A1 Enterprise provided an in-depth demonstration of procurement management software for a satellite communications company. The company offers voice and data connectivity through the connection of multiple cross-linked satellites. They have several communications solutions ranging from phones, satellites, and broadband. They are trusted by several companies and institutions including the government. 

The company is seeking for a system where they can process their procurements, manage them, track the status of those procurements and lastly a system that can help them manage their numerous contracts with other companies.

A1 Tracker is the perfect system for them. This system can help manage several functions in one platform. Based on their current workflow, A1 Enterprise showed several features that could prove useful for the company. 

Portal and Forms

The portal is similar to a landing page which can be developed to gather information from a potential customer or partner. The form will have designated fields which would match the fields that are inside the database. These fields can be programmed according to how they initiate their request forms. The vendors who are trying to close a project or bid can register through the procurement portal which will ask for details about their business, especially the legally registered name. The same portal will also ask for pricing, files to back up the registration and other necessary information for the contract manager to assess.

The portal has a procurement summary which focuses on the vendor proposal and the pricing. The portal has also a pricing review wherein all the details of the specific project is placed such as vendor, amount of bid, rating and a document area where the user can upload files to support their bid. Part of this portal is also the assessment area where there is a rating for vendor competency, efficiency, innovation, communication and other factors which is essential for the procurement process. All of these data will then be forwarded to the contract manager.

RFP, RFI and RFQ 

An RFP or request for proposal is a document which usually gathers a proposal and is made as a result of a bidding process or procurement. This module is integrated in the procurement management process which houses all the information that the company receives from the portals and this will also help the contract managers to decide and assess the vendor’s information. All contract request data from the forms will also be stored here. 

A1 Tracker is an entirely different system as the portal and they are developed separately. However, what makes both systems powerful and efficient is that there’s not a necessity for creation of  new fields or identification of data received. As both can have the same fields which will make it easier for the contract managers to draft agreements.  

An RFI or request for information is particularly important in the whole process of procurement. This is purposely made to collect information about what suppliers and vendors can do. Instead of going back and forth through emails or sending out several files, A1 Enterprise made the process easy with the use of the portals as aforementioned.

Part of the standards of companies is the RFQ or the request for quotation. This is part of the business process wherein the company would require or request quotes for products or services. Some would also identify this as a call for bid. As such the portal mentioned above would function perfectly for this process. 

From the time the vendor takes interest in bidding with the company, the portals and forms would help the company lessen human interaction by automating the process.  Questions about the company or what the project covers, or specifications that the vendor requires can be placed in the same portal. 

Due to the wide range of services offered by the company and the huge clientele they serve, they are required to streamline the process of their procurement. This procurement management software will help them in different ways but most importantly with ensuring they have a centralized repository of the suppliers’ data through A1 Tracker.

Contract Management

Once the procurement information is gathered, the contract manager starts drafting an agreement. Inside A1 Tracker, this process will be made easier as all the details can be sent through an email and contract may be included. The email may be programmed to include an approve or decline button. All of the communications during the negotiation process will be recorded inside the contract management software. Every change suggested will also be recorded in the system so that contract managers would no longer have to scroll through long email threads. 

Upon approval, notifications can be programmed inside A1 Tracker that would send out an automated email to different key persons of the company. The company follows a standard protocol in terms of notifying a specific person. For example, for contracts exceeding  $400,000 notifications would be sent to the Vice President of the Business Unit. This workflow can be programmed inside A1 Tracker and once received by the designated person, the contract record will then be assigned to the same person. 

The  handing over of information would no longer take so much time as A1 Tracker can process business rules automatically. An email template can also be personalized according to the needs of the company allowing the vendor to review and respond to the contract from the same system.

Agreements Repository

The company has thousands of agreements generated over time, which would be hard to track especially to identify contracts closed to expiration or those that  require additional action. Part of this procurement contract software is a repository where previous agreements can be stored in one place and this will also include the new agreements. A dashboard also helps contract managers to manage which agreements require action and identify the contract Managers who have more contracts closed or managed. 

To sum up, A1 Tracker is a great system that can help in procurement tracking, RFP, RFI and RFQ management, contract management among several other functionalities. A1 Enterprise provides a single place where different modules can be used. The company maximizes the use of A1 Tracker for business and makes it possible for five or more modules to be in one place. Do you need to streamline your business processes? Contact us today and schedule a demonstration.