e-Procurement Solutions

What are e-Procurement solutions? 

An e-procurement solution  automates, guides and approves the purchase and receipt of products and services through an electronic interface. These systems streamline the creation of requisitions and purchase orders (POs) to suppliers using internal or external catalogs or configurable electronic forms, enhancing efficiency and control over spending.

e-Procurement solutions improve ERP process automation and key transactional buying activities. They increase spend under management, reduce maverick spend and enhance cross-functional process and data integration, leading to better budget compliance, improved inventory availability and effective supplier and category management.

The e-procurement market includes providers that offer functionalities like catalog management and supplier networks. Implementing these solutions results in significant cost savings and operational efficiencies by reducing off-contract purchases, preventing budget overspending and increasing purchase order throughput per FTE. They also improve spend management, resulting in better sourcing and lower contracted rates.

These solutions improve end-user satisfaction by freeing time for core activities, increasing policy and regulatory compliance and reducing risk through enhanced spend and supplier transparency. e-Procurement solutions address ERP limitations in requisitioner-driven indirect spending, supporting both indirect and direct spending, and high-level requirements for services procurement.

In essence, an e-procurement solution is essential for organizations to automate and optimize procurement processes, achieve cost savings and enhance operational efficiency.

How e-Procurement solutions factor into the S2P process

e-Procurement solutions are essential to the source-to-pay (S2P) process and have a significant impact on procurement’s efficiency and effectiveness. The S2P process encompasses all activities from sourcing goods and services to making payments and managing supplier relationships. e-Procurement systems play a multifaceted role within S2P by managing processes, such as requisitioning process management, ordering and providing platform functionalities like analytics, integration and personalization. This foundational model standardizes procurement workflows to ensure consistency and efficiency throughout the S2P cycle.

At their core, e-procurement systems excel in robust procurement information management. They handle critical tasks like PO creation and approval for buyers and PO delivery and approval for suppliers. By managing procurement data accurately and efficiently, these systems uphold the integrity and smooth flow of information within the S2P process.

Supplier management is pivotal in e-procurement, involving activities such as supplier onboarding, catalog management and receipt acknowledgments. These efforts strengthen supplier relationships, mitigate risks, and optimize interactions within the S2P framework.

Additionally, e-procurement solutions streamline tasks like receiving inspection and approval, order fulfillment and receipt processes. These activities ensure timely and accurate handling of incoming goods and services, impacting operational efficiency and cost management within the procurement lifecycle.

Comprehensive catalog management is also supported, covering aspects like SKU and content management, catalog configuration and approval. By ensuring accurate product information, these systems facilitate streamlined procurement which reduces delays and errors for end users within the S2P process.

Integration with various systems, such as ERP, finance, inventory management, contract management and strategic sourcing, enhances the efficiency and coordination of procurement operations. These integrations enable seamless data flow across departments, promoting a unified approach within the S2P cycle.

Moreover, e-procurement solutions offer advanced platform capabilities, such as analytics, integration and personalization. These support data-driven decision-making and enhance user experiences to align with organizational goals.

By supporting adjacent processes like budget management, risk and compliance, spend analysis and master data management, e-procurement systems provide comprehensive oversight and control. This ensures procurement activities align with financial and regulatory compliance requirements.

In summary, e-procurement solutions play a pivotal role in automating and optimizing procurement activities within the S2P process. By integrating with diverse systems, providing robust information and supplier management capabilities and supporting advanced analytics and personalization, e-procurement enhances operational efficiency, achieves cost savings and improves control over organizational spending to drive greater value across the organization.

Why e-Procurement solutions are important

e-Procurement solutions provide substantial business benefits by automating and optimizing procurement processes. These systems streamline the purchase and receipt of goods and services to significantly enhance operational efficiency and tighten control over expenditures. By simplifying requisition and PO processes with catalogs and electronic forms, organizations can achieve greater efficiency in procurement operations.

Furthermore, e-procurement solutions improve ERP process automation and optimize key transactional purchasing activities. They increase spend under management, reduce maverick spending and improve cross-functional process and data integration, such as budget compliance and inventory management. This capability ensures that procurement activities align with organizational goals and financial guidelines, supporting better decision-making and operational transparency.

These solutions also support effective supplier and category management, which facilitates improved sourcing decisions and negotiation of favorable terms with suppliers. By leveraging advanced functionalities, such as catalog management and supplier networks, organizations can achieve significant cost savings and operational efficiencies. 

In summary, e-procurement solutions are essential for automating and optimizing procurement processes. They drive enhanced operational efficiency, substantial cost savings and improved control over procurement activities. When integrated with various systems and functionalities, they empower data-driven decision-making aligned with organizational goals, ultimately enhancing competitiveness and value across the organization.

