For most businesses, their ability to operate normally relies heavily on their ability to consistently procure the items they need for their operations. Whether it's the raw materials for a manufacturing business or the regular staples for a restaurant, the key lies in consistent and precise procurement of their supplies.
From seamless purchases and supplier management to managing contracts and inventory, there are a lot of pieces that need to work in tandem for the procurement process to go smoothly. And the central piece of that process is procurement software or PO software, as it is generally called.
There are currently hundreds of procurement software in the market - obviously some better than others, but overall, most of them have the same set of common features. Pick any software at random and you’ll get the basic features like Requisitions, POs, RFQs, etc. But that isn’t necessarily the best system for you.
What makes procurement software the best suited for you is its ability to address your unique pain points. If you aren’t even sure what features you need, here’s a checklist, a sort of buyer’s guide that you can use.
That said, there are some overarching features all procurement software must have to make the cut:
Modular
Depending on the features, procurement software can have varying degrees of complexity - from a simple system to create POs to a full-fledged enterprise-level procurement platform. In that case, you neither want to go with a simple system that lacks many of the features you might need nor do you want to pay for a large system with all features that you’ll never use.
The best approach is to go for a modular solution that lets you pick and choose the features you need and pay only for that. This way, you even get the flexibility of starting small and adding on more features as you need.
Cloud-based
In this age of distributed and remote work environments, it should go without saying that cloud-based procurement software is the only feasible option. Your purchases might need approvals from multiple people from multiple departments and you don’t want your POs to get stuck until they all physically walk into the office and approve it.
With a cloud-based PO system, your procurement process can run much more smoothly and save significant time.
Inventory Management
Typically, businesses use two different systems for purchasing and inventory management. And that's okay if you have an intricate system in place. For instance, if you have to manage warehouses or supply chains, you should invest in dedicated inventory software. But for most businesses, the inventory management needs are quite simple and closely tied to their purchasing.
There is certain procurement software like Bellwether that offer both purchasing and inventory capabilities and thus can save you a lot of money and hassle by enabling you to manage both the processes from a single system.
Integrations
Whichever procurement software you choose must have robust integration with all the systems you use. For instance, if your procurement software doesn’t integrate well with your accounting software, it’s not worth the trouble or investment.
Customized Reporting
Depending on the size of your organization, the procurement software might be used by 10s to 100s of users, if not more. In that case, it becomes imperative that the software has robust reporting capabilities for management to keep track at each level. From department heads to C-level executives, everyone should be able to create their own customized reports to oversee even the most granular details.