Revolutionizing Procurement Requests and Intake Management Automation: Empowering Users in the Procurement Ecosystem

Think of procurement as a Route 66 highway, with historic, nostalgic charm which leads organizations to achieve great savings. In our experience billions of dollars sometimes. But sometimes this process can be difficult to adapt to, especially for an end user. Intake management automation can be extremely challenging. Take a scenario where a new employee has joined your organization, this new employee has no clue about the procurement process.

So, when you reimagine the ways to make your intake process simpler start with a new employee, and how can they be enabled to start raising requests in minutes. Hitting roadblocks in request / intake management can cause inefficiencies.

It’s essential to empower the end users to submit clear and accurate requests. This not only frees up time for the procurement folks but also helps them focus on strategic initiatives.

The advent of AI and digital transformation in procurement, particularly in intake process, promises to revolutionize these processes.

This blog explores how an advanced intake system, exemplified by solutions like Generative AI (Merlin Assist), can democratize and simplify procurement, catering to the needs of end-users with minimal effort.

Democratizing Procurement: Making it Easy for Everyone

Procurement is no longer a gilded cage for a chosen few. CPOs of the Fortune 500 enterprises demand a democratized approach. In this approach every user becomes an active participant in the procurement process. From the business units requesting services to the procurement professionals managing workflows. Intake management solutions break down barriers and make procurement.

• Easy: AI guides you with simple interfaces and clear instructions, like a friendly procurement expert. Mobile access lets you submit requests and track progress anytime, anywhere.
• Intuitive: System adapts to your request, streamlining the process for both simple and complex purchases. Talk naturally, the system understands.
• Accessible: Open doors for everyone. Get real-time visibility into every stage, everyone stays informed.

It’s not all in vain, According to Gartner, companies that democratize AI can realize a 30% increase in return on investments (ROI) within two years.

Inadequate Requests: Intelligent Guidance for Enhanced Accuracy

For a lot of organizations, procurement processes are blocked by not so well-defined requests and inadequate information from requesters. This leads to delays, inefficiency, and increased costs.

The traditional methods of request submission often fail to capture the nuanced needs of different departments, resulting in a procurement process that is cumbersome and disconnected from the actual requirements.

Requesters often lack clarity or struggle to articulate their needs effectively. The intake management automation ideally should understand this challenge and help address this struggle of the requesters proactively with AI powered features.

Imagine an end user submitting an intake form for cloud services. Instead of facing a blank form, A conversational AI assistant such as Merlin Assist, engages in a dialogue to understand their intent. Based on the initial input, it dynamically generates relevant questions to solicit additional information. This could include:

• Budget allocation: Estimating expected costs helps route the request to the appropriate budget owner.
• Security requirements: Identifying sensitive data usage triggers additional compliance checks.
• Desired timeframe: Understanding urgency dictates faster or slower workflows.

The Generative AI capability helps in continuously assessing the quality of information by analyzing user language, identifying ambiguities, and comparing responses to pre-defined data models. If it detects inconsistencies or missing information, it prompts the user for clarification or suggests relevant options. This

interactive dialogue ensures completeness and accuracy before the request even enters the approval workflow.

Continuous Learning: Building a Intelligent Intake System

Intake system can be made smarter with a built-in learning mechanism. Every interaction with Generative AI, every completed intake form, and every approved request contributes to a growing knowledge base. Generative AI can:

• Generative AI learns the patterns of user responses and specific requirements.
• Update the question library to become more precise and relevant in future contexts.
• Predict potential roadblocks and proactively prompt users for missing information.

Over time, the Generative AI powered intake software becomes progressively smarter, reducing the need for manual intervention and ensuring smooth progress for every request.

Navigating the Approval Maze: Dynamic Routing and Collaboration – Guided Buying

Imagine a purchase request that necessitates approvals from both the IT department and the legal team. The intake solution effortlessly handles such scenarios with its flexible routing capabilities. Based on pre-defined criteria, the request automatically routes to the relevant reviewers and approvers, depending on:

• Category of purchase: Cloud services? IT team first. Office supplies? Procurement team takes lead.
• Spend threshold: High-value contracts? CEO and legal review required.
• Supplier information: New vendor? Security and procurement teams take a closer look.
• Policy checks: Doesn’t fit within the procurement policy? System throws an error.

This dynamic routing avoids unnecessary delays and ensures the right focus at the right time. Even after this what happens to other needs.

Intake management solution on the web app, it fosters collaborative engagement throughout the approval process. Reviewers and approvers can:

• Clarify the doubts – Ask questions directly through the platform, engaging with the requester in a single, centralized location.
• Repository of FAQs – See responses to previous questions asked by others, gaining contextual understanding without duplicating efforts.
• Continuous Feedback Loop – Provide feedback and guidance to help the requester refine their request for optimal outcomes.

This transparent collaboration ensures everyone involved is aligned and informed, accelerating the approval process without compromising quality.

