How to Make it Easy for Your Vendors to Go Digital?

Congratulations! If you are reading this, you’re thinking of or have decided upon adopting technology for your vendor management process. But your vendors are probably not very excited about it, isn’t it? We’re here to help you with exactly that. But let’s first understand why vendors are so reluctant to automate processes by adapting to new technology.

Vendors Say “NO” to Technology : Why?

Let’s start with realizing why technology/automation is important for your businesses & supply chain. Here are a few specific reasons:

1. Sustainable - The world is going paperless & rightly so. However, the term ‘sustainability’ is used rather broadly here. Not only is it environment-friendly to go digital but also offers enhanced efficiency as the business scales up. While on a larger level, it helps the earth; on an organisational level, it’ll greatly simplify your processes.
2. Saves Time & Money- Investment in a certain technology [equipment or software] is long-term. The biggest advantage concerns the amount of time & manpower you would save when the processes are smoother & faster. Not to mention the humongous amount of money saved that you’d otherwise put in to buy tonnes of paper & printing equipment.
3. More Auditable & Efficient - With all your important assets & data stored in one place, it becomes easier to keep track of & access those whenever required. Instead of having to rummage through invoices & other documents piled up on your desk/storeroom, search through thousands of email threads or call a 100 people, a quick search on your laptop is always better.
   

Even after all this, why are vendors reluctant? Here’s why.

Why vendors don’t readily accept tech-based solutions?

1. They are busy : No, they are usually caught up in their day-to-day activities. Remember that their priority is getting production done, getting orders dispatched in time, getting payments etc. While we might feel that setting up a software is easy, they might not always be well-acquainted with it & hence might look at the task as a waste of time in between all the hustle and bustle.
2. They are unsure : They might have a lot of questions, security of data being the most important. They might not be feeling secure about sharing a certain set of information online e.g. bank details. 
3. They are used to older ways : Maybe your vendors do accept technology but they’re waiting for you to set up the process. They have a system in place that works well for them. They don’t mind a new system but the shift probably seems like a huge, time-consuming task. Old habits die hard. Learning new things takes time & effort. The vendors might also be reluctant about the fact that the new system might cause them to make new mistakes.

Convince Your Vendor Base in 4 Easy Steps

To make your transition from manual to automated vendor management successful, you need to eliminate as much ambiguity as possible. These are the 4 actionable steps you can take to ensure smooth vendor onboarding on your digital platform -

1. Assess the vendors before you onboard them - The easiest way to technology adoption is to find vendors who are already open to the idea of automating vendor processes. That way, whether you are adopting a new platform or moving away from a current platform to a new one, it’ll be a lot easier to get your vendors along with you. Bizongo has a huge vendor network of 1500+ such vendors. You can spot a vendor that suits your needs among those available & at the same time onboard your existing vendors who are convinced. 
2. Address common concerns straightforwardly - As mentioned earlier, there were 3 major concerns that vendors have & you should keep an answer ready for those before you begin your conversation about a digital vendor management platform. Here are the ways to do that -

• Ensure them that they’ll be helped with the onboarding process & you won’t require much of their own time to do so.
• Make them confident about sharing information. Speak about the security measures taken to avoid any kind of data breach.
• Comfort your vendors that they are allowed to make mistakes when working with the software initially & that there will be people to help them whenever they need assistance.
• Anticipate and address all types of questions. Don’t wait for the vendors to ask them. Give them something solid to consider by giving them the same reports you presented to upper management to get their buy-in. Keep reminding them what is in it for them.
• Lastly, let them know that automation won’t put their jobs at stake. Make sure that they know that these platforms are only to make their daily tasks easier & not to replace them.

3. Stay available for queries & confusion - Don’t ignore the vendors after you are done onboarding them. Offer optimum training to your vendors. Also promise them a dedicated point of contact if they ever face any difficulty. That way, your vendors can trust you better & won’t be afraid of getting stuck or making a mistake. Bizongo usually offers such a POC from their end to resolve queries at the earliest when vendors are being onboarded via Bizongo Partner Hub.
4. Eliminate manual processes entirely - It is extremely important that when you decide to shift to digital vendor management, you do not keep scope for any manual process. The aim is to go 100% digital so that old ways are deleted. Keep track of qualitative & quantitative metrics like increased productivity, faster go-to-market & reduction of total cost of ownership to show how this transition has been beneficial.
   

India’s Top Vendor Management Platforms

Once your organization & vendor base is ready to hop on the digital vendor management boat, it’s time for you to make an informed, intelligent decision about which platform to use. We’re listing down the top 5 to narrow it down for you.

1. Zycus - Zycus is a cognitive procurement software and has been consistently recognized for its Source to Pay integrated suite. Zycus powers its S2P software with the Merlin AI Suite which takes over the tactical tasks and empowers procurement and AP officers to focus on strategic projects; offers data-driven actionable insights for quicker and smarter decisions, and its conversational AI offers a B2C type user-experience to the end-users.
   

2. Procure Live - Bizongo’s Procure Live, unlike most other softwares, is solely dedicated to supply chain automation. It offers you digital vendor management as well as inventory management along with supply chain financing, all at one place. Being a powerful platform that it is, Procure Live is certainly easy to use. If you have an existing ERP or other internal system in place, Procure Live integrates perfectly well with those as well. Learn about Procure Live in detail here. 

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3. Gatekeeper - Gatekeeper offers a central & secure view of all your vendor relationships. It provides a centralised record of all your business's vendors and their key information such as contact names and dates and how much you spend with them.
   

4. Zoho Creator - It is an optimized vendor & contract management system. The vendor management application software is built to simplify the way you handle vendor relationships, irrespective of industry or vertical. Seamlessly keep tabs on service providers and their contracts, and the responsibilities assigned to each vendor.
   

5. TYASuite - Among the many organizational software platforms offered by TYASuite is TYASuite Vendor Management Software. It is precisely designed to handle vendors/suppliers of any industry. It helps an organization to go paperless and onboard vendors through the digital platform.

In Conclusion..

This transition to digital vendor management honestly won’t be a one-day wonder. It will take time. Be ready to be patient with it. Try to eliminate confusion around the technology you’re trying to utilize & your vendors will more readily give it a chance. Treat it like sales. It may take a phone call or two & maybe even a couple of demo sessions. Offer them it all. Keep reminding them of the benefits.

Are you ready to go digital & bring your vendor base online? Or are you already in the process of adopting digital vendor management? Contact us & we can help you do it faster.

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If you wish to learn more about Bizongo’s services, visit our website.

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