How do I know my organization is ready for an e-Procurement solution?

Some signs that it’s time to step in with a e-procurement solution are:

1. Complexity of procurement processes: Your organization has complex procurement processes that involve multiple stakeholders, approvals and purchasing channels.
2. High volume of purchase transactions: Your organization handles a high volume of purchase transactions, including recurring orders and multiple suppliers.
3. Difficulty in managing supplier relationships: Managing supplier relationships, catalog updates and procurement compliance is becoming a challenge.
4. Frequent maverick spending: There is significant unauthorized or off-contract spending happening (maverick spending).
5. Desire for cost savings and efficiency: Your organization aims to achieve cost savings through better negotiation with suppliers, reduction of procurement cycle time, and operational efficiency improvements.
6. Need for better spend visibility: There is a lack of visibility into spending patterns across departments or regions.
7. Integration requirements: Your organization needs to integrate procurement processes with existing ERP systems, financial software or other procurement-related tools.
8. Employee readiness for technology adoption: Your employees are comfortable with using digital tools and there is a readiness to adopt technology for procurement processes.

If any of the above describes your organization, it’s time to begin looking for an e-procurement solution. 

Some factors to consider when beginning the journey are:

• Scalability: Ensure the solution can grow with your organization and can handle increasing volumes of transactions and expanding supplier networks.
• Integration capabilities: Look for a solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing ERP, finance and inventory management systems to ensure smooth data flow and coordination.
• User-friendliness: Prioritize a solution with an intuitive user interface and excellent user experience to ensure quick adoption and ease of use for all employees.
• Customization and flexibility: Choose a solution that offers configurable workflows  and forms to tailor it to meet your specific procurement processes and business requirements.
• Vendor support and training: Consider the level of support and training the vendor provides to ensure successful implementation and ongoing assistance.
• Cost and ROI: Evaluate the total cost of ownership, including implementation, maintenance and any hidden costs. Consider the potential return on investment through cost savings and efficiency gains.
• Security and compliance: Ensure the solution complies with relevant regulations and standards, providing robust security features to protect sensitive procurement data.
• Analytics and reporting: Look for advanced analytics and reporting capabilities to gain real-time insights into spending patterns, supplier performance and procurement efficiency.
• Mobile accessibility: Consider solutions that offer mobile access so employees can manage procurement activities on the go.
• Supplier network management: Ensure the solution supports the easy onboarding and management of suppliers, including features for catalog management, supplier performance tracking and compliance monitoring.

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How e-Procurement is done: Common features of e-Procurement technology

Catalog Management

e-Procurement solutions provide robust catalog management capabilities that are essential for maintaining accurate and up-to-date product and service listings. These systems facilitate the creation, onboarding and real-time updating of catalogs to ensure all entries reflect current information. They incorporate mechanisms for catalog data quality control, integrating both internal and external sources to maintain real-time price accuracy. 

Additionally, e-procurement platforms offer features for catalog maintenance, including the adding, changing and deleting records and comprehensive approval processes to ensure all catalog content meets organizational standards. Mobile support for catalog management further enhances accessibility, while catalog analytics provide valuable insights for both buyers and suppliers. These systems also link catalog content with contract terms and conditions to ensure compliance and procurement efficiency.

Requisitioning

Requisitioning processes in e-procurement systems are designed to be user-friendly and highly configurable and capable of supporting a wide range of requisition types. With these setup capabilities, administrators can tailor the requisitioning process to their organizational needs, while the personalized shopping interface guides users through the purchasing process. 

The integration of intake management for purchase requests makes the managing and prioritizing incoming requisitions even more efficient. These systems enable the seamless capture, routing and approval of purchase requests and ensure they align with organizational priorities and policies. 

Advanced search engines help users find items across internal catalogs, external punchout sites and marketplaces by providing a federated search experience. Integration with third-party content sources expands procurement options further, and features like guided buying help ensure compliance with procurement policies. 

The systems support preferred supplier management, repetitive requisitions and budget checking processes to enhance overall efficiency. Mobile capabilities for requisitioning, coupled with comprehensive analytics, provide users with real-time insights and flexibility in their procurement activities.

Ordering

e-Procurement systems offer extensive configuration and setup options to streamline the creation and management of POs. They facilitate PO creation from approved requisitions or independently, supporting various PO types and the customization of PO designs. The solutions also support extensibility, allowing integration with third-party solutions for tax, import and total landed cost calculations. 

Effective communication processes and transmission methods ensure smooth interactions between buyers and suppliers. Additionally, e-procurement systems enable buyer-supplier collaboration, support international trade and logistics and offer mobile features to enhance order management. Analytics provide detailed insights into ordering activities to help organizations track performance and identify areas for improvement.

