eProcurement

Promotional products, ranging from anywhere between a key ring, a diary, custom coins to a pen and mug etc are items used to promote a product, service or company program including advertising specialties, premiums, incentives, business gifts, awards, prizes,...

Capture, process and invoice orders automatically

by Agustin D'Andreiz | eProcurement, Videos

For procurement service providers, Claritum automates order capture, order processing and invoicing – all in one, easy to use, cloud based platform.

80% of procurement organisations still use email to place orders

by James Samuels | Articles, eProcurement, improve efficiency

Does your organisation use email to purchase products and services? If so, you could be missing out on the visibility and control you need to deliver cost savings and process efficiencies.

Outsource? Insource? Why not right source your print?

by Wes Samways | Articles, eProcurement

It’s amazing how many organisations segment print into category silos and miss out on significant opportunities for savings and efficiencies.

How does a Spend Management platform work

by Wes Samways | Articles, eProcurement, Videos

This short video explains how you can control and monitor Marketing expenditure from one platform using Cloud based Spend management.

A List of Must Read Procurement White Papers

by Rachel Sharman | Articles, eProcurement, Popular

We've compiled a list of some of the best must read procurement white papers and analyst reports (in no particular order of importance or preference) covering a variety of topics such as supply chain management, tail spend and the future and digitization of...

Claritum in 30 seconds

by Rachel Sharman | eProcurement, Videos

Companies spend up to 20% of their revenues on frequently ordered low value goods and services. These transactions are too small to be managed by procurement experts and too unpredictable to be sourced by a single vendor catalog. Claritum streamlines sourcing, procurement and billing in one easy to use cloud based platform.

5 things you need to automate procurement

The goal of automation in procurement should be to speed up processes and free employees from repetitive time consuming admin. This will enable staff to focus on higher value tasks.

automating procurement infographic

by Rachel Sharman | eProcurement, Infographics

A list of the best procurement blogs

Keeping up to date with constant change is one of the challenges of being a procurement professional. Fortunately there are some great procurement blogs and resources out there to help you stay up to date with all the latest ideas and innovations.

Procurement Challenges and How to Manage Them

Chief procurement officers have to face many procurement challenges in an increasingly complex environment. They can no longer focus purely on reducing costs and delivering goods and services. As the role of procurement within organisations continues to expand so the...

Review of the Technology for Marketing and Advertising (TFM&A) Event, London

What an exciting and insightful show! And a great chance to network and develop new connections. A few of the Claritum team made the trip to Olympia London last week for the TFM&A event and it was definitely time well spent. It’s always good to keep updated on new...

5 Steps to Procurement Maturity

by Rachel Sharman | Articles, eProcurement, Popular

What stage is your business at? Businesses experience common problems which occur at similar stages in their development on the road to maturity. Identifying where your business is in it’s development can help you to assess your current challenges, such as where you need to invest time and energy and where you need to make strategic changes.

Centralise or de-centralise? Outsource or in-source? Near-shore or far-shore?

When determining a procurement strategy businesses typically ask themselves a few key questions. Should we centralise or decentralise? Is it better to outsource or in-source? Do the benefits of near-shore outweigh those of far-shore?

Winning RFXs for Print Service Providers

Collaboration is in the interest of all organizations involved in the procurement process. Gone are the days when the supply chain was a purely linear affair. Today, supply chains comprise competitors who can be partners, customers who can be collaborators and...

Apparel manufacturers turn to cloud based spend management to overcome transient labor-cost advantages of sourcing from low-cost countries

Sooner or later there will be no low-cost countries left to meet apparel industry's ever changing demands. Adverse publicity about ‘sweat-shop’ labor, changing public opinion, non-availability of labor, and delays are all contributing to this, making apparel...

Pepsi, Shell & major airlines kick procurement into touch

Major regional projects in the Middle East are being constricted by lack of investment in procurement. Findings shows that Middle East organizations are struggling to get procurement positioned as a strategic function yet, out of 100 procurement professionals...

The great Procurement switch off

If Nike the sports Brand was software, it would be e-procurement, which is now becoming fast, fleet of foot and a nimble world-class player. Procurement is now much more of a utility type, online service, where things can be easily switched on and off using...

Automating the procurement process allows any business to transform itself from the ordinary to the extraordinary

The whole procurement process can be complex, labor intensive and time consuming, but it needn't always be like this. The procurement process itself requires a focus on strategies surrounding three distinct areas of the business: cost savings, profits and compliance....

Is your web to print delivering the goods?

At Claritum, we help hundreds of Clients procure a wide range of print, packaging, gifts & premiums, uniforms & apparel, office supplies and a wide range of frequently ordered products and services. Our cloud spend management platform streamlines thousands of orders,...

Manual processes kill growth: Fast growth Procurement Service Providers (PSPs) focus on obtaining efficiencies through automation

Smart PSPs monitor and refine processes and supplier performance, streamlining and automating and freeing up expensive resources to spend more time adding value to their client’s business and growing their own revenues. It’s this desire to grow revenues that sets fast...

