Three Best Practices for Procurement Processes

James Berlangero is an experienced supply management professional, having previously worked for Cushman & Wakefield and New York Homes & Community Renewal. Alongside his professional career, James Berlangero stays up to date on the developments in the industry, educating himself about the latest trends in software and hardware and procurement best practices.

When assessing procurement processes, there are a few best practices that have positive impacts on the overall cost-to-income ratio to make processes more efficient and reduce costs. Here a few best practices adopted by some top companies for their procurement processes:

1. Go digital - One of the best ways to bring your procurement processes into the modern era is to implement digital procurement technology. These tools can help eliminate some of the repetitive processes, streamlining them so that your team is freed up for more important tasks. These programs can handle tasks like purchasing orders and requests, invoice approvals, and analytics. Most can also be easily integrated into your financial software systems.

2. Improve accessibility - Keep all of your records accessible to all individuals on staff and available to those involved in purchasing decisions. This practice can make your overall procurement program more collaborative and integrated.

3. Optimize your inventory - The most successful organizations pay close attention to the specific amounts and items held in inventory because these companies know that more cost comes from holding unsold inventory than in purchasing more inventory. It is important for those involved in procurement management to ensure that the inventory is balanced so that companies don’t lose money in holding onto unused inventory.