Managing your laboratory can be an exciting and fulfilling vocation. Being the one responsible for the environment that allows scientists to make great and important discoveries is a pivotal role in a scientific organization. A major contributor to the optimization of the lab is making sure scientists have the products and equipment they need when they need them and that is often a full-time job. This is where an eProcurement system can help not only make it easier, but also cheaper, and less stressful for everyone.
What is an eProcurement system?
An eProcurement system is a tool that allows the purchase of goods and services through the internet from a centralized interface that often provides access to special suppliers’ eCommerce sites called Punchouts or frequently updated electronic catalogs, while automating order management with workflow approvals, electronic purchase orders, order acknowledgements, shipping notifications, and invoices. More advanced systems allow integrations with accounting, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and inventory management systems.
What are the benefits of an eProcurement system?
There are many benefits that can be realized when using an eProcurement system. Depending on the organization size, segment, and industry, certain benefits have a bigger impact than others. The most common benefits include time savings, cost savings, consolidated views and reporting, audit trails and error reductions.
Time savings and increased productivity
Management of multiple orders can be very time–consuming when not using a tool to keep them organized. A proper eProcurement system will alleviate much of the time to manage orders by:
- allowing anyone to shop from approved suppliers, reducing lab managers involvement in sourcing
- automatically following rules-based approval workflows and notifying approvers when approvals are necessary
- aggregating all orders from all suppliers for simple tracking and status updates and notifying stakeholders when there are updates on their orders such as shipping, delivery, and items received notifications
- enabling Accounts Payable compliance by providing an easy 3-way match of the Purchase Order, Goods Receipt, and Invoice to pay the supplier
- automatically associating invoices that are sent electronically from suppliers
- integrating with commonly used accounting and ERP systems for reconciling purchases and prompt bill payment
Cost savings
Having control over spending is an important requirement for a financially sustainable organization. eProcurement systems can help an organization save money through workflow approvals, enforcing approved suppliers, and leveraging pricing agreements and volume discounts.
Workflow approvals
Trying to manage spending without a good workflow approval system can be difficult if not impossible. Workflow approvals can help protect against duplicate purchases and rogue spending. Ideally, a workflow approval system is built in or integrated to the purchasing system to ensure all purchases are protected. Rules-based workflow approval options include:
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- Approvals based on purchase amount
- Multi-level approvals
- Approver pools
Limited supplier choice
One important aspect of purchasing is based on taking advantage of established pricing agreements and supplier volume discounts. This is important as scientists often buy items directly from manufacturers unaware of agreements with distributors that can save the company a substantial amount of money. Some suppliers offer additional discounts for electronically submitted orders, which is another added benefit of using an eProcurement system.
Consolidated views and reporting
Order management is another area where good eProcurement systems can help lab managers do their job. Rather than relying on email notifications from multiple suppliers or having to login to various supplier portals to get status updates on in-flight orders, an eProcurement system, when implemented properly, maintains visibility of all orders in all phases of the purchasing lifecycle. By virtue of aggregating all purchasing data, reports can be available at the click of a button.
Audit trails and error reductions
Lastly, an eProcurement system provides peace of mind for lab managers by letting them track down modifications or errors, since every operation of a purchase is recorded with names and timestamps.
An eProcurement system can be a highly useful tool to help manage a lab and ensure that all the resources, tools, equipment, reagents and consumables are available to scientists as they need them. As a partner for the lab, Thermo Fisher Scientific offers solutions that will help meet your needs. Learn more about Thermo Fisher eProcurement Manager on our website.
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