You have a digital procurement process, but you’re not seeing the value you expected. What now?

One of the most common assumptions made by large enterprises is that having a digital purchasing system means they have unlocked all the potential value in their procurement process and they do not need access to a B2B marketplace.

When emails were invented, people were skeptical because they already had fax machines! 

While your purchasing platform is already digital and online, that doesn’t mean it’s reaching its full capabilities for efficiency, cost savings, or overhead reduction.

A new generation of global B2B marketplaces is bringing the innovation already accessible to most individual consumers to the enterprise scale. If shoppers at home are able to go online and compare sellers, prices, quality, and other criteria, why can’t requesters be in corporate procurement? What if a platform is designed for procurement departments, combining the ease of use and Ecommerce features of leading B2C websites with the needs of large enterprises? 

This is precisely what Dooka aims to provide for nations across the African continent. 

Can B2B marketplaces integrate with preexisting e-procurement systems? 

Large-scale e-procurement systems have become popular among buyers for moving the procurement process online. Investing in these systems is surely a way to upgrade from “the old way” of operating in the supply chain. The business world has moved online, and efficiency is the name of the game. Yet, these e-procurement systems are usually designed for direct spend, and don’t utilize the shop-window feature of the newer B2B marketplaces.

For example, if you need a laptop, a phone, a caterer, or another indirect spend item, it will be listed on an indirect spent B2B marketplace. These platforms are not aiming to replace what is already there, but rather, are working with what’s already there to make it better. Mainstream e-procurement systems can only do so much, especially for the tail spend category. 

Most businesses find great value through their digitized systems when using them for direct spend items. For direct spend purchasing, there are fewer suppliers, and higher transaction values. Yet, many P2P platforms aren’t able to streamline the process of buying indirect spend items, where there are many suppliers, and lower transaction values. Unfortunately, most companies spend 80% of their time on managing the 20% they spend on indirects.

Clearly, tail spend is an area with a great opportunity to increase the efficiency and value of your purchasing department. Corporations, on average, only generate 4% savings in tail spend compared to 8% for non-tail. B2B marketplaces provide a specialized solution to the challenges of indirect spend over and above the standard P2P systems. 

How do B2B marketplaces add value to the indirect spend category? 

B2B marketplaces make it easier to find the right item, at the right price, and in the right area. They can add value by increasing the pricing transparency and terms of transactions with buyers. The stringent quality control measures that our suppliers are vetted by allow us to reduce the risk of procurement fraud. 

What’s more is that the easy-to-use interface of these shop windows allows buyers to sort products and manage suppliers intuitively, giving them more energy to focus on finding the best prices. Shopping for items such as stationery, IT suppliers, fixtures, and fittings should not be a months-long process with tons of forms and back-and-forth. Even if a business has already invested in a P2P system, there’s no saying what sort of value can be derived from adding a B2B marketplace to help with the indirect spend category (especially because tail spend accounts for 25% of total spending on average). 

Dooka brings Enterprise B2B Marketplace to African countries 

By providing the technology of a B2B marketplace for enterprises to the African continent, Dooka aims to increase the efficiency of procurement processes where there is so much economic opportunity and growth already happening. To capitalize on this growth, African nations will need access to reliable tools that help them build a resilient and efficient supply chain.

Dooka’s marketplace vets suppliers to meet individual corporate purchasing standards. We integrate with existing ERP systems and purchasing or accounts payable processes. Essentially, we are compatible with the vision of end-to-end digitization. Dooka does your form-filling, your communications in the background, updates the ERP system, and instantly sends the purchase order to the supplier. This means faster fulfillment and delivery while maintaining all your corporate controls.

Dooka also contains a supplier network where purchasers can easily search for the best possible prices by comparing vendors. Buyers can even sort suppliers according to their specific requirements and specifications, which most large enterprises have! Because Dooka was designed with the existing systems of companies in mind, the purchasing process was constructed with the idea that buyers could filter suppliers that meet their needs. 

If you already have a digital procurement system, and you’re looking to find more value, consider what a B2B marketplace could do for your business. With enterprise marketplaces, buyers no longer have to handle and manage (potentially hundreds) of supplier relationships. That time-saving aspect alone is of enormous value.