Contract to Bid – new software solution for purchasing

Typing out hundreds of items by hand? This takes time and is fraught with potential errors. When it comes to initiating tenders on the basis of an ECC framework agreement and transferring them to SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), this is the usual procedure in many companies. But new paths are opening up here: With the new SRM Consulting Solution “Contract to Bid” from conarum, you can now make your tendering process much more efficient.

Framework agreements expire and new tenders have to be initiated – a task that is part of the core process in purchasing. If framework agreements or contracts exist in SAP ECC, it has not previously been possible to transfer them to SAP SRM. If a new tender is to be created, all data must be entered manually. To make matters worse, not even copy & paste works properly. This is because the interfaces of SAP ECC and the SRM browser are different.

The consequence for the employee from Purchasing?

Clearly: manual input.

This can take several hours, especially with contracts that contain up to several thousand items. The potential for errors is easy to imagine here: typos, items or even entire text passages are forgotten or entered twice. As a tender always takes a lot of time under conventional conditions, it is easy for it to get stuck. The system also does not send a signal announcing the expiry of a framework agreement. However, regular invitations to tender help to ensure that a company always buys at the best conditions.

That works better …

As a consulting company, our goal is to create added value for our customers. We achieve this by offering straightforward and easy-to-implement solutions that close the process gaps that the SAP standard cannot cover. Optimizing the purchasing process by automating the entire tendering process is one of them.

… with the SRM Consulting Solution from conarum

To this end, we have developed the industry-independent SRM consulting solution “Contract to Bid”, which is used as an “add-on” to the SAP landscape. When framework agreements expire, regardless of whether they involve material or service items, these are put out to tender directly via the bidding engine. This leads to considerable advantages:

• Continuity in the tendering process
• Regular optimization of purchasing conditions
• Time saving
• Avoidance of errors
• Concentration of employees on their core competencies
• Greater efficiency and improved profitability

Successful in use

A globally operating chemicals group with 16,300 employees worldwide is already benefiting from the SRM Consulting Solution that conarum developed for this customer as a pilot project. We have set up the Customer Solution on the basis of this individual solution. Would you also like to use the valuable time of your purchasing experts more profitably by allowing them to concentrate more intensively on their core competencies? Read how our “Contract to Bid” solution module guides you through the process.

Stages of the automated tendering process

• Creating an invitation to tender in SRM
• Entering the most important tender data in the ECC, which are inserted as attachments
• Branching directly into the SRM tender
• Buyer finalizes the tender and publishes it
• Automatic generation of tenders on the basis of expiring framework agreements and e-mail with information to the purchaser

User-friendly and intuitive operation …

… is an absolute requirement for a software solution that is used efficiently in the business process. The ease of use of the SRM Consulting Solution leads to a high level of acceptance among employees. Time-consuming transfer of tenders is a thing of the past; work processes become more efficient and more qualified. The result: consistently best purchase prices thanks to regular tendering.
conarum accompanies you. On your path to greater efficiency and success.

Documents for download
SAP SRM – Contract to Bid