Receiving

e-Procurement solutions offer comprehensive support for the receiving process, from customizable setup components to real-time fulfillment capabilities. These systems manage all elements of receiving and integrate receiving activities with adjacent processes for seamless operations. Mobile support allows users to manage receipts on the go. Analytics provide valuable insights into receiving activities, including key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmarking. The systems also support international trade and logistics, ensuring efficient handling of cross-border receiving processes.

Supplier portal

The supplier portal in e-procurement systems facilitates efficient supplier onboarding, information management and performance tracking. These platforms offer various onboarding models to accommodate different supplier categories and technical capabilities. They ensure effective management of supplier information, including data privacy considerations, and support catalog management and order processing from the portal environment. Invoicing and other document exchanges are streamlined through the portal, enhancing transaction efficiency. 

Additional value-added services, such as pre-integrated suppliers, supplier directories and financing options, further support supplier collaboration and management. The ability to connect to multiple supplier and business networks through a unified portal environment ensures broad interoperability and enhanced procurement capabilities.

Analytics

Analytics play the crucial role of providing users with detailed insights into all aspects of procurement activities. e-Procurement platforms offer analytics for catalog management, requisitioning, ordering, receiving and supplier performance, helping organizations track KPIs and benchmark their performance against industry standards. Real-time analytics enhance visibility into spending patterns, supplier performance and procurement efficiency to enable data-driven decision-making. With these analytical capabilities, organizations can identify areas for improvement, optimize procurement processes and achieve greater operational efficiency and cost savings.

e-Procurement use cases

e-Procurement solutions can have varying use cases, but commonly they are made for:

• Automated PO and requisition creation, approval and management: Reduce manual tasks and errors and quicken the procurement cycle.
• Enhanced spend visibility and control: Improve budget compliance, reduce unauthorized spending and enhance financial oversight.
• Optimizing supplier lifecycle management: Enhance onboarding onwards with performance tracking and relationship management to ensure accurate supplier information, compliance with procurement policies and stronger partnerships 
• Ensuring compliance to procurement policies and regulatory requirements: Use features, such as guided buying and approval workflows, to ensure purchases align with established guidelines and standards and reduce compliance risks.
• Streamlining inventory control and visibility: Integrate  inventory management systems that prevent  overstocking or stockouts, maintain optimal inventory levels and reduce carrying costs.
• Managing contracts efficiently: Link catalog content with contract terms and conditions to ensure purchases are compliant with negotiated terms, mitigate compliance risks and maximize contract benefits.
• Mobile procurement: Allow procurement professionals to manage requisitions, approvals and orders from anywhere, ensuring seamless procurement operations, enhanced flexibility and responsiveness to business needs.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Provide data-driven insights into procurement performance, supplier metrics and spending patterns which will support strategic decision-making and continuous improvement in procurement operations.
• Holistic integration with source-to-pay systems: Unify procurement operations,  enhance efficiency, promote collaboration across teams and ensure comprehensive spend visibility from sourcing to payment. 

Do I need a service-based or do-it-yourself solution?

When deciding between a service-based or do-it-yourself (DIY) approach for e-procurement solutions, understanding their distinct functionalities and organizational impacts is crucial.

Service-based e-procurement solution (BPO): A service-based solution, often provided by business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, covers the entire spectrum of e-procurement functions. These providers manage implementation, procurement operations and vendor management, using their expertise for an end-to-end solution. This approach ensures rapid deployment, scalability and stringent compliance and security measures. The primary benefit is comprehensive support and reduced internal workload. However, it involves higher costs and reliance on the BPO provider for ongoing operations and customization.

DIY e-procurement solution: DIY solutions, typically under a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, offer the technology platform while leaving implementation and management to your internal procurement team. Organizations can customize the solution to fit specific needs and integrate it with existing systems, potentially with support from system integrators (SIs) or IT teams. DIY solutions promote internal skill development and cost effectiveness but require significant internal resources for implementation and ongoing maintenance. They offer flexibility and control over processes but may involve longer implementation times.

Choosing the right solution: Evaluate your budget, internal capabilities and strategic objectives. Consider factors such as the complexity of your procurement processes, the need for scalability and the level of support required. A service-based solution may be suitable for rapid deployment and reducing administrative burden, while a DIY approach offers flexibility and control over customization. Align these considerations with your organization’s e-procurement goals to select the optimal solution that meets your operational and financial requirements.

How technology supports e-Procurement — Top 5 capabilities

These ‘Top 5’ critical digital capabilities stem from the Spend Matters TechMatch workbench — derived from a larger number of requirements scored in the SolutionMap solution benchmark.

