Muda Management was approached by a utility client who was having issues with their purchase requisition intake process for their IT category. As an organization, they have long been known for their commitment to customer service and ensuring that their customers receive the best possible service. In the past, their procurement and legal teams have faced significant challenges with their internal stakeholders working directly with suppliers rather than going through the procurement department. This was leading to a lack of visibility and control over spending, as well as difficulty in tracking progress on projects.
Problem
The existing enterprise system for intake of purchase requests was inefficient and time consuming for the procurement and legal teams. The manual data entry process was lengthy, and the lack of automation meant that procurement and legal teams were spending excessive amounts of time on administrative tasks rather than negotiating with suppliers. Additionally, the current process did not allow for the organization to take advantage of any potential savings they could have achieved through standardization and better understanding of the purchasing process.
Solution
To address these issues, Muda Management proposed pulling the purchasing process out of the existing enterprise system and creating a more accessible means for intaking purchase requirements. This solution allowed for the IT procurement business unit to negotiate savings across several million dollars in additional spend. Muda Management first worked with the client to understand their current process and identify any pain points or bottlenecks. The team then developed a customized solution that included automated project tracking to eliminate manual data entry and improve efficiency. Additionally, this automated project tracking allowed the management to better understand their employees’ workloads while saving the procurement and legal teams significant time in data entry and project tracking.
Results
The result of this transformation was a streamlined and more efficient process for managing purchase requisitions in the IT category. The automated project tracking allowed for better visibility and understanding of employee workloads, as well as significant time savings for the procurement and legal teams. Our client was able to save several million dollars in additional spend as a result of the improved purchasing process and automated project tracking. Additionally, the time saved by eliminating manual data entry and project tracking allowed the procurement and legal teams to focus on more important tasks such as negotiation with suppliers. As a result, our client has seen a significant increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of their purchasing process.
Overall, the project was a success for the utility client and allowed them to better control their spending, improve efficiency, and gain a better understanding of their operations.