Why Companies Should Use Cloud-Based Supplier Onboarding
April 2022 Why Companies Should use Cloud-Based Supplier Onboarding SaaS
Onboarding your suppliers with a defined and streamlined process not only ensures smooth integration with your systems but in this age of data protection legislation it can be essential to keep you in legal compliance when setting up new vendors in ERP or accounting software systems.
What is supplier onboarding?
Having supplier’s information registered in your own ordering or accounting systems whether vendors self-register or you do it for them means that data can be stored and easily updated for ordering, inventory, and payment purposes.
Keeping track of necessary details can be handled quickly and easily leaving your accounting staff free to focus on other tasks. It can be useful for assessing risks and compliance and integrates vendors into your platforms as part of your supply chain. In a fast-changing, data-heavy world, supplier onboarding can be an essential component for any business concerned with maintaining business relationships and operating an effective supply chain.
Things like inventory data can be easily shared, and order history, payment analytics, and other vital statistics can be accessed at the touch of a button and used to drive cost savings or improvements.
Manual vs Automated Onboarding
With an onboarding system, there are a few disadvantages that primarily stem from a manually-based process. Without the benefit of automated systems, there can be a lack of visibility into supplier information leading to duplicated inputs or outdated inventory information that can cause problems or delays.
It can also be harder to manage supplier performance or spending patterns. Using software solutions to handle supplier onboarding and relationship management can bring with it an advanced set of tools and automations designed to improve the speed of information transfer, improve efficiency, and help to keep companies ahead of legal compliance requirements.
Along with speeding up the vendor onboarding process, software systems can provide better visibility into data and transactions and help to build stronger relationships with suppliers. Automation of the onboarding process can benefit the supplier in terms of risk reduction, with processes in place to check necessary documentation like insurance cover, or health and safety checks.
This can mitigate unseen risks for vendors, and ensure compliance not only with internal regulations but also with external agencies or official offices.
Cloud-Based Onboarding
Many organisations large and small that understand the advantages of solid onboarding have taken their process one step further by moving it to a cloud-based system. This minimises the risk of storing information locally and avoids the possibility of data loss or corruption.
As a cloud-based system can be accessed from anywhere it is not limited by geographic location or restricted by area.
It allows finance and accounting teams to automate a large number of tasks and create unlimited workflows to handle onboarding needs.
Information can be shared or extracted quickly, and changes can be made as needed in an agile response to changing business demands or requirements. It also supports collaborative working across teams and employees as data can be viewed simultaneously across departments or divisions within the organisation.
Data can be verified for accuracy and duplicates eliminated before sharing details across other integrated systems used for ordering, procurement, or accounting purposes. The entire onboarding process can be easily streamlined, reducing friction for vendors and improving the speed of end-to-end onboarding.
Final Words
An effective supplier onboarding program benefits the business as well as the supplier, and cloud-based software can create much in the way of speed, flexibility, and traceability when it comes to information handling and exchange. For businesses concerned with growth, scaling operations using a cloud-based solution can be handled almost seamlessly.
Get in touch to see how i2B can help you with your supplier onboarding via our SaaS Supplier Onboarding tool.
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