Monday, August 16, 2021

How B2B online marketplaces are transforming procurement for businesses


The world has seen an increase in b2b marketplaces. They aim to make it easy for businesses to look for suppliers. Besides these, there are several other ways in which the b2b online marketplaces are chasing the procurement scenario for the better. We list a few of them.

Providing businesses with a wider choice of vendors

The price transparency prevalent in online markets makes businesses aware of the options available to them. It also increases the competition between suppliers, creating opportunities for the purchaser. Thus, the online b2b marketplaces allow business to get the goods or the services at rates comparable to what they might have achieved via negotiations in the traditional market. Also, online marketplaces enable organisations to consolidate all their vendors in one place.

To summarise, b2b marketplaces increase the choice of vendors and help businesses get competitive pricing for their purchases.

Helping overcome the logistics challenge

Logistics is a challenge for most businesses out there. B2B marketplaces usually provide faster delivery and advanced tracking by combining technology with logistic capabilities. Also, you can get competitive shipping rates directly from the suppliers in the marketplace. Thus, you are saved from the hassle of looking for a separate logistics provider.

Integrating into the source-to-pay process

Source-to-pay or S2P is a procurement process used by businesses. It starts with finding a supplier for the goods to be purchased, followed by negotiations, finalising a contract, and ends with the payments. Online marketplaces can easily plug into the S2P process of businesses. These market places integrate with the purchaser’s S2P process and digitise and simplify the sourcing, negotiation, and contract management. They also help streamline accounting, tracking and reporting.

Helping in better management of the purchase process

You can track the purchase process right from procurement to payment. Also, online marketplaces make it easier to exercise purchase thresholds. They make it possible to eliminate purchase orders and other time-consuming paperwork involved in the purchase process. Additionally, it is possible to set preferred vendors and restricted vendors as in a traditional purchase process.

Promoting efficient utilisation of resources

In the traditional procurement process, employees of the business may have to spend time on repetitive tasks. Online marketplaces automate most processes, allowing fewer resources to work on procurement, besides increasing productivity. Thus, businesses can spend more time on devising a strategy as compared to actual procurement.

Making for a better purchase experience

Marketplaces connect buyers and suppliers with common needs. You do not have to put in efforts to search for a supplier that meets your needs from a large pool. Also, online marketplaces have verified suppliers for you to choose from. This saves you the time of getting the vendor verified. Also, the digitisation and integration of the marketplace with the company purchase processes makes the process easier and streamlined. All this contributes to a better purchase experience.

Online marketplaces make for a smoother procurement process. Along with saving time and money, they help businesses make better purchase decisions. Hence, online marketplaces are a boon to the purchasing process of businesses.

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