The Top 5 capabilities are the highest-weighted critical capabilities that are central to the displayed solution market benchmark. They have been developed by the Spend Matters analyst team and refined by procurement users in tech-selection projects using our market-proven SolutionMap benchmarking dataset and associated TechMatch decision-making tool.

1. Catalog modeling

The ability to get deeper and better control over more spend by managing catalog and content that models and supports all category requirements, e.g., item catalogs, service catalogs, smart forms or inventoried items. 

Average performing vendors typically provide basic capabilities in catalog management, including limited support for catalog creation, partial data detail at the catalog level and reliance on template-based forms for non-catalog items and services. In contrast, top performing vendors offer comprehensive functionalities that significantly enhance catalog management processes. They excel in dynamically creating catalogs from sourcing events, integrating external content through API integrations and multiple punchouts and ensuring robust data quality with extensive mapping and validations.

These leading vendors enable unlimited levels of data detail within catalogs and facilitate guided purchasing through advanced features, such as customizable shopping lists, bundles and kits. They enhance catalog usability by incorporating features like volume and promotional pricing, real-time price checks and support for multi-currency and multilingual environments. Customizable attributes cater to specific industry requirements and are seamlessly integrated into procurement workflows, including shopping lists and other essential processes.

Moreover, top vendors provide advanced configuration options for catalog content, allowing for tailored setups based on roles, product views, business units and geographic considerations. Business rules further streamline catalog management by guiding users through configuration processes and ensuring adherence to organizational policies and preferences. These capabilities collectively empower organizations to optimize procurement operations, enhance purchasing efficiency and maintain comprehensive control over catalog content and usage.

2. Guided buying

The ability to extend the next-generation guided-buying user experience beyond the typical Amazon-like shopping experience.

Average performing vendors typically provide basic support for guided searches within their shopping interfaces, using functionalities like keyword searches, faceted search options and punchouts to external sites. They offer pre-built templates, kits and the capability to create shopping lists or designate preferred items. These solutions may incorporate flags, supplier ratings and predefined help or FAQs to assist users during searches.

In contrast, top performing vendors significantly enhance the guided buying experience by implementing advanced features. These include guided access control to tailor user access based on roles and permissions, personalized recommendations derived from past user behaviors or predefined business rules, and the use of highly configurable smart forms integrated into intake processes. Real-time budget monitoring capabilities ensure financial compliance during purchasing, while advanced information and icons guide users with insights such as logistics costs, inventory availability and tiered pricing based on contract terms.

Moreover, top vendors employ sophisticated search result filtering to optimize visibility and relevance for users. They leverage real-time support through conversational systems, using AI and machine learning to personalize recommendations, promote sustainable purchasing decisions and proactively identify savings opportunities. These solutions also mitigate risks by addressing procurement challenges in real-time to ensure a streamlined and efficient purchasing process.

3. PO orchestration

The ability to optimize ordering efficiency while supporting category needs and remaining compliant with budgets, contracts and accounting.

Average performing vendors typically handle procurement processes by creating one or multiple POs from requisition requests or importing them from external systems like ERPs. They consolidate POs from various users, ensure compliance with contracts, monitor budget availability and maintain accurate financial accounting. These vendors provide a supplier portal that facilitates collaboration between buyers and suppliers through features like message boards, PO confirmations and status updates.

In contrast, top performing vendors offer extensive capabilities in PO orchestration. They can generate multiple types of POs, including standard, blanket and contracted POs, and deliver them in various formats, such as XML, EDI, email and portal submissions. These vendors automate PO creation based on predefined contracts, business rules, reorder points and scheduled services to enhance procurement efficiency and compliance.

Top performers also support advanced change order functionalities that require approval processes. These capabilities allow suppliers to initiate changes, such as accepting or rejecting line items, proposing substitutes, adjusting prices, quantities and delivery dates, splitting orders and adding comments. Additionally, they provide chat functionalities for real-time discussions between buyers and suppliers on availability, pricing, order fulfillment and payment discrepancies.

Furthermore, leading vendors offer advanced PO collaboration features like inventory replenishment sharing and, for direct materials, production planning integration. With these capabilities, organizations can streamline procurement workflows, enhance supplier relationships and achieve greater operational efficiency across the procurement lifecycle.

4. Receiving

The ability to receive all goods, assets and services to match with POs and invoices.

Average performing vendors typically facilitate the creation of advanced shipping notifications (ASNs) using formats like cXML or through their supplier portal. These ASNs include essential delivery details, such as tracking links, IDs, carriers, packaging specifics and weights. They support both centralized and user-driven receiving processes to accommodate quantity and cost-based receipting and handle full, partial receipts and returns.