£230bn public sector procurement market up for grabs

Government plans to streamline procurement process paves the way for SMEs to access massively lucrative public sector contracts. The current initiative, inviting feedback and opinion, closes on the 13th November and forms part of the new "Small Business, Enterprise...

Companies take a leaf out of Amazon’s Book

Companies are turning increasingly to organizations like Amazon when it comes to implementing user-centric systems to help them reach out to the edges of their own organizations and rein in maverick spenders. That's according to Claritum, leader in cloud based...

What is E Procurement?

eProcurement is a system which enables an employee, procurement officer or end user/buyer, to make a purchase of remote goods and services indirectly. eProcurement automation encompasses the entire process from the moment a decision is made to make a purchase, through...

Making the most of procurement expertise

The shifting procurement landscape has been throwing up some interesting theories and predictions of late, with many people speculating where the sector may be in ten years time and how the function can be of even greater value to businesses. One theory of interest...

Cloud based spend management systems – is it all pie in the sky?

Case studies show that firms are likely to recoup their investment cost* when implementing a cloud based spend management system, so why aren't more leaping at the opportunity? Once implemented, spend analytics show that savings will accrue from lower transaction...

Beyond Strategic Sourcing…Gaining Greater Value

Recently, it's been interesting to see numerous LinkedIn group discussions arising between supply management leaders, focused upon what leading procurement groups are doing to provide value after they've been involved in "strategic sourcing" for several years. These...

Is marketing and procurement’s relationship changing?

The tension between marketing and procurement teams has been well documented, with long-running debates about procurements part in marketing’s outsourcing process or whether they should even be involved at all. Marketing and Procurement It seems that relationship is...

Risk management is playing an increasingly bigger part in the procurement function

Half of CPOs believe procurement related risk has increased in the last 12 months, according to the Deloitte Global CPO Survey 2013. Whether risk has actually increased or CPOs are simply more aware of it due to heightened media attention is immaterial. Risk...

Purchasing is evolving

As we slowly creep toward brighter economic times, the focus on cost cutting that comes naturally during austere periods is moving on too. While 88% of CPO’s believe they have fulfilled or exceeded their savings targets over the last five years, only two thirds...

Supply Management Trends & Predictions

Today, we continue our multi-part series on Supply Management: Big Trends & Predictions for 2013 with a look at supply management solutions. Click here to read Part One of this series focused on Big Data. Click here to read Part Two of this series focused on...

Cost cutting still the main focus for buyers

Buyers will concentrate their efforts on cost cutting over the next year, while also trying to reduce supply risk and increasing their strategic value to the wider business. The 2013 Procurement Pulse, conducted by Science Warehouse in association with eWorld...

5 steps to marketing and procurement harmony

A tactful, informed approach to this well-guarded category will bring the best savings, says David Meikle If generalisations or conventional wisdom eventually become truths then to date, marketing and procurement have made pretty unhappy bedfellows. But, together or...

Relationships 101: Back to Basics for Supplier Management

Relationships 101: Back to Basics for Supplier Management Many of the issues in modern supply chains aren’t actually due to globalization. Rather, they’re a result of a de-emphasis in the importance of managing the relationships that “turn the wheel.” Many...

Government demands progress on collaborative university procurement

The UK government is calling for “quantifiable progress” towards collaborative procurement across higher education institutions this year. The annual grant letter to the Higher Education Funding Council for England from business secretary Vince Cable and universities...

What is SaaS? 10 Frequently Asked Questions About Software as a Service

What is SaaS? 10 Frequently Asked Questions About Software as a Service While the technology world is laser focused on the software-as-a-service (SaaS), or “cloud,” phenomenon, a lot of companies with which we speak aren’t as familiar (gasp!). That’s changing,...

Businesses must improve spending strategies for survival

Procurement skill and understanding is limited and undervalued in UK businesses, a new survey has found. A report published by specialist procurement advisory network Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) found that 77% of survey respondents took a short term view when it...

Let the games begin

What exactly is game theory and how can it help in procurement and supplier management? Angus Craig and Daniel Crease do the maths. Working life is all about our interactions with other people and the way we choose to react to different people in different situations....

Procurement v Marketing – When the Spend Controllers Meet the Creative Innovators

When the Spend Controllers Meet the Creative Innovators You don’t have to look too far to find a large amount of commentary and views on whether Procurement should be involved in marketing services spend or how organisations want to ensure they get value from their...

Top companies ‘wasting millions‘ in marketing and print procurement

According to Bruce Murray at Expense Reduction Analysts, top companies are 'wasting millions' in marketing and print procurement. Top companies wasting £600 million per annum on inefficient marketing procurement The vast majority (88%) label current marketing...

