Author: Kanupriya Tripathi, SCM Consultant, Namos Solutions
Oracle Cloud Procurement uses cutting-edge technologies to assist enterprises in streamlining, standardising, and automating their source-to-settle process, giving them more control over spending and procurement procedures. As a result, costs are reduced and profit margins are increased. It also improves user engagement, collaboration, and the simplification, standardisation, and automation of regular transactions.
The comprehensive toolkit provided by Oracle Advanced Procurement Modules is developed to optimise every step of the procurement process. These modules are intended to assist businesses in increasing productivity, reducing costs, and developing stronger supplier relationships. Organisations can streamline the selection, negotiation, contract administration, and qualification procedures for suppliers by using tools like Oracle Sourcing, Procurement Contracts, and Supplier Qualification management (SQM). These modules equip companies to take well-informed decisions, ensure compliance, minimise risk, and improve supplier cooperation. Companies may increase their procurement performance and accomplish their strategic sourcing objectives by utilising Oracle’s powerful advanced procurement solutions.
To address challenges in procurement processes, such as maximising supplier collaboration, automating purchase requisitions, streamlining supplier selection, improving contract management, and improving spend visibility, it is necessary to design and implement the advanced procurement modules within Oracle Fusion.
Many firms are unable to source all of their spending in order to save the most money because strategic sourcing is historically a time-consuming and difficult procedure. There are a number of important advantages to using the Oracle Sourcing module, including improved cost savings from competitive bidding and supplier selection, improved supplier collaboration, better negotiation management, and simpler procurement procedures. Additionally, it offers monitoring and analytics capabilities for enhanced decision-making and aids in enforcing adherence to procurement policies. Oracle Sourcing expands the sourcing capabilities of procurement experts, enabling them to take advantage of more opportunities for cost savings and to maximise each one. Participants from various organisations can easily exchange information, conduct bid and auction processes, and build and implement agreements when working together and negotiating online. Online information sharing between suppliers, business experts, and professional buyers enables more accurate and swift sourcing. Additionally, the program significantly shortens the sourcing cycle time and generates a thorough audit trail of supplier promises.
The Oracle Procurement Contracts module provides a number of important advantages, including standard contract creation and management, improved adherence to terms and conditions, improved supplier relationships through open communication, streamlined approval workflows, decreased risks due to better contract visibility, and the capacity to effectively monitor contract performance and renewals. The module’s reporting and analytics capabilities also enable effective contract negotiations and aid in better decision-making.
The Oracle Supplier Qualification Management (SQM) module offers a number of important advantages, including improved supplier assessment and qualification procedures, improved supplier collaboration and communication, simplified supplier onboarding, better risk management through in-depth supplier evaluations, increased compliance with external standards and industry regulations, and the capacity to track improvement over time. The module also provides analytics and reporting capabilities to support data-driven supplier management choices.
A number of significant sectors have used advanced procurement modules to improve cost control, increase efficiency, and streamline their purchasing procedures. Manufacturing, healthcare, retail, technology, and the auto industry are a few of these sectors. Features like automated supplier selection, real-time data analytics, predictive analytics, and supply chain optimisation are frequently included in these advanced modules.
Implementation Efforts:
The implementation of Advanced Procurement Modules, like those provided by Oracle, is a significant undertaking that calls for careful planning, qualified personnel, and a methodical approach. These modules are made to improve supplier relationships, procurement efficiency overall, and an organisation’s procurement processes. The main activities and actions needed to execute Advanced Procurement Modules are listed below:
- Assessment and Planning:
- Determine the precise requirements and goals of your company. What problems do you aim to solve with your present procurement procedure?
- Establish specific objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs) to gauge the implementation’s success.
- Assemble a project team with the required knowledge, including project managers, IT experts, and procurement specialists.
- Customisation and Configuration:
- Customise and configure the software to meet the unique requirements of your firm. This could entail specifying user roles, approval protocols, and purchase policies.
- Integrate the procurement modules with other currently in use systems, such as finance software or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.
- Data Migration:
- Create a plan for and carry out a data transfer from legacy systems to Oracle Advanced Procurement modules. During the migration process, make sure the data is accurate and complete.
- Training:
- To ensure that end users—including suppliers and procurement staff—can utilise the new system efficiently, comprehensive training should be provided.
- Testing:
- Thoroughly test the system to find any problems or defects and fix them. Functional, integration, and user acceptance testing are included in this.
- Go-Live:
- Prepare for and carry out the system go-live. During the early phase, keep a close eye on the system to quickly address any problems.
- Post-Implementation Support:
- Provide users with on-going support and handle any post-implementation problems or improvements.
- Supplier Collaboration:
- Encourage and support suppliers in using the Oracle Supplier Portal.
- Documentation:
- Maintain thorough records of system setups, procedures, and user manuals for future training and reference.
- Change Management:
- Create a change management strategy to facilitate an easy transfer for staff members to the new system. Discuss the system’s advantages and all potential issues.
When properly deployed, Oracle Advanced Procurement modules can dramatically improve an organisation’s procurement efficiency and effectiveness. Successful change management, cautious planning, and continuous maintenance and optimisation efforts are all necessary for success. Working with seasoned Oracle consultants or implementation partners is frequently advised to guarantee a successful implementation.
Namos recently implemented Advanced Procurement Modules at a UK Council
Sourcing, Supplier Qualification Management, and a Supplier Portal were among the sophisticated procurement modules that the Council decided to deploy in order to improve efficiency and streamline their procurement procedures.
Oracle Sourcing’s deployment made it possible for the Council to find products and services quickly. Involved in this are the development and administration of RFQs, RFPs. These tools can be used by the Council to bargain with suppliers for better conditions and prices.
For a council, maintaining a supplier database is essential. Oracle Supplier Qualification Management offers tools for tracking supplier compliance, rating supplier performance, and maintaining an exhaustive supplier database. This guarantees that the council is collaborating with trustworthy and law-abiding vendors.
The Council that we worked with was able to manage and implement pre-defined qualifying requirements for suppliers, enable by Oracle SQM. This involves confirming that suppliers adhere to particular statutory, regulatory, and financial criteria. A crucial step in ensuring that suppliers are qualified to take part in procurement activities is supplier qualification.
Now the Council aims to give vendors self-service capabilities through the Oracle supplier portal, enabling them to manage their own profiles and update contact information. This makes it easier to guarantee that supplier data is correct and current. Requests for quotations (RFQs) and tenders published by the council are available to suppliers. Through the platform, they can electronically submit their proposals and quotes, expediting the bidding procedure. Electronic invoice submission from suppliers speeds up the billing and payment process. This lessens the paperwork and mistakes that come with managing invoices by hand.
Namos Solutions
Namos Solutions has extensive experience implementing Oracle Cloud products both in the Public Sector and in the Private Sector. We are always happy to talk with you about the steps you can take in order to streamline your workflow practices. To get in touch – Click Here.
