True or false: procurement and supply chain management is all about cost. False. Yes, cost is a driving factor. But procurement and supply chain teams today are focused more on overall value than cost. Value means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For leading organizations though, value is often determined by assessing a total cost of ownership (TCO) for a product, service, or SaaS solution.
SRM Software: The Details
Perhaps you’ve already got a solid grasp of the importance of supplier relationship management. However, it is just as crucial that your supply chain and procurement teams have the same comprehensive understanding. Supplier relationship management (SRM) is a complex part of the procurement process with a lot of layers. And because it’s complex, many companies either don’t have a strategic approach for it or have one they don’t maintain. Supplier relationship management is critical for optimizing value and lowering your organization’s TCO.
The most compelling way to do that is to utilize procurement technology like supplier relationship management software. SRM software centralizes supplier-related data, helps select fitting suppliers, analyzes their performance, and identifies related risks to improve supplier collaboration planning and management.
SRM Software: The Benefits
SRM software is a game-changer, helping you level up on your supplier relations and put time back into your days for other strategic initiatives. Here are some ways you can benefit from supplier relationship management software:
- Supplier onboarding – with the right SRM application, you can streamline the entire onboarding process into one platform. As a result, nearly all of the time currently spent on supplier onboarding can be reallocated to strategic sourcing and other efforts that will move the needle on your organization’s bottom line.
- Supplier performance management – supplier relationship management software efficiently tracks supplier performance and gives you the tools needed to provide periodic supplier scorecards.
- Spend management – In many cases, spend management is a module or component of supplier relationship management software. The right tools to monitor and control spending, especially for SaaS stacks, are vital to an organization’s short and long-term success. It may sound crazy, but it isn’t uncommon to find that up to 80% of all invoices result from rogue spending. Spend management gives leaders the oversight they need to rein in rogue spending and make informed and strategic decisions.
SRM Software: The Must-Have Features
Supplier relationship management software offers a lot of value-added benefits. But to realize your organizational goals, it’s essential to define some functionality an SRM tool needs. Here are some SRM must-haves:
- Prospective supplier registration
- Streamlined supplier onboarding with a supplier data repository
- Supplier segmentation
- Supplier self-service dashboard
- Spend management and contract management
- Automated workflows
- User-friendly and intuitive end-user dashboard
- Real-time end-user feedback
- Configurable email and text notifications
- 360-degree supplier performance assessments
- Seamless integration with ERP and other procurement software.
- Tracking and reporting of KPIs and other metrics
Looking for Robust SRM Software?
Software Contract Solutions offers consulting and development services to help you implement custom or platform-based SRM software fitting your business specifics. Contact us for your free consultation!