Procol • November 22, 2021 • 5 min read

E-Procurement Vs Traditional Procurement

Procurement, one of the crucial business functions, is the act of acquiring goods or services on a large scale for seamless operations. Considering the impact of digital transformation, decision-makers are confused regarding whether they should turn to traditional procurement or e-procurement.

With the help of this article, you will get a better understanding of both e-procurement and traditional procurement so that you can take a better course of action for business continuity. Let’s get started:

Why is e-procurement being considered over traditional procurement?

Traditional procurement heavily relies on manual work and consumes ample time because it involves a lot of paperwork, a myriad of follow-up calls, etc. Besides being difficult to handle, it influences overall business operations negatively. In addition, you end up scratching your head due to a lack of visibility.

On the other hand, e-procurement, also known as electronic procurement and supplier exchange, gives an immersive experience to its adopters because it simplifies buying & selling, promises cost savings, saves a significant amount of time, and improves the entire supply line. It happens because the whole procurement process takes place over a web interface.

Who wins the battle between e-procurement and traditional procurement?

Since we know why e-procurement is being prioritized over traditional procurement, let’s dig deeper to learn which one will be the best for your business:

Traditional Procurement	E-Procurement
Procurement officers have to go through several suppliers’ catalogs without even knowing whether they are offering any discount or not. In addition, they have to connect with suppliers over numerous phone calls. As a negative consequence, it kills a lot of time.	Procurement officers get a mesmerizing experience because they can easily compare a multitude of online catalogs and connect with the suitable supplier instantly to confirm the availability of required products. In short, e-procurement cuts all the hassle and saves plenty of time for procurement officers.
In traditional procurement, a purchase requisition is complicated because you have to create a comprehensive list containing the names and prices of all required items.	In e-procurement, a purchase requisition seems easier because it gets created and approved by the system running on predefineds conditions.
Purchase orders get created and approved manually. Once done, vendors get contacted via fax or couriers for the further process. This traditional approach consumes a notable amount of time, which affects business operations negatively in later stages.	In e-procurement, everything takes place online, right from purchase order creation to approval. Procurement officers also get the confirmation from the vendor instantly, since the whole process happens online. In short, they enjoy time savings.
Order tracking feels to be annoying because procurement officers have to get in touch with suppliers over and over to learn about orders’ whereabouts.	E-procurement makes order tracking effortless because procurement officers can check orders’ whereabouts online with an expected delivery date.

This comparison table clearly shows that e-procurement is a far better choice than traditional procurement for business owners. Hence, it would be wise to invest in a well-developed eProcurement platform to gain long-term benefits.

Not convinced enough to switch to an eProcurement platform? Well, pay attention to the following details to comprehend what benefits it brings to the table

Why should businesses bring eProcurement software into their operations?

Here are the top 3 reasons why businesses should invest in a feature-rich eProcurement software:

Brings underperforming suppliers to the light

Generally, procurement managers are unclear about the supplier’s performance because they don’t track it regularly. The reason being is manual evaluation causes a lot of hassle and kills a significant amount of time, as procurement managers have to go through a pile of data. Owing to this, underperforming suppliers easily fly under the radar and negatively impact business productivity.

This is where the significance of eProcurement software amplifies because it shows up-to-date and consistent information, which enables procurement managers to check each supplier’s performance and identify those who are falling behind.

Aids in supplier management

One of the major benefits of using eProcurement software is it streamlines data processes to make collaboration painless and strengthen supplier relationships.

It makes things easier with respect to communication, transactions, and issue resolution. Furthermore, it enables procurement managers to view any information related to suppliers instantly, which, in turn, lets them manage all suppliers like a pro.

Prevents approval bottlenecks

As discussed earlier, traditional procurement heavily relies on manual intervention, spreadsheets, calls, emails, etc. Due to this, things get delayed, regardless of how urgent they are. It’s a no-brainer that delayed approvals take the whole process off the track. In addition, human errors also take place to make the situation worse.

Here, feature-rich eProcurement software comes into the picture and helps to prevent approval bottlenecks so that everything gets executed at the right time. In addition, it preempts purchase risks with role-based accessibility, protects classified data, and limits access to sensitive information during the procurement cycle.

Additionally, bringing procurement and finance teams on an eProcurement platform could make their life easier, as they will be able to carry out administrative tasks like doing arithmetic calculations (field-level), adhering to deadlines, etc. without breaking a sweat.

Conclusion:

E-Procurement is no longer an optional choice for businesses because it overshadows traditional procurement in all departments. And you must have felt the same while reading this article. Therefore, it is highly advisable to bring unparalleled eProcurement software into operations if you want to accomplish optimal efficiency, time savings, transparency in the system, cost-effectiveness, etc.

Besides comparing traditional procurement with eProcurement, we have discussed the top 3 reasons why you need to drop the old-school approach and leverage unrivaled eProcurement software to increase business longevity.

In case you don’t know which eProcurement software would be good for your business, you can join forces with Procol, a renowned all-in-one procurement software solution provider that can help your organization in the long run.

Thanks for reading 🙂