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The biotech industry continues to grow exponentially, experiencing a high unlike many other industries over the past three years, due to increased attention from governments, media and the public in search of disease treatments and preventive measures. Through extraordinarily challenging times, the biotechnology sector only reinforced the perception that biotech acquisitions and partners remain good investments. Betting on continued resiliency and biotech’s reputation of innovation, the industry has grown through fundraising from venture capital, partnerships, codevelopments and joint ventures. In fact, from 2019 to 2020, biotech experienced
double-digit growth through these strategies.
But what does this commitment and support mean for the biotech and life sciences organizations? For a biotech company in an industry that saw 60 percent more venture capital investment in January 2021 than January 2020, what do its executives need to meet high growth expectations? Beyond the shared issue plaguing many industries of building and attracting top talent, the biotech industry must address multiple areas including, most importantly, procurement and operational performance.
To address these challenges and many more, biotech companies have begun to invest in eProcurement, which is the purchasing and selling of products, supplies and services through a networked software platform. Through eProcurement, biotech companies are able to automate and centralize interactions between their internal departments and supply chain partners. In doing so, a biotechnology company can improve both their operational and product development speed, increase transparency, and become more efficient in their procurement process. This begs the question, what are the main reasons biotech companies are investing in eProcurement and what problems do these platforms solve?
1. Improving operational performance
In using an eProcurement solution, biotech companies are able to automate procurement functions. Through automation, employees of these companies are able to better focus on other tasks that are just as pertinent to the business’ day-to-day. In this, biotechs are able to achieve greater operational efficiency and drive better performance.
2. Procurement planning
At every step of the procurement process, the capabilities of eProcurement greatly enhance how biotechnology companies plan and execute in drug selection, sourcing materials, distribution and more. If a biotech company needs a particular living organism component, an eProcurement process can help identify this component, acquire it, then, once ready for market, distribute the resulting product to warehouses. In moving beyond paper-based processes, biotech companies gain an automated, flexible and faster procurement process.
3. Purchasing behavior visibility and insight
As important as the production of products is to the company, meeting the expectations of investors must now be of equal importance. A freshly funded biotech company must look to control spend, finding ways to curtail loose spending on resources, find areas to consolidate with their suppliers, and enable themselves to leverage their buying power by negotiating cost savings. Through eProcurement, a biotech is able to gain visibility of what the company spends regularly and gain better control of that spend.
4. Automating tasks
There are many laborious tasks to be completed when manufacturing, testing and distributing a medical or pharmaceutical product. Beyond the development of the product for market, biotech must also auction orders and manage documents in their efforts to evaluate and select suppliers. With an eProcurement solution, these companies are able to automate these tasks and more, such as price negotiations, resulting in improved efficiency.
5. Connecting external ERPs and supply chains
Through an eProcurement solution, biotech companies can share real-time information to each of its departments as well as supply chains for increased visibility of supplier information and all transactions. With a proper eProcurement system, companies should have no issue in seamlessly integrating with any of its existing business applications such as NetSuite, ERP and CRM software.
TradeCentric allows B2B buyers to quickly integrate any supplier eCommerce application with their eProcurement platform, avoiding the expense of custom integration. eProcurement applications support various data formats and protocols for exchanging purchase orders, invoices, and other procurement events. TradeCentric consumes data from both eProcurement and eCommerce platforms, mediating communication between them, all while supporting other document exchanges, including acknowledgments, advanced shipping notifications, and more.
To learn more about how TradeCentric can help you to offer the superior procurement experience your suppliers and your business production demands, complete the form below, and an integration expert will contact you soon.
Biotech eProcurement FAQs
By automating procurement workflows, biotech companies reduce time spent on manual processes like re-keying orders or tracking approvals. This allows employees to focus on higher-value activities such as research and development. The result is improved efficiency, fewer delays, and stronger overall operational performance.
eProcurement systems give biotech organizations a centralized, digital way to plan and manage sourcing across materials, equipment, and distribution. With real-time data, teams can anticipate demand, identify supplier options, and prevent bottlenecks in critical supply chains. This flexibility strengthens planning accuracy and speeds time to market.
Sales teams gain clear insight into order frequency, product demand, and total spend through integrated eProcurement workflows. TradeCentric’s Analytics tools provide visibility into buyer behavior that would otherwise remain hidden. With this data, sales leaders can identify upsell opportunities and deepen relationships with healthcare and research institutions.
An eProcurement solution can automate repetitive tasks such as routing orders, managing supplier documents, and validating pricing. It also supports automated invoice matching and approval workflows to reduce back-and-forth. These efficiencies eliminate manual errors and allow teams to scale procurement processes without increasing workload.
Integration ensures that buyers always see accurate product information, availability, and pricing within their own procurement systems. This reduces mismatched orders and prevents stockouts or returns that disrupt critical supply chains. For biotech suppliers, accuracy and speed are essential to maintaining trust with hospitals, labs, and research partners.
TradeCentric Analytics provides detailed reporting on purchasing patterns, PunchOut catalog usage, and transaction health. These insights help eCommerce leaders measure adoption, spot growth opportunities, and adjust product strategies to meet demand. With reliable data, suppliers can expand digital revenue and strengthen customer engagement in a competitive market.