Intelligence in Action: Skip Logic and Conditional Questions

Intake solutions should have the power to leverage intelligence beyond just dynamic routing.

The ability to guide the requester to the correct pathway is primary for intake management solution. This highly AI powered intake management process incorporates decision trees, skip logic questioning, and conditional questions to provide continuous guidance to the business user.

Example –

• Reduced Friction and Streamlined Experience – Imagine requesting software licenses. Intake management solution asks about the number of users needed. If the answer is less than ten, the system skips unnecessary questions about enterprise contracts and directs the requester towards a simplified process for small purchases or low complexity requests. For intricate scenarios the intake process adapts dynamically.
• Flexible approach to procurement – If the user has complex licensing needs, the system automatically switches to a more involved questionnaire, ensuring all necessary information is captured for accurate procurement. This approach of intake management caters to every request with the appropriate level of detail, eliminating the need for multiple, pre-configured forms and workflows.

Seamless Transformation: From Intake to Actionable Outcomes

Intake solutions doesn’t end with routing and approvals. It seamlessly guides the request towards actionable outcomes. For example:

• PO Generation: Once approved, the request directly triggers the creation of a purchase order based on the captured information.
• Contract Management: For complex purchases, the system initiates the contract.

Zycus has created an all-encompassing cloud based solutions of intake management with multiple channels –

1. Merlin Assist – powered by MS Teams to give access to end user to submit requests from anywhere anytime.
2. Guide Me Web App – Step by Step guided UI which guides the end user to creating the right request for their need.

Transform Procurement with Zycus’ Intelligent Intake Management Automation:

1. Centralized Intake through Microsoft Teams & iRequest:

• Streamline request submission with integrated tools in familiar platforms like Teams, eliminating cumbersome email or paper requests.
• Drive user adoption with easy access and intuitive interfaces, leading to consistent processes and better data capture.

2. System-Guided Process:

• Leverage AI-powered guidance to steer users through the correct workflows based on their requests, ensuring compliance, and reducing errors.
• Eliminate confusion with dynamic forms that adapt to specific needs, asking only relevant questions for optimized efficiency.

3. Ensure Compliance, Visibility, and Transparency:

• Implement pre-defined rules and automated approvals to guarantee adherence to company policies and regulations.
• Gain real-time insights into all stages of the procurement process with comprehensive dashboards and reporting tools.
• Foster trust and collaboration with open communication and shared visibility into budget spending and supplier performance.

4. Strong APIs for 3rd Party and Organizations Internal Systems:

• Seamlessly integrate with existing ERP, finance, and supplier management systems for automated data exchange and streamlined workflows.
• Open doors for custom integrations with third-party tools and services, enhancing functionality and tailoring the solution to unique needs.

Watch Video: How Does Zycus Request Management Software Works

Real-World Success Story: Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines significantly enhanced its supply chain efficiency by adopting Zycus’ Source-to-Pay Platform.

Watch Video: How Does Zycus Request Management Software Works

Intake management Automation can help organizations unlock a new chain of cashflow.

• Track Finance-Approved Savings to P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow: Precise data capture and analytics enable accurate measurement of cost savings and their impact on financial statements.
• Maximize Early Pay Discounts/P-Card Rebates: Intelligent systems flag opportunities for early payment discounts and p-card rebates, optimizing cash flow and maximizing financial gains.
• Reduce Transaction Process Cost: Automation eliminates manual tasks and paper trails, streamlining processes and reducing administrative overhead.
• Reduce/Eliminate Maverick Spend: Guided workflows and pre-approved suppliers control purchasing behavior, minimizing unauthorized spending and risks.
• Increase SUM: Discover Savings Opportunities, Higher Sourcing Throughput & Savings ID: Advanced analytics unveil hidden savings opportunities, optimize sourcing strategies, and identify areas for further cost reductions.
• Visibility & Compliance to Preferred Agreements: Clear visibility into contracts and negotiations ensures consistent adherence to preferred supplier agreements.
• Rationalize Suppliers/Cleanse Master/Mitigate Risk: Streamlined supplier management allows for consolidation and rationalization, improving data quality and mitigating supplier-related risks.

Intelligent intake management automation empowers your organization to achieve procurement excellence and unlock significant financial benefits.

On demand webinar: Transforming Business Performance with Digital and Generative AI

Request a Demo of Zycus Intake Management to learn more about the same.

Related reads:

1. Unlocking Success: Intake Management Best Practices And Key Strategies
2. The Growing Significance of Intake Management in the Procurement Technology Market
3. Steps to Transform Your Procurement Intake Process
4. Whitepaper- Best Practices Driving Procure-to-Pay Efficiency
5. Whitepaper- Customer-centric Procurement – Correlating Customer Experience to World Class Performance
6. Press Release: Sensus Embarks on Procurement Automation with Zycus