Business collaboration for cost savings

Companies are increasingly willing to discuss mutually beneficial collaborations with other firms, to deliver cost savings, according to 4C Associates. In the consultancy’s 10 predictions for 2013, research showed more businesses, particularly in the logistics sector,...

Better stakeholder relations tops procurement priority

Developing better relationships with stakeholders is a priority for nearly half of buyers this year, according to the latest SM100. In the poll, buyers were asked to identify from a list of five, what their main priority - excluding cost cutting, which has topped the...

It’s Time to Take on Marketing Procurement

The approach you take depends on your organization's marketing procurement maturity. Marketing is a substantial investment at most companies, often equaling double- and triple-digit millions of dollars each year and running as high as 3-5 percent of gross revenues....

Savings double from effective SRM in 2012

Businesses are increasing their collaboration with suppliers, and boosting the amount they save their organisation as a result. According to the fourth global supplier relationship management (SRM) survey conducted by consultancy State of Flux, 93 per cent of...

Government predicts £600 million savings from shared services

The Cabinet Office has said it can save up to £600 million a year in administration costs by centralising some of the work of back-office functions such as procurement and payroll across government. The Next Generation Shared Services Strategic Plan, published last...

Councils told to buy together, tackle fraud and cut waste

Local councils have been told to share back office functions and buy goods and services together to gain discounts and reduce administration costs. In a document, 50 ways to save: examples of sensible savings in local government, published by the Department for...

B2B Buyers Using Variety of Channels to Make Purchasing Decisions

According to recent survey findings from a Demand Gen Report, nearly all (94 percent) B2B buyers view content from a variety of sources before making a purchasing decision. The survey, which included more than 170 responses, was designed to gauge the latest trends in...

Create more value with Claritum

In today’s uncertain economic climate, many businesses are looking to increase their profit margins by focusing more on cutting costs rather than increasing revenue. In many instances, this goal may be desirable if a company can sustain current revenues while...

Procurement hub locations should combine benefits

Companies are not getting full value out of centralising procurement in tax-efficient locations by failing to factor in the importance of the area’s operational capabilities. Speaking at the Procurecon 2012 conference in Brussels last week, Alaba Adedayo, a director...

Simplifying the complexity of enterprise print

As organizations continue to look for savings and efficiencies, print procurement is providing new opportunities to deliver tangible bottom line benefits. The ranks of expert print buyers are shrinking fast, but companies that have strong procurement technologies and...

Procurement needs to increase its marketing knowledge

Buyers need to reassess their approach to marketing spend if they’re to start adding strategic value and stop butting up against marketeers More than ever, it seems that the procurement function is getting involved in the purchase and commissioning of marketing...

Supplier diversity boosts innovation and competition

Companies can benefit from greater innovation, increased competition and improve their brand reputation by increasing supplier diversity. Impact Report, published yesterday by Minority Supplier Development UK, argued by implementing a supplier diversity programme and...

‘Pool cloud spend to speed up development,’ EU members told

European Union member states should pool spend on cloud computing technology to invest in finding cheaper, more effective solutions for the public sector. The strategy, published yesterday by the European Commission (EC), identified a number of actions member states...

Outsourcing public services could save £22 billion

The CBI has called on the government to increase competition in public services by putting more contracts out to tender - a move it says will save billions. Open access – delivering quality and value in our public services published today, calculated the average...

Focus on indirect costs, not job cuts, to boost earnings

Reducing non-labour costs has the potential to deliver much more value to the bottom line of leading companies than by cutting staff. The £10 billion profit opportunity, published by procurement outsourcing firm Proxima, calculated non-labour costs accounted for 68.3...

Outsource? Insource? Why not right source your print?

It’s amazing how many organisations segment print into category silos and miss out on significant opportunities for savings and efficiencies. Documents, operational print and marketing print are often considered as discrete requirements and most reviews will focus on...

Following corporate goals is a priority for buyers

Developing a procurement strategy that aligns with the overall objectives of their company is more important to senior buyers than making savings, research has found. GEP Value Trends: Procurement Strategy, which surveyed more than 50 senior procurement professionals,...

Top Euro companies ‘wasting millions’ procuring marketing

European firms wasting millions procuring marketing products and services, a new report has claimed. According to a forthcoming study from marketing production specialists Charterhouse, Europe’s top-500 companies are wasting an average of €716m on inefficient...

Procurement outsourcing value hits $11 billion

The amount of global outsourced procurement deals and the value of them have both increased for the second year straight. Procurement Outsourcing Annual Report 2012 – The PO Market: Steadily Marching Forward, published this week byEverest Group, said the cumulative...

Indirect procurement is ‘a sexy place to be’

In a recent article from Supply Management (www.supplymanagement.com): The challenge of getting indirect procurement right makes it “a sexy place to be” for procurement professionals. This is the view of Rachael Stormonth, senior vice president at outsourcing analyst...

Procurement set for its own ‘format war’