In contrast, top performing vendors excel in automating receipt generation from orders or ASNs. These receipts are seamlessly integrated into workflows where users can review, approve and validate them against ERP systems or other specific business processes. Advanced vendors also support bill of lading (BOL) functionalities and integrate with logistic providers for streamlined operations. Barcode scanning capabilities further enhance automation in receipt creation processes.

Top vendors demonstrate sophisticated receipt management capabilities by categorizing receipts based on item types (products or services), thus generating corresponding goods receipts and service entry sheets (SES). They also offer robust asset management features, such as tracking asset value, depreciation, warranties, service schedules and detailed attributes. These capabilities enable organizations to optimize inventory management, enhance operational efficiency and ensure compliance throughout the procurement and receiving processes.

5. e-Procurement analytics

The ability to derive strategic, actionable insight (in the context of shopping) to meet goals for P2P, S2P and the business.

Average vendors typically offer out-of-the-box report builders with drag-and-drop functionality, along with reporting dashboards and descriptive reports focused on requisitioning, ordering and receiving using spend metrics. These reports are versatile. They can be shared, printed, exported, scheduled or integrated into dashboards for easy access and analysis.

On the other hand, top performing vendors go beyond basic reporting capabilities by incorporating advanced analytics functionalities. They use market intelligence derived from community data and employ AI/ML technologies to deliver actionable insights into procurement processes. These capabilities empower users with benchmarks, KPIs and predictive analytics to guide strategic decision-making and optimize purchasing activities.

For instance, top vendors provide actionable analytics that assess process KPIs, user performance metrics and predictive and prescriptive analyses. This includes supplier quality intelligence, which evaluates factors like lead time, order fulfillment and delivery quality to enhance sourcing strategies and cultivate robust supply chains. By integrating comprehensive analytics into their e-procurement solutions, top vendors enable organizations to mitigate risks, drive efficiencies and achieve significant operational improvements across their procurement operations.

Why selecting e-Procurement technology can be difficult

Selecting e-procurement technology can be a challenge due to several critical factors that procurement practitioners should carefully consider: 

• Assessing and aligning the specific needs of your organization with the functionalities different e-procurement solutions offer can pose a complex challenge. Each organization has unique procurement processes, supplier relationships and regulatory requirements that must be thoroughly evaluated to ensure a good fit with the selected technology.
• Interoperability and integration with existing systems, such as ERP platforms and financial software, are crucial considerations. Seamless integration is essential to avoid disruptions in procurement workflows and ensure data consistency across the organization.
• User adoption and usability are key to the success of any e-procurement implementation. Ensuring that the chosen technology is intuitive and aligns with the digital proficiency of your workforce is vital for smooth adoption and maximum utilization of the system’s capabilities.
• The scalability and flexibility of the e-procurement solution are important factors to consider. As your organization grows or undergoes changes, the technology should be able to accommodate increased transaction volumes, new suppliers and evolving procurement strategies without requiring a complete overhaul.
• Cost-effectiveness and return on investment (ROI) play a critical role in the decision-making process. Procurement practitioners must weigh the initial investment against the long-term benefits, including cost savings, efficiency gains and improved compliance with procurement policies and regulations.

By carefully evaluating these factors and conducting thorough vendor assessments, organizations can mitigate the challenges associated with selecting e-procurement technology and make informed decisions that align with their strategic procurement objectives.

How Spend Matters can help you select e-Procurement technology

Spend Matters specializes in procurement technology diligence. In addition to projects and advisory, Spend Matters offers Insider, the only membership community and technology comparison tool of its kind: access to Spend Matters SolutionMap vendor rankings dataset combined with independent, zero pay-to-play, brutally honest coverage of solution providers, market developments and trends affecting procurement, finance and supply chain. 

We can help you find a solution that meets strategic needs, such as:

• Catalog/content management.
• Integrated virtual catalogs.
• Secure content workspace.
• Intelligent guided buying.
• Streamlined requisition and purchasing order creation.
• Efficient sourcing event triggers.
• Optimized ordering efficiency.
• Compliance with budgets and contracts.
• Enhanced collaboration with suppliers.
• Inbound goods and services visibility.
• Flexible receiving.
• Modern cloud-based platform integration.
• Intuitive user experience.
• ERP/MRP system integration.
• Actionable insights for procure-to-pay (P2P) and S2P goals.

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Interested in learning how Spend Matters Insider and Spend Matters TechMatch can help you in your procurement technology selection?

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Discover e-Procurement vendors

These are the vendors we are covering today (or very soon). Visit their vendor directory pages on Spend Matters for a quick vendor overview, demographic information and relevant articles, including vendor analysis.

