The Advantages of Mobile Procurement Solutions

Mobile procurement is a convenient way to automate and manage procurement processes from anywhere in the world. It provides a variety of benefits in terms of flexibility and improved access, elevating decision-making and contributing to higher efficiency. 

This article will cover everything regarding mobile procurement, from its benefits to a guide on incorporating it into your current procurement process. Let’s dive into it! 

Types of Procurement 

Before diving into the benefits of mobile procurement solutions, it is vital to understand two types of procurement management. These are manual and automated procurements. 

Manual procurement is the manual management of the procurement processes. For instance, when employees enter the PO details or information regarding inventory levels into the system manually. Manual processes are inefficient and prone to errors. 

On the other hand, automation is the process of automating the manual procurement processes to reach higher efficiency. With automation solutions, organizations face lower error risk and gain more cost-saving opportunities while increasing operational efficiency. One of the types of automated procurement is mobile procurement. 

What is Mobile Procurement? 

Mobile procurement is the automated procurement process, which can also be managed through mobile devices. Thus, the employees or managers do not need a laptop to access the platform to complete specific tasks, e.g., the approval stage in a workflow. 

Who is Involved in the Procurement? 

In mobile procurement, key people involved are buyers, sellers (vendors/suppliers), and stakeholders (organizations). 

Buyers are members of the procurement team responsible for business purchasing. The responsibilities include selecting the items, negotiating process, and setting payment terms. 

Sellers are vendors and suppliers who provide goods and services needed for the organization. For instance, raw materials such as mood for organizations producing furniture. 

Finally, stakeholders are those who have an interest when it comes to the outcomes of purchasing decisions. Examples include upper management, the finance department, the legal department, and, in some cases, external organizations and parties, e.g., the government. 

Examples of Mobile Procurement 

To understand mobile procurement better, let’s take a look at a few examples of what can be accomplished with it. 

With mobile procurement, the organization/procurement team can: 

• Set approval workflows and continuously track and approve purchase orders. 
• Set notifications regarding inventory levels to place timely POs. 
• Create and manage invoices for the approved POs. 
• Collaborate with suppliers in real-time and negotiate contracts. 

Everything that can be accomplished on a laptop with dedicated procurement software can also be accomplished via mobile.

Importance of Mobile Procurement 

Mobile procurement made the P2P (procure to pay) process more accessible and efficient for organizations. Each process, from PO creation to supplier relationship management, is elevated and transparent. 

Mobile procurement solutions are essentially cloud-based and accessible from any device whether mobile or a tablet. Also, they are accessible from traditional laptops and PCs. These solutions allow for centralized procurement management, which contributes to higher cost savings, increased visibility, and transparency within the organization. 

Advantages of Mobile Procurement 

Mobile procurement solutions come in handy with a variety of benefits. The advantages vary from better accessibility and transparency to higher efficiency. Thus, let’s briefly overview each of them in more detail. 

Better Technological Toolkit 

Mobile procurement offers robust automation to enhance the efficiency of the process. Mobile procurement solution offers users a better technological toolkit by providing tools such as: 

• Push notifications. These help to notify personnel responsible for workflow approval stages to reduce time spent on approvals. 
• Cameras. Smartphone cameras are incredible tools for visual documentation. Thus, mobile procurement allows the use of cameras to optimize procurement further. 
• Flexibility. Mobile procurement solutions can be accessed anywhere at any time. Thus, when there is an emergency, it can be promptly addressed to minimize consequences. 

Increased Visibility 

Mobile procurement also equips users with better real-time visibility. The team members can use the procurement apps to get real-time updates regarding certain contracts/documents or processes at any time. 

Enhanced Collaboration 

Mobile procurement apps help to improve collaboration within the team and with the suppliers. The collaboration tools offered allow for instant messaging and real-time notifications. This allows for efficient contract terms negotiations. 

A supporting report by Spend Matters states that businesses using mobile procurement solutions experience around a 20% increase in collaboration with suppliers. This contributes to building stronger relationships with the vendors and improving the trust factor. 

