Remote Procurement: Building a Successful Process

Introduction:

In today’s fast-changing business environment, procurement managers must develop solid supply chains, source prudently, and optimise people and procedures. Climate change, geopolitical turmoil, and health catastrophes like COVID-19 have underlined the need for prudent procurement. Remote procurement management is feasible in the “new normal”. Innovative procurement methods and digital technology may enhance processes, meet demands, and produce economic value during big disruptions. This complex environment requires a remote procurement approach that prioritises cooperation, communication, and team needs.

Remote procurement management matters

Chief procurement officers (CPOs), senior procurement managers, and other procurement professionals were investing in remote working for their teams before the coronavirus epidemic to promote agility and business continuity.

Modern digital tools, such as Planergy’s automation, data management, and analytics, allowed teams to collaborate on global procurement across time zones as well as in a shared workspace.

These solutions for remote work are even more crucial as firms worldwide deal with the pandemic’s aftermath.

Protecting employee health (mental and spiritual as well as physical) and complying with government requirements while establishing and implementing a winning procurement strategy has led organisations to update their procurement procedures to satisfy stakeholder expectations.

By moving procurement jobs, processes, and strategies to the cloud, procurement specialists are closing the gaps created by social distancing and the supply chain challenges created by COVID-19 and other disruptors.

Remote work has significant company and employee benefits when managed well.

Worker productivity, job happiness, and work-life balance improve. They work longer, live healthier, and are more devoted to their employers.

Companies that want to compete in the global market need a clear and comprehensive remote procurement plan to attract top talent and ensure procurement and other departments support organisational goals for growth, innovation, and competitive performance with every purchase. 83% of survey respondents said they’d be happier working remotely for the foreseeable future.

Procurement professionals are moving procurement tasks, procedures, and tactics to the cloud to address social distance and COVID-19 and other supply chain issues.

Tips for Successful Remote Procurement

Following some fundamental best practices, you can build and run a successful remote procurement program, whether you had one before the pandemic or started from zero.

1. Know Your Needs

Starting with remote procurement involves a thorough examination of your present capabilities and business goals. It also requires knowledge of dispersed remote work procurement issues like:

• Finding technologies that remove paper-based procedures (even approvals!), in-person meetings, and onsite PCs and software.
• Facilitating procurement team communication and collaboration.
• Possible workflow, hierarchy, and responsibility confusion.
• Logistics of buying and delivering products and services.

These questions might help you clarify these difficulties and your requirements and goals:

• What tools and software, including training, does the procurement team require to complete their jobs?
• How can we move paper documents and manual procedures online while maintaining data security, access, and accountability?
• To move to remote procurement, what new occupations or job titles will be needed, and how will they be filled? Internally or through employment ads?
• They need how many years of experience and what skills? Will they work part-time? Full-time?
• To guarantee procurement specialists and analysts have the communication and technical abilities to work remotely, what extra requirements would be needed?
• How will we assess our remote procurement program, including KPIs, benchmarks, etc.? What software tools are needed to evaluate and improve our processes?
• Answering these questions can help you create rules that match your needs and manage your remote staff efficiently.

2. Select software tools

Your team will require a mix of gear and common software to work together despite different locations and schedules.

Considerations include:

