliest of mistakes can be avoided.
When it comes to e-sourcing mistakes and how to avoid them, the company would benefit the most from not only following our suggested ideas, but also taking on further research into finding suitable software. By finding procurement software suited to your business needs, you can cut down on working time and provide an additional layer of security for money handling. This helps to ensure the purchasing team has full training in handling the company resources and keeping control throughout the entire e-sourcing process.
By implementing these ideas, the company will soon build up a reputable format that will work, and procurement mistakes will become a thing of the past.
Sydney Tierney just recently finished her studies and is working her way into the world of content writing as a digital marketing assistant. She writes for clients that specialise in workstations, Strategic Sourcing and Google Shopping Specialists.