Codeless Platforms

Guide and Workbook

Procurement Process Flow
Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow
 Mapping procurement processes
Mapping a procurement process flow can often be an
area of procurement management that is overlooked.
In order to maximise profit margins and improve efficiency
to stay cost competitive, mapping out your procurement
procedure can help your business identify key areas that may
require automation or modification and, ultimately, improve
performance.
This workbook will help you to produce a procurement process
flow that is unique to the way your business operates and can
be used as a starting point to map your procurement process
to help you identify areas where you can improve company and
employee performance.
Key areas and sub-processes covered
in this process model include:
• BPMN Example: Procurement
process flow overview
• Sub-process model: Preparation
of procurement requirements
and selection procedure
• Sub-process model: Selection
of key supplier(s) based on
defined business rules
• Sub-process model: Registration of
tenders and selection of supplier(s)
• Sub-process model: Review of financial
costs, commitments and placing an order
• Notes for you to map and modify
your process models
• Streamlining the procurement process:
Automation and system integration
recommendations and considerations
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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 BPMN Example: Procurement process flow overview

The process below identifies the key stages within a common procurement process. Each step within the process will have its own
series of sub-processes (+) which can be customised to meet your exact business requirements.

In this instance an employee requests products or services from a supplier and associated business rules.

Diagram: BPMN Example of Procurement Process Flow Overview

The procurement process can be broken down into the following four sub-processes:

1. Preparation of procurement requirements and selection procedure

2. Selection of key supplier(s) based on defined business rules

3. Registration of tenders and selection of supplier(s)

4. Review of financial costs, commitments and placing an order

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

Below is an example of business rules within the procurement process.

Rule Purchasing Thresholds Offers Required

1 £0 to £1,000 N/A

2 £1,001 to £5,000 Minimum of one vendor for products and services

3 £5,001 to £25,000 Send RFQ to a minimum of 4 vendors

4 £25,001 to £50,000 Send RFQ to a minimum of 6 vendors

 Notes
Use this section to highlight the first steps, procedures and business rules within your procurement management cycle.

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Sub-process 1: Preparation of procurement requirements and

selection procedure
The procurement management process flow below details the sub-process to prepare the procurement requirements and
selecting the desired procedure to follow. Each procurement process will have different business rules which are dependent
on specific contract agreements. For example, if a procurement department already has a framework agreement with a specific
supplier, there is no need to go to tender. However, if no prior agreement is in place the procurement requirement will go to
tender in either a head-to-head auction or direct negotiation.

Diagram: Sub-process - preparing requirements and selection procedures

In this process:

• Employee prepares requirements for product/service

• Employee decides if to use a new or existing supplier

• Employee checks and reviews framework contracts

• Employee uses existing frameworks contract and supplier, or issues a new contract and supplier

• Employee produces supplier and product or service details

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Sub-process 2: Selection of key supplier(s) based on defined

business rules
The procurement management process flow below details the sub-process of selecting suppliers based on the detailed business
rules (above). Procurement business rules will vary depending on an organisation’s procurement needs and requirements, but for
this example the conditions are under £5,000, over £25,000 and under £50,000.

Diagram: Sub-process to select number of suppliers on business rules

In this process:

• Employee compiles provisional estimate and/service costs

• Decision to select supplier is based on volume required and cost

• The larger the potential order cost more suppliers will be contacted

• Once limits are decided employee prepares a request for tender

• Employee sends a Request of Information to Tender (RITT) to supplier(s)

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Sub-process 3: Registration of tenders and selection of supplier(s)

The procurement process flow below details the sub-process of registering tenders and selecting suppliers to fulfil the product or
service requirement. The tender selection process will have specific and predetermined criteria in place. Additionally, tenders are
stored until the predetermined criteria before opening e.g. time and date.

Diagram: Sub-process - registration of tenders and supplier selection

In this process:

• Employee receives submitted bids over a defined period of time

• Employee checks and files bids

• Employee opens bids

• Supplier is selected based on defined business criteria

• Employee documents selected supplier details

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Sub-process 4: Review of financial costs, commitments and

placing an order
The procurement process flow below shows the sub-process of reviewing financial commitments and placing an order with the
supplier.

Diagram: Sub-process - review financials and order products

In this process:

• Business system (ERP/accounting) is checked for budget and financial commitments

• Employee creates order contract

• Employee gathers relevant managerial signatures

• Order is sent to supplier

• Await to receive order confirmation from supplier

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Streamlining the procurement process: recommendations and

considerations
Once you have mapped out your procurement process flow you
will be able to identify key areas for improvement and ways to
streamline your procurement process.
Procurement integration
and process automation
Procurement software, such as ProcuraPro, enables an
organisation to improve the procurement management process.
Procurement automation streamlines the
ProcuraPro provides complete visibility into all procurement
procurement process and removes repetitive
tasks and activities and can help maintain inventory with the
and manual administration activities from
ability to automate day-to-day activities including:
employee workloads.
• Initiate requests for proposals (RFP) and quotations (RFQ)
Automating procurement tasks helps to
• Invite suppliers by automatically improve efficiency and decision making by
generating and sending emails increasing the visibility of critical data, reducing
supplier costs and improving the management
• Select qualified proposals and invite
of suppliers.
suppliers for negotiation stage

An automated procurement system will

• Internally approve, then inform winning supplier(s) via email
• Receive email updates about suppliers’
activity on proposals
• Suppliers can place proposals in
response to a received RFP/RFQ
• Suppliers can view their RFP/RFQ and
compare it with other proposals
enable employees to concentrate on other
activities that add value to the business
such as procurement strategy and supplier
management.
There are several ways Codeless Platforms
can help you to automate your procurement
process including:

• Integration with Electronic

• Suppliers can update their own price proposals
Data Interchange (EDI)
in response to competition price updates
• Automating RFQs when stock
levels reach reorder points

Try ProcuraPro for free • Automating stock level reorder point

notifications via email or SMS

• Automatically creating and distributing

purchase order and order confirmations

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Notes

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Notes

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

 Notes

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 More Information

For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Codeless Platforms via the following;

Tel: +44 (0) 330 9988 700

Email: enquiries@codelessplatforms.com

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Guide & Workbook
Procurement Process Flow

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Email: enquiries@codelessplatforms.com

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Orbis Software t/a Codeless Platforms.

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