Increased Cost Savings 

One of the main goals of procurement is to reduce costs and maximize savings to improve cash flow. Well, this is possible more than ever with mobile procurement solutions. 

Mobile procurement apps allow tracking every aspect of procurement and identifying areas for cost savings with ease. 

Business Process Improvements 

With greater speed, efficiency, and better access, the procurement process will improve across the board. Mobile devices allow procurement team members to create/approve/edit easily and track procurement processes while always receiving real-time updates. 

Flexibility and Speed 

First of all, mobile procurement provides better access and flexibility to the teams. For instance, the workflows can be sped up and approved faster than ever. 

Increased Efficiency 

Digital procurement increases efficiency and significantly reduces time spent on completing procurement transactions. 

For instance, your team, instead of manually filling in the POs and approving invoices, can set automated workflows. These workflows will be triggered by pacific action and complete the set stages in a matter of minutes. Thus, the team members can focus on more strategic tasks for the business. 

Accenture conducted a supporting study regarding mobile procurement reducing time spent on transaction times. It proved that transaction times can be reduced by up to 60% with e-procurement. 

Improved Decision-Making 

Real-time data access and visibility allow for better decision-making regarding procurement. This overall contributes to meeting company-wide goals and objectives faster and more efficiently.

How to Implement Mobile Procurement Solution? 

In order to successfully implement a mobile procurement solution, you will need to complete three essential steps. Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail. 

Research and Choose the Right Mobile Procurement Solution 

First, choose the right mobile procurement solution. The research step comes in handy during this stage. Conduct research and identify top tools to consider. 

To make sure the tool works on mobile devices or tablets, prioritize cloud-based solutions. These also provide improved scalability opportunities. 

Other criteria to look at when choosing a mobile procurement solution are 

• Good user interface. Make sure the software solution is easy to use and mobile responsive, as it will contribute to time savings and improve user experience. 
• Integration capabilities. When choosing procurement software, ensure it integrates with third-party applications and tools, e.g., accounting tools such as QuickBooks and NetSuite. 
• Check out the security measures. Procurement involves vital data that must be protected. Thus, choose a solution that complies with high-security standards. 
• Data analytics and real-time data access. This feature is vital as it will improve decision-making, allowing you to efficiently analyze and evaluate different procurement processes, from spend management to supplier performance. 
• Availability of collaboration and communication tools. To improve supplier relationships, make sure the mobile procurement solution of your choice offers collaboration features. 

To efficiently manage procurement via mobile devices, also make sure the software offers inventory management, spend visibility, PO, contract and invoice management tools, reporting tools, and a three-way matching system. 

Set User Roles and Permissions and Monitor Results

The next step is to set user roles and permissions. This will help to clarify the role and responsibilities of each procurement team member to ensure an effective mobile procurement process. 

Make sure team members comply with the set policies and requirements and keep track of system usage. This will allow you to track activity and understand how well the procurement process works. 

Also, do not forget to monitor areas such as supplier performance and spend visibility to gain valuable insights for informed decision-making. 

Train Your Employees 

Finally, conduct proper employee onboarding and training to ensure optimal performance and productive usage of mobile procurement solutions. 

Employee onboarding and comprehensive training will allow your team to learn the software and new processes better. Thus, it will contribute to further efficiency. 

Take Advantage of Mobile Procurement Starting Today 

Incorporate effective mobile solutions into your procurement processes to maximize ROI and reach higher operational efficiency. You need a high-quality mobile procurement solution to do all of the above. 

Tradogram is an all-in-one, cloud-based procurement solution that provides access on any device, including mobile. Thus, when there is a need to access relevant data or make an important decision quickly, you will always have access to the platform, no matter where you are. 

Tradogram comes in handy with features that allow the automation of every process regarding procurement, from POs and invoice management to supplier and inventory management. Schedule a free demo to find out how we can help you leverage mobile procurement.