• Hardware consistency. Your procurement team must have suitable equipment for the applications you’ll need, whether your organisation distributes laptops, printers, etc. or asks contractors to furnish their own. Having the same video camera and microphone model will simplify setting up communication software and reduce the need for advanced troubleshooting (since everyone will have the same repair instructions or can quickly get a functional replacement from inventory).
• Software-wise, ensure sure everyone has a machine that meets (or exceeds) application memory, graphics, and operating system requirements. Starting with compliant and compatible hardware ensures everyone uses the same software environment and has all the capabilities they need to work together.
• Finally, simplify access to vital supplies for all team members. Automated approvals for purchases in certain categories and with precise price criteria make it easier for team members to keep stocked, capture expenditure data, and stay on budget.
• Communicate and cooperate. Modern procurement teams span time zones and countries, so you need real-time and time-delayed communication capabilities. Buy a collaboration software like Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, etc. to help the team, particular groups (like a project manager and their team), and individuals have private talks.
• Zoom and DialPad enable face-to-face conversation. Adobe Acrobat and Docusign enable securely sharing and signing business-critical documents easier.
• A complete cloud-based procure-to-pay system. This is key to sustained, best-in-class remote procurement. P2P solutions like Planergy:
• Manages data centrally. All expenditure data is collected and kept in one location, where it can be tracked and analysed or combined with other data to generate strategic insights.
• Unifies your software. Templates and standardisation eliminate data silos, and levelled, role-appropriate access secures but makes data accessible, allowing teams to share and contribute without workarounds.
• AI-powered automation streamlines high-volume procedures and eliminates paper and human workflows. Eliminating human error and reducing oversight improves accuracy and speed.
• Reduces procurement lifecycle time, enhancing efficiency and allowing more time for strategic sourcing, financial planning, and decision making. Shorter purchase order and invoice processing lifecycles help deploy resources, commodities, and services more effectively, while accounts payable has more time to obtain early payment discounts or postpone payment until the due date.
• Simplifies supplier integration and communication. Support for punch-out catalogues, vendor portals, contract administration, category management, and inventory management simplify the creation and enforcement of guided buying rules.
• Make every purchase from a favourite provider at the best price and conditions.
• Collaborative and data-driven vendor management monitors and enforces supplier compliance.

3. Implement policies that match your evolving demands.

Companies will have different distant procurement rules. You can sustain your remote procurement program by creating and implementing policies and regulations that meet your changing demands.

• Set and enforce communication policies.
• Daily procurement-wide meetings ensure everyone knows the day’s priorities and gets the latest information.
• Category and project managers should have frequent team meetings for the same reason. Teams in different time zones might rotate hosting or do catch-up sessions for absentees.
• Give everyone a chance to speak to create trust and friendship.
• Promote creativity and innovation.
• Ensure everyone uses approved communication and collaboration technologies to prevent data loss, security, and misunderstanding.
• Rethink fundamental processes to use new tools.
• Make sure everyone knows their procurement system job and receives software training.
• Replace manual workflows and paper documents with online ones first.
• Ensure all buyers follow authorised, documented purchasing policy, including contract negotiations, guided buying, and supplier relationship management.
• Ensure everyone in the company understands and accepts the new practices.
• Use benchmarks, metrics, and process analysis in all processes and routinely examine them to find areas for improvement or correction.
• Use cross-functional cooperation to cover all tasks without a single point of failure if a team member leaves or retires. Cross-functional training helps with compliance by separating jobs and preventing invoice fraud, theft, and maverick spending.
• If you create procurement team and organisation policies, make sure:

Clearly written policies and procedures.

All stakeholders received these policies and procedures.

Verified stakeholders’ reading, understanding, and agreement to these rules and procedures (e.g., electronic signature).

Provided frequent updates to ensure everyone gets the newest and most accurate procurement policy and practice.

Successful remote procurement is possible

Digital transformation has emancipated your company operations from brick-and-mortar.

Remote procurement saves money and makes your company more adaptable and robust, allowing you to handle global procurement difficulties with simplicity and confidence.

Invest in your procurement team’s tools, prioritise cooperation and communication, and build and execute new procurement and team management procedures to ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards your organization’s development.

Conclusion:

Remote procurement gives organisations the flexibility and resilience to face global market challenges. A successful remote procurement plan requires the correct technologies, good communication and teamwork, and constant process improvement. This method reduces costs, enhances agility, and guarantees procurement teams can support organisational development and innovation. Businesses can effectively handle procurement problems and prosper in a changing environment with a well-implemented remote procurement plan.