Many companies are currently in the process of digitalizing their procurement activities. Inevitably, they find themselves posing the following question: How do we go about automating orders from suppliers for whom EDI is not an economically feasible solution? Retarus has the answer: WebConnect for Suppliers, an innovative solution which meets the real demands of operational procurement.
Challenges in operational procurement
In operational procurement, companies are faced with a wide range of challenges. This includes the manual capturing of production-critical order confirmations, dealing with lacking EDI connections, incomplete or delayed acknowledgements and responses, as well as work-intensive order tracking with various different systems and Excel lists. A lack of solutions to enable efficient process automation leads to time-wasting processes and increased administrative efforts.
Basic prerequisites for a new solution design
To meet these challenges, Retarus has defined the key requirements for designing a new solution. These include easy, user-friendly operation for suppliers, avoiding the typical administrative efforts often associated with WebEDI, facilitating a greater number of order confirmations with a higher degree of dependability compared with capture solutions and the uncomplicated on-boarding of new suppliers without setup efforts. In addition, it’s essential that the monitoring of order confirmations is already included in the solution.
Retarus WebConnect for Suppliers – the solution
Retarus WebConnect for Suppliers meets all these requirements. Using the service, the customer’s ERP system can initiate an order in EDI format which is then transmitted to the WebConnect portal. There, an email containing the order (PDF) and a secure, unique link for confirming the order is sent to the supplier.
For the supplier, on the other hand, the process couldn’t be easier to handle: It just takes one click to call up the order directly in the portal, where it can be confirmed, rejected or modified with another simple click of the mouse. Other adjustments, for instance to prices, volumes or discounts, are also possible, which is especially important with unreliable or disrupted supply chains (partial delivery). The confirmation of the order is then returned in EDI format directly into the customer’s EDI system.
Extremely easy to use, plus multi-language support
The system presents itself to the supplier just like a printed order, effectively reducing obstacles and barriers to using the system. The system’s intuitive handling ensures that the supplier is quickly able to conveniently use the system and generate the order confirmation effortlessly. Confirmations destined for customers abroad can even optionally be translated into the language of the country in question.
WebConnect for Suppliers moreover allows information to be exchanged between the supplier and the customer within the scope of the specific order confirmation. Compared with purely exchanging PDFs, this represents a significant enhancement for both parties.
Monitoring and outcomes
On average, the system increases the rate of order confirmations by more than 20 percent to 95 percent. By cutting out the manual entry and reconciliation of data, the associated costs are reduced substantially. In this way, WebConnect for Suppliers makes it feasible to also include smaller C-level suppliers cost-effectively in regular purchasing processes.
Our software package offers a flexible pricing model with flat rates and included volumes, while also requiring no installation. No matter if you send 2,000 orders a month to a single supplier or order from 2,000 different suppliers – WebConnect for Suppliers facilitates smooth processing without differences in the costs.
Quick implementation and demo version
Another benefit provided by Retarus WebConnect for Suppliers is the extreme speed with which the full solution is available. In fewer than twelve weeks, the system is ready to use. A demo version is also available, so customers and suppliers have the opportunity to test the system at any time.
Conclusion
Retarus WebConnect for Suppliers automates the purchasing process with B and C level suppliers, efficiently and reliably. Easy, user-friendly operation, a wide range of useful functions and low, transparent costs make the system an attractive choice for companies aiming to optimize their purchasing processes and reduce costs.
In a separate blog post, we reveal more about shipping notifications for C suppliers and show you various screenshots of the WebConnect for Suppliers system.
