Simplify Procurement Planning with Mercell
Streamline procurement with Mercell: simplify workflows, enhance collaboration, and ensure compliance for efficient, stress-free processes.
Procurement planning is the foundation of stress-free, successful purchasing. It’s what helps public buyers make the most of their budget, keeps everything running like clockwork, and ensures that all stakeholders stay in the loop.
Yet, for many buyers, it’s a time-consuming challenge. In fact, 40% of procurement resources go toward planning and preparing to achieve the best results.
What are some of the most difficult challenges?
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Dependence on manual, spreadsheet-based processes
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Difficulty in tracking and managing requests
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Inefficient collaboration with stakeholders
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Lack of standardised procedures for handling requests.
The result? Wasted time and resources.
A digital approach will instead streamline these processes, boost transparency, and enhance efficiency in procurement planning.
In this post, we’ll break down how effective planning makes everything easier for procurement teams, introduce you to Mercell Procurement Planning, and provide you with a real-life planning example from submitting a request to creating a notice.
Enter Mercell Tendering: Streamlining procurement from start to finish
Mercell Tendering unites every stage of the procurement lifecycle into one integrated, user-friendly platform. At its core is the Procurement Planning module, an essential feature designed to:
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Standardise requests: Ensure all procurement details are captured upfront, reducing delays and confusion.
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Streamline transitions: Convert procurement requests into actionable plans and tender notices with ease, minimising manual work and errors.
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Enhance collaboration: Foster teamwork among internal teams and external stakeholders through integrated communication tools.
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Ensure compliance: Maintain structured, auditable workflows aligned with regulatory standards.
Whether handling routine purchases or managing complex categories, the module provides key capabilities such as:
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Intake management: Use standardised templates or custom formats to capture procurement needs, ensuring compliance and maximising value.
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Tender transitioning: Effortlessly convert procurement requests into tenders, saving time and eliminating duplication.
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Real-time collaboration: Facilitate feedback and communication among stakeholders directly within the platform.
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Approval flows: Streamline the vetting and authorisation process, accelerating decisions and reducing bottlenecks.
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Project management tools: Oversee tasks dynamically, enabling strategic decisions and proactive management.
Mercell’s Procurement Planning module adapts to your team’s needs, offering tools to adjust plans, track milestones with shared calendars, and assign roles for seamless coordination.
By seamlessly transitioning data from planning to tendering, Mercell Tendering eliminates inefficiencies, ensuring clarity and accountability from start to finish.
Real-life example: Simplifying IT hardware procurement
How does it work in practice? Consider this real-life scenario: A department head tasked with procuring four laptops and docking stations for their team.
Step 1: Request creation
The process begins when the department head submits a procurement request via a secure link provided by Mercell. This link:
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Requires no access to the Mercell platform, making it simple and accessible.
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Captures all essential details, such as item names, quantities, and any technical specifications.
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Uses customisable templates to ensure requests are complete and accurate.
Step 2: Reviewing the request
The procurement planner reviews the request in their dashboard, which provides an instant overview of all submitted requests. During this stage, they:
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Verify the request’s completeness and accuracy.
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Consolidate similar requests - for instance, combining two separate laptop requests into a single procurement plan.
Step 3: Creating a procurement plan
Using Mercell’s intuitive tools, the planner creates a detailed procurement plan by:
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Selecting a template designed for IT hardware purchases.
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Categorising the items into “Laptops” and “Accessories” for clarity and reporting.
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Adding timelines, estimated costs, and other key information.
Step 4: Stakeholder collaboration
Collaboration is seamless within Mercell Tendering. Internal stakeholders, like department managers, can review and approve the plan, while external partners contribute via messaging tools. This ensures that everyone stays informed and aligned.
Step 5: Notice creation
Once the procurement plan is finalised, it transitions into a tender notice with just one click.
This ensures that all information flows directly into the tendering phase, getting rid of the need for manual duplication and reducing errors.
From requests to results: The benefits of Mercell’s Procurement Planning
Mercell’s Procurement Planning module simplifies every step of the procurement process, combining clarity, accountability, and efficiency.
Standardised templates ensure clear and compliant request submissions, while automated workflows and role-based permissions streamline approvals and maintain accountability.
Requests are effortlessly transformed into actionable plans, with collaboration tools keeping internal teams and external stakeholders aligned.
The module’s adaptability allows for adjustments, milestone tracking, and role assignments, ensuring smooth execution and seamless transitions from planning to tendering.
Key benefits include:
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Procurement planners save time with efficient tools and workflows.
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Managers gain visibility for informed, proactive decisions.
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Stakeholders collaborate transparently for greater efficiency.
Whether managing routine purchases or complex projects, Mercell’s Procurement Planning delivers a smarter, more seamless way to achieve procurement success.
Conclusion
Mercell’s Procurement Planning module simplifies workflows, enhances collaboration, and ensures compliance - all within a user-friendly platform.
With standardised templates and seamless transitions from requests to tendering, it eliminates inefficiencies and saves time.
The module adapts to your needs, whether managing approvals or adjusting plans, making procurement smooth and stress-free. From routine purchases to complex projects, it fosters transparency and teamwork across all stakeholders.