The e-Procurement
Process:
A Quick Guide by

1. Figure Out What You Need
● Is it a product or a service? Both?
● Pros of using an e-procurement platform:
○ Request time and date are well-documented.
○ Requests can be easily and quickly passed to the
relevant people electronically (ex: for approval).
(which leads to):
Faster order processing that
can be tracked and expected
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2. Evaluate Suppliers
● A great relationship with a trusted supplier is priceless!
● If you're getting started, look for suppliers registered
with a [inter]national association.
○ Ex: If you are in manufacturing, SAE International has a
vast database of suppliers in several categories.
● Is your supplier certified to meet [inter]national quality
standards?
Proqur tip: Ask for 3-5 client names from each supplier to conduct a basic
background check.
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2. Evaluate Suppliers (cont'd)
● Minimize surprises by negotiating terms and
conditions with each supplier before adding them to
your approved suppliers list.
● Pros of using an e-procurement platform:
○ A centralized system can be used to track and compare supplier
performance based on:
■ Quality
■ Cost
■ On-time Delivery
Proqur tip: Create a supplier scorecard to evaluate them on key metrics
(not just price) that bring value your business.
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3. Request for Quote, Review, and
Place Order
● Request quotes from your list of approved
suppliers.
● Review and compare the quotes to reach a
decision:
○ Based on quality, cost, delivery, etc.
● Submit a Purchase Order (PO) to the
chosen supplier.
○ Be sure to include in this document, all the key terms
and agreements you developed earlier
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3. Request for Quote, Review, and
Place Order (cont'd)
● Pros of using an e-procurement platform:
○ All of the bids will be submitted electronically, to one
central place.
Allows for an easier, side-by-side comparison,
and for historical reference.
○ POs can be sent and received electronically.
○ The platform can time the entire bidding, review,
and ordering phases.
Collect info on how to improve and
streamline your procurement process.
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4. Order Fulfillment and Receipt
● This is one of the most important periods of
communication between the buyer and supplier, but
it's often overlooked.
● Suppliers should provide regular updates on the status
of an order.
● Time is also spent internally between employees asking
for status updates.
● Once the order is received/fulfilled, a proper inspection
must ensure that all criteria are met
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4. Order Fulfillment & Receipt
(cont'd)
● Pros of using an e-procurement platform:
○ Improved communication between everyone
involved in the purchasing process by:
■ Automatically notifying relevant stakeholders
when key milestones are reached
■ Creating transparency
■ Processing payments on time
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5. Measure Performance
● The basic idea is: rinse and repeat.
● An ideal e-procurement system will be able
to present all the tracked data in an
actionable format.
This allows you to easily:
● Measure supplier performance
● Identify bottlenecks in your purchasing
process
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Thank You!
We hope this was a helpful synopsis for you. If
you have any questions or comments, please
let us know (hello@proqur.com).
Happy Procurement!
About Proqur
We are a group of folks with backgrounds in aerospace and computer engineering, who believe
procurement software can be better. It can improve not only productivity, but also strengthen the
relationship with your suppliers. Want to learn more?
Check us out http://proqur.com | @proqur | facebook.com/proqur
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