Advanced

Getting buyers and suppliers together...working smarter

The Problem
Current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are often seen by procurement professionals as unwieldy, yet necessary systems for managing their business. Many report difficulties in getting user buy-in. The result is behaviours such as off contract spend and retrospective purchase orders causing problems with invoice matching.
The knock-on effect is that companies:   Do not get an accurate picture of spend across the business.Do not achieve the full benefit of ERP.

The Solution

The Marrakech Advanced Catalogue product works in harmony with large corporate ERP systems, creating a web shopping experience for catalogue buyers (business users).
The web based application delivers formatted product information in an easy to navigate, configurable environment,
enabling users to find, view and select the products available for purchase.

Advanced Catalogue Benefits
For Procurement Professionals and Your Business:Simple integration to ERP systems – leverage benefit from ERP as well as Advanced CatalogueUser acceptance and adoption highImproved visibility of spend across the businessOpportunity to use the information gained through increased visibility and control to: reduce costs; improve contract terms and more accurately budget and forecastControl over spend and usage of suppliers – approved contracts, control over access to suppliers and products for different usersSupports purchasing of items with multiple variables (e.g. lease car make, model, colour etc)Reduction in errors/wrongly ordered products – direct cost and time savingAugment supplier data from across your supply chain with your buyer specific data giving you a complete single source of informationNo supplier set up cost/joining feesRapid deployment across the business, with minimal trainingItems can be purchased through catalogue without the need for a user to have an ERP licenceCan be provided as hosted solution – low capital outlay and full knowledge of ongoing opex costs.

For the Catalogue Buyer:Familiar web shopping look and feelEasy to use, quick to learnCommon look and feel across different suppliersOnly see products and information that is relevant to themSearch facilities enable sourcing to meet exact requirements, alternatives and associated itemsAble to buy items with multiple variablesLess likely to order wrong product - more efficient overall process and no need to seek advice or ask questionsAble to access the catalogue on mobile devices or via the internet – no need to return to office or depot to order productsRemoves need for parts or product manuals.

Features for Procurement Professionals:Flexible set up to meet procurement needs of organisationAutomatic workflow, event control and secure accessFully brandable with point and click branding kitEasy to set up, use and maintain product and supplier informationControl over user views and access to productsFlexible product information e.g. assembly codes or part numbers, descriptions and component pricesCan allow suppliers to load data, products and prices for your approval and publishing, reducing administrationEasy extract of data to spreadsheets to analyse informationChanges to catalogue can be automatedSupports multiple-languages and currencies. 

Features for Catalogue Buyers:Familiar web shopping experienceEasy to find the product requiredKeyword searchPictures of productsFavourites/quick pick listsParametric searchWildcard and combination searchDisplay of product information can include images, CAD, links to internal resources, market features and benefits.