What Is An eSourcing Tool & How Do We Use It?

What Is An eSourcing Tool & How Do We Use It?

eSourcing is known as the business to business process in which multiple suppliers send bids on a particular project a company is sourcing. This is all done online and is pretty much known as the eBay of B2B procurement. Not only is everything streamlined, but the benefits of this process far out weigh any negatives that occur with regular sourcing.

Not only will you secure a streamlined process, but prices will become heavily reduced due to higher competition and a creation of information on the sourcing process. With worker turnover and companies that agent relatively quickly, having this information on file can help continue the high return on investment that the esourcing component has brought about. To begin with the esourcing process though, the first logical step is to select a tool for use.

ProRFX has created an esourcing tool that can be utilized for advanced or basic usage. Outside of the normal bidding process that will come via the esourcing tool, the company should be able to receive ample amount of information on the supplier. This information will help the process not only run smoothly from start to finish, but will allow all potential suppliers to display just how long, how much and what the expected time should be for completion. This will help in the short run, but will help substantially in the long run allowing your company to have information on all bidders for later dates as well.

When starting from the very beginning though, what is the best route to take, basic or advanced tools? A procurement team would be wise to explore both the advanced and basic esourcing tools readily available to them. If the team is looking at creativity amongst their suppliers, than an advanced option is a wiser choice by far. With that being said though, it depends solely on what your end goal is that the company has in mind.

eSourcing vendors tend to have differences around their tools interface, negotiation capabilities, workflow flexibility and data libraries. By checking out all of the tools on the market, create a checklist of what you are looking to accomplish before diving in to one program over the other. At ProRFX, we take pride in our solutions to allow for an ease of transaction that cannot be competed against. Whether you are looking for RFX, RFQ, RFP or anything else that you can think of, be sure to contact ProRFX to see just how our esourcing tool can benefit your business.

Looking to learn even more about the esourcing process? Feel free to check out our previous blog, What Drives The E-Sourcing Process and see just what our system is all about with our Introduction to ProRFX video!

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