Intuitive design

 

One of the most important keys to the success of a procurement system is the ability to gain organization-wide adoption. Proactis’ intuitive, easy-to-use design enables a cultural shift that empowers employees to execute routine daily purchases on a self-service basis within established organizational controls. Departmental managers, purchasing professionals, and even suppliers, all find Proactis to be highly productive and easy to learn.

For employees:

• A highly intuitive user interface with uncluttered screens, familiar real-world metaphors and minimal input requirements make using the system easy, even for infrequent users.
• Inductive buying quickly guides employees to potential suppliers, catalogs and web-sites, making it easy to find exactly what they need from an authorized source.
• Visibility of requests throughout the process gives employees a true sense of ownership.

 For department managers

• Automated account coding and budget checking eliminate the need for time-consuming look-ups or verifications.
• Flexible workflow and approval hierarchies allow for approval groups, temporary assignments, vacations, etc.
• Notifications for purchase requests requiring approval, with personal preferences for grouping and timing, make it easy to manage time whilst avoiding delays.
• One-click approvals or return to requestor with comments make the authorization process fast and easy.
• Full ‘cost pipeline’ visibility provides managers with the information they need to effectively manage departmental expenditures and cash flow.

For purchasing professionals

• Self-service employee buying for routine goods and services frees time for more value-added activities such as strategic sourcing and supplier management.
• Free form and template requisitions combined with electronic catalogs speed communication of needs from requestor to buyer.
• Alerts for required actions such as contract reviews and sourcing steps allow purchasing personnel to operate on an exception-driven basis without letting anything ‘fall through the cracks’.
• Supplier on-boarding support, automated sourcing events, electronic RFx questionnaires, and centralized contract management provide structure and reduce administrative effort for the many activities required to obtain ‘best value’ suppliers and agreements.
• Supplier catalog import, punch-out, and self-service management capabilities dramatically reduce the time needed to maintain catalog information to support eProcurement.

For finance professionals

• Buying by Purchase Order reduces the burden of unexpected or unattributable invoices on Accounts Payable (AP).
• Pre-coded order lines remove the “who bought this and what for?” cycle that slows down the cost allocation and payment process.
• Pre-order budget and encumbrance checks ensure that funds are available before purchases are authorized.
• Automated invoice matching with mis-match troubleshooting via electronic document workflow simplifies invoice acceptance.
• Cost Pipeline visibility ensures that there are no nasty surprises from unexpected commitments.

For suppliers

• Self-service network simplifies functions such as profile and catalog updates, and enables immediate visibility of invoice and payment status without calling AP.
• Broad adoption of Proactis by users ensures that the supplier receives clear, pre-approved orders and that invoices enter the payment cycle without delay.
• Easy, electronic interaction during the sourcing process simplifies selling and enables suppliers to enter into an evaluation on an equal basis to competitors.
• Electronic invoices reduce supplier paperwork and speed payment.