Get the Best Deals with Suppliers

Editor’s note: In this article, we review features and benefits of eSourcing software. If you’re looking to improve the speed and efficiency of sourcing activities in your company, you are welcome to turn to ScienceSoft’s software consulting assistance for a roadmap to implement a fitting eSourcing solution.

eSourcing software equips procurement teams with digital tools to streamline and optimize all parts of the sourcing process, such as supplier onboarding and qualification, sourcing events management, contract management, and more.

What is offered within eSourcing software: functionality and benefits

The core features of eSourcing solutions include:

• Supplier onboarding via configurable registration forms, commonly available to suppliers as a self-service option, automated supplier pre-qualification against compliance requirements, and setup of supplier approval workflows.
• RFx management via collaboration tools to establish product or service requirements and decide upon the best-fitting suppliers together with involved stakeholders, RFx templates, automated scoring and cross-comparison of supplier proposals.
• eActions management with template-based creation of eAuction events, setup of nomination criteria (assigning weights to cost, quality and capacity criteria, etc.) and bidding conditions, real-time eAuction monitoring and update notifications to participants.
• Contract management with centralized contract repository, contract templates, automated contract routing for approval of internal stakeholders, alerts on contract expiry. Access to contract information can be limited based on user roles.
• Supplier data management with supplier profiles storage, supplier product or service catalogs creation, a search engine to easily retrieve necessary data, and self-service capabilities for suppliers to update their information.
• Supplier performance monitoring against pre-defined KPIs.

With eSourcing software implemented, your company can reduce sourcing cycle times, negotiate lower prices for products and services, and minimize supplier compliance risks.

Top eSourcing software products

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management (Procurement & Sourcing Module)

The product centralizes all supplier information, enables setup of automated approval workflows (for new supplier registration requests, etc.), RFQ management, bids assessment and collaborative supplier selection, creation of approved supplier lists for particular products or services.

Pricing: starting at $180 per user/month.

Oracle Supply Chain Management: Procurement

The product has intuitive tools for collaboration on supplier requirements gathering, side-by-side comparison of supplier proposals, dashboards for monitoring progress on sourcing activities and tracking sourcing KPIs, a unified contract repository and contract expiry alerts.

Pricing: starting at $400 per user/month.

SAP Ariba: Strategic Sourcing Suite

The product offers automated approval workflows for sourcing projects, simple RFx event creation and management via user-friendly dashboards, centralized bid monitoring, award optimization via bids analysis, supplier performance management through scorecards and qualification matrixes.

Pricing: by request to the vendor.

Source the best products and services cost-efficiently

If you see the need to strengthen your supplier network and sourcing decisions with eSourcing software, the next step is to identify the right product. Our consulting team is ready to select eSourcing software that would address your strategic sourcing objectives and integrate well with existing sourcing workflows, or design and plan the implementation of a tailored custom solution. Feel free to get in touch with us to discuss your project.