Solution Provider	What it does
Airbase	Airbase is a P2P software that combines power and ease of use to stop uncontrolled spend and drive user adoption. Its customer base consists of fast-growing companies in the mid-market and early enterprise.
Basware	Basware is a well-established company that provides a complete P2P solution, including one of the biggest B2B commerce networks and a mature AP automation solution for e-invoicing processing.
BirchStreet Systems	BirchStreet Systems is a cloud-based P2P automation platform for the hospitality industry. Its platform helps organizations purchase and manage spend for both direct materials (food and beverage) and indirect materials.
Claritum	Claritum delivers a cloud-based P2P solution that also includes tactical sourcing capability. At the solution’s core is a catalog-based platform with integrated RFx capabilities that allows buying organizations, services providers and suppliers to collaborate around ‘the buy’ for category-specific, tail spend activities.
Compleat Software	Compleat’s P2P solution automates purchase requisitions, order placement and invoice processing. Real-time spend analytics are provided by using extracted invoice data.
Contraqer	Contraqer’s cloud-based procurement management reduces spend and friction from procurement; it covers the entire purchasing process.
Corcentric Platform	Corcentric Platform by Corcentric is a comprehensive S2P/P2P offering, born out of Corcentric’s various acquisitions over the last decade (Source One Management Services in 2018; Netsend in 2019; Determine, Inc. in 2019 and Vendorin B2B Payments provider in 2020). Corcentric Platform currently includes supplier management, sourcing, CLM, procurement, invoice management, financial management, payments and analytics. The company also offers services (advisory and managed services).
Coupa	Coupa’s expansive S2P/P2P offering includes not only the core modules (source-to-pay, source-to-contract, procure-to-pay, AP automation) but many adjacent ones as well, such as Supply Chain Design, Treasury Management and Payments. It is well known for utilizing its community-based intelligence to generate insights.
CureMint	CureMint is an S2P platform for dental organizations, streamlining ordering, procurement and AP processes.
ebidtopay	ebidtopay is a European family-owned suite that typically serves the mid-market. It’s ‘smart!’ modules cover source-to-contract, P2P, supplier relationship management and supply chain management, as well as products focused on strategy and innovation.
EffiGO	EffiGO is an India-based S2P/P2P platform that offers modules in strategic sourcing, P2P and S2P. It also offers a supplier portal and a product called “eDisposal” that focuses on processing surplus stock and scrap.
e-Procure	e-Procure’s free B2B supply chain platform uses blockchain for procurement, contracting and payments.
Esker	Esker’s solution covers the entire P2P (and O2C) cycle, including online purchase requisitions, ordering of goods and services, AP automation, supplier communication and information management, receipt processing, payment management and analytics.
Eyvo	Eyvo’s cloud-based e-procurement suite covers requisition, approval, ordering, RFQ, vendor onboarding and more.
Fraxion	Fraxion offers a P2P solution designed to digitize P2P processes for mid-market companies. This cloud-based solution, hosted on Azure Cloud, features multi-company, multi-language and multi-currency capabilities.
GEP	GEP offers three S2P/P2P solutions that work together: GEP SMART, a S2P suite application, GEP NEXXE, a SCM application, and GEP Green, a sustainability application. Additionally, GEP Quantum is the AI-powered platform foundation that uses machine learning and low-code development tools to automate tasks, generate insights from data and allow for easy configuration of workflows across GEP.
ISPnext	ISPnext is an S2P/P2P solution that has modules for supplier management, sourcing, contract management, procurement, AP automation and spend analysis. Most of its customers are mid or mid+ organizations that have their HQ in Benelux, an economic and customs union comprising Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Ivalua	Ivalua is a global solution with customers in over 75 countries and a strong partner network. Its modules cover the S2P/P2P process, including for direct materials management, and it has supplemental offerings, such as inventory management.
Jaggaer	Jaggaer began in 1995 under the name of SciQuest. It has since acquired several other companies that now are part of the offering under the Jaggaer ONE banner, which launched in 2019. In addition to covering the S2P/P2P process, Jaggaer offers solutions for supply chain collaboration and payments.
Kissflow	Kissflow offers modules that cover strategic sourcing, P2P, supplier management, contract management, inventory management, invoice automation, spend analytics and integrations. It typically serves SME companies.
Markit	Markit’s IT product purchasing platform compares prices and delivery times. Large companies use it to save costs and time.
mdf commerce	MDF commerce is a solution provider with sourcing and e-procurement capabilities for the US and Canadian public sectors.
Medius	Medius is a modular S2P/P2P suite that covers the mid-market in Europe and is mainly used for indirect spend and to benefit from suite-level integrations. Its focus is on the downstream processes of e-procurement and AP automation, but it does have upstream capabilities to support the downstream ones, so it can cover all processes.
MeRLIN	MeRLIN is an S2P/P2P suite provider that supports direct and indirect spend for mid-market companies in the manufacturing and public sectors.
Nimbi	Nimbi’s e-procurement platform enhances productivity, performance and savings through supply chain management solutions.
Oalia	Oalia was created in 2000 at approximately the same time as several other European S2P/P2P providers. It started with a focus on intellectual services and addedcapabilities over time to become a full suite. However, P2P in Oalia is deployed more as a complement to the S2C offering than a full-fledged P2P one.
OneMarket	OneMarket by LogicSource offers solutions that cover P2P, analytics, sourcing and contracts. It also offers a project management capability called Portfolio.
