The availability of data through trade journals, publications, and websites has made it difficult for the category managers to filter out irrelevant and overly biased data. The explosion of data makes it even tougher for the managers to decide on the outdated and the trending ones. This interferes with the decision making procedure of the category managers. This makes it important for the managers to interact with vendors on a regular basis to remain updated with the data. The sales departments of the vendors outspend supply chain and procurement departments while accessing procurement intelligence tools, which puts the category managers at stressed out condition. Therefore, it is essential for the procurement managers to put relevant market intelligence tools in use to make their decision making process more biased and approach to a holistic business plan.
Procurement intelligence is the process where procurement managers makes use of intelligence tools gather and analyze correct data relevant to business requirements. This specifies the managers to support accurate decision making processes and helps them design a relevant and strategic sourcing process. This ultimately confers to a streamlined category management process. Through the correct utilization of data and with the help of right information, procurement managers gain insight into the market requirements and use this to stand out in the competitive space.
Procurement Market Intelligence Tools Helps a Procurement Manager to Make the Following Decisions:
- List various data related to the products and services provided by the organization, classify the products based on the market size, requirement, and growth rate. List the raw materials exactly required for the manufacturing process of particular products list information critical to the quality maintenance factors.
- The tools help procurement service providers analyze the supplier profile. With the help of the information gathered, the managers can identify the available supplier, get to know their characters, manufacturing speed, the quality they use when producing the product, finally help them figure out the location where their shortlisted suppliers are based in.
- The cost structure identification is an important task of the procurement system of an organization. Procurement is related to cost reduction procedures of an organization. With the help of the market intelligence tools, the managers tend to identify the cost structure of the entire procedure associated with the labor, energy, materials, transportation, profit, cost components, and overhead charges. A proper information list of spend in the entire process helps managers to understand where they can reduce spend without compromising on the quality of the products manufactured.
- The procurement market intelligence tools serves as a vital indicator of the market condition. These tools provide proper information with the help of which managers can identify the products in demand, the requirement of the customers, the price drivers, utilization of capacity, and other important characteristics of the market that determine the availability of products and determine the price.
- The last thing these intelligence tools contribute to is allowing the managers to get a brief review of their position in the market. With the help of these tools, managers can assess supplier power and buyers, substitute the products when they can get prior information about the product requirement and several other factors that influence the buying leverage.
Benefits of Using Procurement Intelligence Tools
Proper Storage of Documents
The procurement intelligence tools allows the storage of every document electronically, thus increasing the reusable templates and decreasing the time taken for engagement turn around. The documents stored electronically act as an important repository for the current vendor contracts, thus lowering the time engaged in monotonous tactic steps with enhanced automation. This in turn simplifies the end-to-end procurement method. An electronically conducted process results in a streamline that has lesser opportunities for error. The older orders can be conveniently referred to through the repository of documents. The Turkey procurement agency uses the e-procurement tools to ensure contract compliance and lowers the data’s possible inaccuracies.
Checks Credibility
The procurement market intelligence tools aids in improving the credibility by checking the profit margin closely. Nowadays, most of the business among a broad range of industries requires the department’s management to approve requests of various financial issues. The managers must properly analyze the vet suppliers, monitor it, and make various other critical decisions. These decisions, when backed up with solid and reliable data, helps in increasing credibility. Moreover, the department managers are capable of making superior and informed decisions with the help of these tools.
Thinking in Time
With the progress of business operations, it is vital for owners to link up with the current situation, and make strategies accordingly. Even if you are designing a plan recently, you need to go there. And even if you do not have enough resources currently or the required skill-set, your organization could get a boost by a single change in your mindset. This mindset is brought about by using correct market intelligence tools and putting them to use. Do not spend too much time in figuring out what you have and what you do not. Start working with what you have. Put the resources you have in hand to use and start making the most out of it. Focusing on the market intelligence tools means having an intuitive understanding by the managers that can help them accomplish the task realistically. This will benefit everybody working for the organization, from the employees to the owners, and clients. These intelligence tools will help the owners get clear view of the business operations and market conditions and do their task accordingly.
The use of procurement intelligence is just about finding the correct data and putting them to use at the right time. This allows the procurement service providersto come up with the right strategies and move the information in the positive direction. The providers need to be willing to work with the available information. It is crucial for every organization to have a properly working procurement process. the use of intelligence tools will give them the right information to proceed with and make the difference.