Procurement Challenges Addressed with PeopleSoft Mobile Procurement

The day-to-day life of Procurement is filled with numerous challenges and may leave those responsible feeling overwhelmed. The introduction of PeopleSoft 9.2 Mobile Procurement addressed some of these challenges. Fluid User Interface (UI), Employee Self-Service and Mobile Procurement allow users to work on the go, using mobile devices (i.e. smart phones, tablets and desktop computers).

The benefits of implementing Mobile Procurement include the following:

• Ability to complete procurement tasks anywhere, anytime. For those users that are constantly on the go, being able to quickly review and complete procurement tasks outside the office is critical. With the use of mobile devices, some of the tasks that can be performed include adding/modifying requisitions and viewing requisitions from the Employee Self-Service page. Here are a couple of examples:

1. Users have the ability to enter a requisition by browsing catalogs, ordering through their Item History, ordering from their favorites or ordering by special request.
2. The user can also view their requisitions from the My Requisition page. On this page, they have the option to edit, cancel or view the details of their requisition as seen here:

• Ability to increase coordination and cooperation. Not only does it provide for faster processes and business decisions, it brings the team together regardless of location as they are no longer tied to their computer in their office.
• Ability to perform approvals. Approvals trigger a chain reaction of supply chain and logistical operations. Managers/Approvers can quickly approve various transactions using their mobile devices.

To filter a particular type of approval, just filter by type (i.e. Requisition) and only those approvals would appear as shown below:

From this page, the user would be able to select one or more requisitions to add approver comments, to approve, to deny, to pushback or place the requisition on hold. In addition, they would be able to view the details, edit the requisition and start a new approval path.

Getting on-time approvals saves both time and money. It also reduces effort required, resulting in better scheduling, better timing of procurement activities and reduces overall operational costs.

• Streamlines Processes. With the ability to manage exceptions, users are able to ensure that purchased orders are placed in a timely manner, ensure goods/services are received on time and faster decision making is performed by allowing users the ability to manage by exceptions as well as providing the ability to view and analyze real-time data.

The ability to view and analyze real-time information also allows for faster decision making, for example, reviewing the Req Approval Cycle Time, Req to PO Cycle Time and PO Approval Cycle Time). When reviewing the tasks, notifications can be sent to an individual/individuals via email to take the necessary steps. Here is an example of the Req Approval Cycle Time page:

Another option for the user in their analysis is the ability to review analytics, such as the Procurement Spend Analysis:

Pages, like the one above, allow the user to dig deeper into the data behind the charges and graphs by simply clicking on the hyperlinks or on the bars of the graph.

With PeopleSoft 9.2 Mobile Procurement’s new technology, a new level of efficiency can now be brought forward to all areas of the procurement processes, drastically reducing the time needed to perform vital tasks. Isn’t this worth taking a look at to see how the technology can help improve your organization?

If you have any questions regarding PeopleSoft 9.2 Mobile Procurement or any other PeopleSoft question please email Larry.Zagata@MIPROConsulting.com.