Purchasing management software: why is it so useful?

Purchasing management software is used to build and maintain a database that includes all elements related to a buying department. It provides multiple functionalities such as tracking invoices, orders, deliveries and supplier management. Purchasing management software benefits businesses of all sizes, as it optimises the purchasing process, increases internal customer satisfaction and simplifies tender management. In short, it helps you effectively manage your company's procurement processes. What are the benefits of purchasing management software? What are its features? Which solutions will suit you best? Here is Mooncard's comprehensive guide!

Why use purchasing management software?

Purchasing management software provides a solution to numerous issues. By using it you can:

Ensure your budget is used correctly;
Simplify procedures related to procurement, which vary from one department to another;
Limit the number of purchases made by employees without prior authorisation;
Get an accurate overview of expenditure commitments before receiving invoices;
Replace a tricky or outdated system such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP);
Provide greater flexibility for employees making purchases;
Control the entire procurement process for goods and services, from buyer requests to approval, purchase order entry and delivery receipt;
Approve purchase requests more quickly;
Simplify inventory management to avoid stockouts;
Improve responsiveness regarding suppliers;
Streamline the supplier relationship;
Get comprehensive overviews of the company's purchasing policy performance via reports and dashboards. The software serves as a basis for creating action plans to improve purchasing management.

Good to know

What are the different stages of the purchasing process? A company's purchasing process can be broken down into several steps:

Identifying a need;
Sending the request to the purchasing department;
Issuing a purchase order, if an existing contract exists, or requesting a quote;
Collating the suppliers' or manufacturers' offers;
Awarding a contract or supplying a purchase order;
Purchase of goods or services;
Payment of the order.

What are the main features of purchasing management software?

Overview of purchasing software's main features software.

Invoice and payment management

Purchasing management software allows you to integrate all paid and pending invoices. You can easily track completed payments. The dashboard will provide an overview of past, current, and upcoming transactions.

A procurement management solution allows you to accurately control an allocated budget that is part of your purchasing functions. Buyers have all the information they need to limit unnecessary purchases. Purchasing management software optimises cost analyses (for example when dealing with “wild” Class A, B or C purchases), category management and monitoring compliance related to expenses.

Order management

Purchasing management software enables easy order tracking. It is ideal for producing quotes and invoices at the right time! It allows for complete transparency within an organisation and its procedures.

Purchasing management software allows employees to place orders via approved supplier catalogues or websites.

Supplier management

All information about your suppliers is grouped in one place. This means improved integration and evaluation of suppliers, information updates (sale price, payment terms, etc.), risk management analysis and optimisation of communication channels.

Purchasing management software effectively improves the supplier relationship. It increases contract compliance rates.

Order delivery receipt

Purchasing management software will inform you in real-time when orders are received. You will no longer need to re-verify if an order has been received as all data is centralised under a unique reference. It just takes a couple of clicks to see if you need to chase up a supplier(s).

Which purchasing management software should you choose?

To select the right purchasing management software from all the existing solutions on the market, you will need to start by carefully examining your needs and budget. Creating a specification list is one way to formalise this step.

We recommend that you opt for purchasing software that is:

User-friendly, intuitive and quick;
Enables comprehensive purchasing management;
Scalable and adapted to all types of companies, from SMEs to large groups. The functionalities are activated according to the user's needs;
Compatible with your ERP and information system (IS).

Are you looking for a solution to optimise your business expense management? Discover the features offered by Mooncard, the French leader in corporate cards. Book a free demo now!