Onventis	Since its launch in 2002, Onventis has been incrementally building and expanding its S2P/P2P system that it offers on the European mid-market. Over the last few years, it has worked to close several gaps by acquiring Spendency for spend analytics, adding native CLM capabilities, and third-party risk data providers. Today, it covers the entire S2P process.
OpusCapita	OpusCapita (now part of GEP’s portfolio) provides a P2P solution platform that includes e-procurement, invoice processing automation, product information management, e-invoicing (sending and receiving) and B2B integration (XML/EDI).
Oracle	While arguably best known for its ERP, Oracle also offers many other applications, including a procurement cloud that covers the S2P/P2P process. Other applications include a supply chain and manufacturing solution, a human capital management solution and a product lifecycle management solution.
Order.co	Order.co’s P2P solution combats maverick spend by incorporating external marketplace content into purchases and enhances efficiency by consolidating and paying invoices on behalf of buyers. The solution serves purchasers, approvers, procurement admins and accounts payable teams.
ORO Labs	ORO Labs’ orchestration platform optimizes procurement with smart customizable workflows.
Paramount WorkPlace	Paramount WorkPlace provides a web-based and mobile procurement and expense solution for mid-market organizations and integrates with major ERPs.
Penny Software	Penny Software’s end-to-end procurement platform digitizes procurement cycles, tracks expenses and manages budgets.
PLANERGY	PLANERGY’s offering includes four modules that fulfill the requirements for a comprehensive P2P solution: requesting, purchasing (ordering), AP automation and spend analytics. It mainly pitches itself for SME and lower MM businesses, which have between 50 and 1000 employees.
Precoro	Precoro offers a cloud-based solution for procurement process optimization.
Proactis	The creation of Proactis goes back to 1996 when the company Get Real Systems was founded in the UK. The company changed its name to Proactis in 2003. It offers an S2P/P2P suite that includes a marketplace/supplier network, In addition to buy-side capabilities and revenue, Proactis has an offering dedicated to suppliers wishing to capture new business opportunities.
Procurence	Procurence’s software connects procurement, quality management and compliance/ESG departments.
ProcurePort	ProcurePort offers a strategic sourcing solution that focuses on configuring and managing RFx and auction processes. In 2018, ProcurePort acquired a separate P2P platform that it now sells under its brand.
Prodigo Solutions	Prodigo Solutions’ offering helps healthcare providers reduce supply chain costs and improve data quality.
Promena	Promena is an S2P/P2P suite that focuses on smaller and mid-size businesses and supports supplier management, sourcing contracting and e-procurement.
ProProcure	ProProcure is a SaaS provider with extending eProcurement capabilities that focuses on automation and accurate data entry.
Raindrop	Raindrop offers a comprehensive S2P/P2P platform designed to streamline procurement processes and enhance supplier management. Its platform covers various aspects, including spend management (Catalogs and Requests), sourcing, contract management and payables management.
Rinktee, LLC	Rinktee’s cloud punchout catalog service simplifies selling and buying processes between procurement systems and e-commerce sites.
SAP Ariba	Since its initial founding as Ariba in 1996, SAP Ariba has continued to undergo significant development, and the solution’s overall SAP Ariba roadmap increasingly intersects with those of other SAP products. Today, it covers the full S2P/P2P lifecycle.
SoftCo	SoftCo provides a P2P solution designed for SMEs/MM businesses, with its largest presence in Europe. The platform, developed over 10 years, features advanced invoice capture, a robust workflow and business rule engine and strong systems integration capabilities.
Sourcing Force	Sourcing Force offers S2P management software for procurement, spend management and data analysis.
SpendBoss	SpendBoss’ spend and asset management software enables custom hierarchy, transactional analytics and vendor management.
SynerTrade	SynerTrade offers three solutions: supplier management, P2P and S2C.
TeamPay	TeamPay offers an interesting middle market P2P value proposition for companies looking to control their spending on purchases but not over control it. It’s a good option for companies using Slack and Microsoft Teams.
think Procurement	Think Procurement offers a scalable P2P platform for automating procurement processes and providing real-time spend insights.
Tradeshift	Tradeshift leverages its business network to excel in marketplace, e-invoicing, V-Card and SCF programs, achieving high volume in the P2P market. It also offers an open integration framework for third-party apps that is focused on supplier connectivity, transaction enablement and collaboration.
Tradogram	Tradogram provides procurement software with customizable tools for spend management that would suit all company sizes.
Uppler	Uppler’s marketplace-based e-procurement platform integrates front, middle and back-office functions for procurement management.
Varis	Varis provides a P2P solution with three packages: marketplace, e-procurement and P2P. These packages include modules, such as Storefront, Services, Quote, Suppliers, Platform, Requisitioning, Order, Contracts, Analytics and Payables.
Veriscape	Veriscape sells e-procurement software for large enterprises with a focus on ease of use, cost-effectiveness and flexibility.
Vroozi	Vroozi offers a cloud-based P2P solution that evolved from its original e-procurement platform into a comprehensive suite. Key features include invoicing and payments, a supplier portal and discovery modules. Additional capabilities include an RFQ feature (three bids & a buy) and Vroozi Expenses for reporting and approval.
Vurbis Interactive	Vurbis Interactive provides headless cloud solutions for B2B eCommerce, enabling punchout and document exchange capabilities.
Zapro AI	In addition to covering the S2P/P2P cycle, Zapro AI offers solutions for vendor management and inventory management.
Zip	Zip’s intake-to-procure solution for initiating purchase requests and routing approvals integrates with major ERP and P2P solutions.
Zycus	Zycus is an S2P/P2P provider that offers P2P and S2C platforms as well as applications for intake management, risk management and ESG management.

