Advanced guided buying tools & Ordering assistants

Finding the desired and suitable products can be very time consuming!

Especially in organizations with large number of suppliers or with suppliers with a large number of products, using internal catalog solutions can become very inefficient for a couple of reasons:

• Too many vendors - Large procurement organizations have many suppliers, each offering their own purchasing solution. Each of these solutions has its own UI and usage specifics. So it is not only hard for the user to pre-identify the best supplier but also hard to catch up with the changes and ui. The missing ability to compare products access multiple shopping solution affects the performance of purchasing negatively.
• Too many places to shop - The more suppliers a organization has, the more difficult it is to find the right product at the right vendor at the best possible price.
• Too many products - Large procurement organizations come along a large list of suppliers and even more offered products. Internal shops can easily inflate over hundreds of thousands or even millions of products. We have seen customers organizations in a situation where employees refused to order over the internal shop as they said calling the vendor or browsing the vendors shop were faster than using the internal marketplace.

The solution for these problems is the deployment of internal catalog solution with advanced guided buying tools & ordering assistants.

What is guided buying?

Guided buying refers to a procurement or purchasing approach that incorporates technology and tools to guide and assist users through the buying process. The goal is to streamline and improve the purchasing experience for employees within an organization. This concept is often associated with e-procurement systems and platforms designed to simplify the procurement process, enforce compliance with organizational policies, and enhance overall efficiency. Key features of guided buying include:

1. User-Friendly Interfaces: Intuitive interfaces make it easy for users to navigate and find the products or services they need.
2. Catalog Management: A well-organized catalog with detailed product information helps users make informed decisions.
3. Policy Compliance: The system can enforce procurement policies, ensuring that users adhere to company guidelines and regulations.
4. Supplier Management: Integration with supplier databases allows users to select from approved vendors, ensuring better control over the supply chain.
5. Budget Controls: Guided buying systems can integrate budget information, helping users stay within their allocated spending limits.
6. Approval Workflows: Automated approval processes help in ensuring that purchases are authorized by the appropriate personnel before being finalized.
7. Integration with ERP Systems: Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems enables seamless data flow between procurement and other business processes.
8. Analytics and Reporting: The system may provide analytics and reporting features to track spending, monitor compliance, and identify areas for improvement.

Advanced guided buying ordering assistants

In enterprise environments, our advances guided buying assistants may not only reduce complexity of buying process, but also can include various material category specific management processes beyond the purchasing process. This makes spending just the first digitalized step of the entire digital lifecycle of the procured goods in the organization.

These assistants can range from very simple, like the listbased ordering assistant, to very complex.

ZUGSEIL Shop currently supports these assistants:

• Regular ordering assistant - This is the regular shop with no guided buying functionality
• Fast ordering assistant - Provides an optimized keybased entry process for the users. Less clicking - more typing
• Listbased ordering assistant - User can create shopping lists, which can be triggered when required. This is a massive time saver when it comes to repetitive procurement tasks
• Context based ordering assistant (CBO) - depending on memberships the user may order from a category hierarchy and product range specific to the membership.
• Equipment Management Assistant (EMA) - this assistant allows the user to only order the equipment specific to the job profile. Also it allows the management of the equipment through the entire lifecycle after ordering.
• Bulk Team Equipment Ordering Assistant (TEA) - this allows to rapidly order equipment items for a group of staff members. This can be a very cumbersome process, if you have to order for each employee, e.g. because each team member requires its own variant/size.

General benefits of ordering assistants

• Simplified Procurement Process - Order assistants streamline the procurement process by breaking down complex purchasing tasks into a series of clear and intuitive steps. This helps users, especially those who may not be familiar with the procurement process, navigate through the steps seamlessly.
• Reduced Maverick Spending - Maverick spending occurs when employees bypass established procurement procedures and guidelines to make purchases. Ordering assistants enforce compliance with procurement policies and preferred suppliers, reducing the likelihood of unauthorized or non-compliant spending.
• Cost Savings - By directing users to preferred suppliers, negotiated contracts, and pre-negotiated pricing, ordering assistants help organizations to take advantage of bulk discounts and favorable terms, leading to potential cost savings.
• Enhanced User Experience - Ordering Assistants are designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, making it easier for employees to make purchases. This can lead to higher user adoption and satisfaction, as well as reduced frustration due to complex procurement procedures.
• Compliance and Risk Management - Ordering assistants can incorporate compliance checks, legal requirements, and regulatory considerations into the purchasing process. This ensures that purchases are aligned with relevant regulations and minimizes legal and operational risks.
• Consistent and Standardized Process- Ordering assistants enforce standardized purchasing procedures, ensuring that all purchases follow a consistent workflow. This can lead to better control over the procurement process and help maintain a unified approach across the organization.
• Efficient catalog workflows - Ordering assistants optionally integrate automated catalog approval workflows, ensuring that catalogs are reviewed and approved by the appropriate personnel before being delivered to the ordering staff. This streamlines the approval process and reduces delays.

Related articles

• ZUGSEIL BEST
• ZUGSEIL Shop
• ZUGSEIL Shop - Extensibility
• Ordering assistants overview - For an overview of all assistants available in ZUGSEIL