Introduction

After investing in a new procurement platform, a leading specialist in transportation, logistics and materials handling embarked on a quest to maximize ROI and optimize spend management. Specifically, they wanted to integrate suppliers quickly and smoothly with their new platform, Coupa. 

The enterprise explored B2B Connected Commerce, using the expertise of TradeCentric to help deliver integrations without extra pressure on stretched internal teams. The program enabled them to realize more value from the platform while creating a springboard for growth. 

Read on to learn more about the challenges they faced, and how B2B Connected Commerce enables the enterprise to meet them.

Challenge: Improving ROI with a small team

After spending months implementing the platform and embedding it into internal processes, the business focused on improving ROI by onboarding suppliers to the new system.

Naturally, their goal was to onboard as many suppliers as possible, as quickly as possible. However, the small, fragmented procurement team faced challenges. They primarily used manual processes for invoice management and PunchOut set-up, and lacked the required supplier contact information.

Separate, small teams were concentrated on the day-to-day responsibilities of direct procurement, platform administrative tasks and accounts payable, with little communication between them.

They needed an approach that would overcome these challenges and deliver rapid, measurable value.

Solution: Partnering with an expert to prioritize and enable

The team’s first key decision was to prioritize suppliers based on annual invoice volume. In addition to a top ten list, the team identified a group of lower priority suppliers who they would target in phase 2. This ensured the team had an ongoing target list of suppliers to enable.

Alongside prioritization, the enterprise partnered with TradeCentric for supplier outreach, education and enablement to deliver integrations quickly, efficiently and consistently.

TradeCentric provided the market knowledge, experience and integration platform they needed to accelerate success, including:

• Providing a no-cost, no-obligation initial assessment
• Identifying existing suppliers who were already in the TradeCentric network
• Conducting supplier outreach on the team’s behalf
• Providing expert guidance on the integration process
• Offering a flexible approach, by either priming suppliers for buyer outreach, or fully managing the process

Result: Smoother integrations and greater value

To date, the program has enabled early and effective engagement with multiple suppliers, which are a mix of existing TradeCentric customers and new prospects for the enterprise. With the help of TradeCentric, the first supplier deal closed in exactly one month.

For the transportation, logistics and materials handling company, partnership with TradeCentric for the B2B Connected Commerce program delivered:

• Better spend control and visibility
• Centralized purchasing through the spend management platform 
• Improved analytics for the procurement director
• Greater control and visibility of invoicing, which is a key business priority 
• Reduced manual intervention for invoicing and POs
• Ability to reallocate staff time to priority projects

TradeCentric’s integration expertise streamlines processes for B2B buyers. Tailored supplier outreach and enablement eliminates the need for buyers to handle technical details while providing instant access to integration specialists and streamlined supplier onboarding.