Our support team onboards some of the leading hospitality companies in the UK, and we work closely with our new customers to gain insights that help improve the solutions we provide. Whilst each customer’s processes are similar in some ways and very different in others, there are three common challenges they share – all of which eSource Wizard able to solve!
Challenge #1 – Analysing supplier pricing submissions
This is probably the one issue that creates the biggest headache for procurement teams. Without fail, suppliers will provide data and pricing that falls outside the buyer’s specifications/criteria. For example, the buyer requests a quote for a 2.25 liter of ketchup but the supplier provides pricing for a 4.5 liter bottle. When this happens – and it happens all too often – the procurement manager must use complex spreadsheets and convert pricing to the correct unit of measure in order to conduct a like-for-like pricing comparison. This manual process is not only frustrating, but it can take a significant amount of time when you consider a tender of hundreds or even thousands of line items with such discrepancies.
eSource Wizard solves this problem by automatically converting supplier data back to a global unit of measure regardless of size or quantity quoted. Our system guides the supplier on what data to provide and then instantly converts this data so that the buyer can quickly perform a like-for-like analysis without the need for complicated formulas and spreadsheets.
A customer ran a tender recently that included over 1,000 product lines and a total of six suppliers. Our system is so fast converting measurements and pricing that the customer reckons they saved three days by not having to do this work manually.
Challenge 2 – Post tender submission follow-ups with suppliers
The next challenge our customers struggle with is all the back and forth emails and communications with suppliers after submissions. Inevitably, there is supplier data that is incomplete, missing or requires further explanation. Supplier responses must be collected and updated manually on the infamous spreadsheet! This is time consuming and prone to human errors as things get missed or data is recorded incorrectly.
Thankfully, eSource Wizard has a built-in feature called PROBE that is the first and only tool that streamlines and automates post-tender submission communications.
Here is how PROBE works. When creating an event, you are able to stipulate certain thresholds for each product. PROBE requires you to accept or reject any product a supplier submits that fails to meet a particular threshold. PROBE helps eliminate supplier errors typically associated with pro rata or product weightings whilst flagging zero-line bids. In addition, our supplier portal is designed to highlight errors and encourage suppliers to review products prior to submission.
Using our two-way interactive portal, buyers and suppliers are quickly and easily guided through the process of line-item verification, clarification, review and confirmation without the need for messy spreadsheets or multiple emails. Plus, all the historical data is at your fingertips and pricing updates are highlighted with before and after comparisons, so there is no need to ever go and search for anything. How easy is that?
Challenge 3 – Identifying and inviting new suppliers
When tendering, does your team tend to use the same suppliers over and over again? It happens more than not. Most buyers are comfortable with their existing suppliers and do not feel the need to look elsewhere. But 2021 is a different world – with the advent of Brexit and the COVID19 pandemic – impacts on the global supply chain will resonate across the hospitality sector for years to come. Even now, when the possibility of better terms from a different supplier is more than ever, knowing where to search for new partnerships and which suppliers to invite takes up valuable time and creates more uncertainty.
The triSaaS Marketplace allows buyers to quickly search for thousands of UK suppliers by product category and distribution location. You can also publish a tender and alert registered suppliers who meet your criteria. Quickly and easily add, approve, suspend, reinstate or remove suppliers from your tender with the click of a button. It is that simple.
One customer saved nearly 20% over various categories by identifying and partnering with a new supplier they never would have considered if it wasn’t for our market directory.
These are just a few common challenges that procurement teams grapple with. But there are many more. The good news is that eSource Wizard helps our customers overcome many issues they encounter throughout the tendering lifecycle.
We’d be happy meet with your team and understand what the specific challenges are and how eSource Wizard might be able to help you work faster and improve performance. Contact us or schedule a demo today.