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Glossary

Term	Definition
Analytics	Tools in e-procurement systems that provide detailed insights into procurement activities, including catalog management, requisitioning, ordering, receiving and supplier performance. These help track KPIs and benchmark performance.
Catalog management	The process of maintaining accurate and up-to-date product and service listings in e-procurement systems. It includes creating, onboarding and real-time updating of catalogs, ensuring data quality control and linking catalog content with contract terms.
Collaboration	Features in e-procurement systems that facilitate communication and joint activities between buyers and suppliers to enhance transaction efficiency and supplier relationships.
Document exchanges	The transmission of electronic documents, such as invoices and purchase orders, between buyers and suppliers within an e-procurement system.
ERP integration	The seamless connection of e-procurement systems with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to ensure smooth data flow and operational efficiency.
Federated search	An advanced search engine feature in e-procurement systems that enables users to find items across internal catalogs, external punchout sites and marketplaces.
Guided buying	Features in e-procurement systems that help ensure compliance with procurement policies by guiding users through the purchasing process.
Intake management	The capture, routing and approval of purchase requests in e-procurement systems to ensure alignment with organizational priorities and policies.
International trade and logistics	Support within e-procurement systems for managing cross-border transactions and the logistics of receiving goods from international suppliers.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)	Metrics used in e-procurement systems to measure and monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of procurement processes.
Mobile capabilities	The ability to access and manage e-procurement processes, such as catalog management, requisitioning, ordering and receiving, through mobile devices.
Onboarding models	Different approaches and methods used in e-procurement systems to integrate suppliers into the system, accommodating various supplier categories and technical capabilities.
Order processing	The series of actions taken in e-procurement systems to create, approve and manage POs and related transactions.
Punchout Sites	External websites linked to e-procurement systems where users can shop for items that are then added to their internal procurement system for approval and purchase.
Purchase order (PO)	A document created in e-procurement systems to formalize a purchase transaction. POs can be created from approved requisitions or independently and support various types and customization options.
Receiving	The process in e-procurement systems that manages all elements of receiving goods or services, including tracking assets and integrating with adjacent processes.
Requisitioning	User-friendly, configurable processes in e-procurement systems that support various requisition types. It includes intake management, advanced search, guided buying, preferred supplier management, repetitive requisitions, budget checking and mobile capabilities.
Supplier onboarding	The process of integrating new suppliers into an e-procurement system, ensuring effective management of supplier information and compliance with data privacy considerations.
Supplier portal	A centralized platform in e-procurement systems for managing supplier onboarding, information management, performance tracking, catalog management, order processing, invoicing and document exchanges.
Tax, import and total landed cost calculations	Features in e-procurement systems that calculate all associated costs of acquiring goods, including taxes and import fees, to provide a complete view of expenses.