Striving to make your procurement function leaner should be a steady process. Always remember to begin with a simple project such as eAuction events, which will deliver considerable savings before committing to a significant capital outlay. The funds gained from the sourcing solution can then guide you through to the next stage, up to a purchase-to-pay platform.
Sell your successes
Detail the progress of your procurement project via different marketing techniques, including company briefings and internal newsletters. This is an effective way of communicating key objectives and successful outcomes of sourcing deals with company stakeholders.
Involve everyone you can
To get the most out of your sourcing solution, organise continuous improvement workshops to gather vital feedback from all users. This will encourage individual opinions on the solution, functional problems and improvements. The relevant feedback can then be communicated back to the technology provider.
Create programme champions
Support and train users well when adopting a new solution, this will reduce resistance to change. Create specialist users assigned to different industry sectors, encourage specialist users to communicate frequently with other users to make sure the programme is used effectively. Specialist users should be updated regularly with any changes to the system, they should also be given the authority to supervise the corporate spending ensuring users utilize the solution appropriately, eliminating maverick spend.
Don’t leave suppliers out in the cold
eAuctions can deliver significant savings, effective communication with all suppliers is important even after the event. Suppliers will appreciate your feedback on why they were unsuccessful in securing your business, giving them a chance to learn from their mistakes and compete for any future contracts.
Go hosted and managed for rapid ROI
For rapid return on your investment choose an On Demand solution, delivering accelerated results with less risk. On demand solutions can deliver business critical flexibility without the substantial IT overhead. No software means continuous improvements through an adaptable solution which will save your business millions of pounds annually.
Challenge your suppliers
Promote a challenging environment for suppliers, encouraging them to compete against other suppliers as to who can offer the best deal. Objectives can be set annually to challenge suppliers to become the most cost-effective. Then award the best performing suppliers first opportunity to any future deals/contracts.
Don’t get auction wrong-footed
Forecast the results of an eAuction then communicate these principles with the suppliers, making the terms clear and ensuring familiarity with the technology. Send out a pre-auction RFP form to all suppliers wishing to participate in the event, only suppliers who have completed this detailed form should partake. These are all essential steps in ensuring suppliers are confident and present when it comes to the auction.
Create a level competitive environment
Creating a highly competitive environment will maximize cost savings; a minimum of four suppliers are needed in each auction for the event to be a success. eAuctions require thorough monitoring for the full duration of the event to identify any unfair practices and consequently to eliminate any participants who are seen to be carrying out such tactics. 
