Chatbots are designed to make processes more efficient by taking over various tasks. Discover 8 advantages of chatbots in procurement.

8 Advantages of chatbots in procurement

In recent years, chatbots have become increasingly popular in various industries, including customer service, marketing, and sales. However, their potential for procurement and purchasing processes is not yet known to many people. Chatbots can support procurement professionals in various tasks, from supplier selection and contract management to invoice processing and negotiating deals. In this blog article, we will explore the use cases and benefits of chatbots in procurement. Chatbots are designed to fulfill requests, answer questions and provide information immediately. Therefore, the possibilities for their use in procurement are vast.

1. Find suppliers, products and prices:

By automating inquiries to suppliers, chatbots can search for suitable suppliers, products, and prices using market research. They can immediately feed the supplier’s information into the e-procurement system for access by all employees. Chatbots can also keep companies updated on changes in their supplier’s product portfolio, helping them adapt to these changes quickly.

2. Guided Buying:

Chatbots can guide users through entire processes, helping employees adhere to company guidelines. The chatbot delivers instructions for purchasing and delivers information about the preferred suppliers. The chatbot can also approve purchases and include decision-makers in the chat. By using the guidelines and information a chatbot provides, unexperienced employees in procurement are also less prone to making the wrong decisions when choosing a supplier.

3. Structured data:

With the help of AI, chatbots can process unstructured documents, such as invoices and receipts, into structured data. This makes it easier to process procurement data on a large scale and make decisions based on the data. Additionally, chatbots can standardize and automate supplier inquiries and help negotiate deals quickly and efficiently.

4. Communication via different time zones:

Asynchronous communication between employees and suppliers in different time zones can also be improved with the use of chatbots, which can be reached at any time and respond in real-time. This makes communication in companies with employees and partners around the world faster and more reliable.

5. Onboarding:

Chatbots can help mentor and onboard new employees and guide them step-by-step through work processes, so that other employees are free to focus on their own work.

6. Handle paperwork:

Chatbots can easily handle classic paperwork such as sending orders or processing invoices.

7. Handle cold calls:

Suppliers can easily speak to a chatbot, as it can respond to basic demands. The sales team can focus on more complex customer requests.

8. Handle low-value transactions:

Users just need to demand a purchase, and the chatbot will be able to place purchase orders.

Chatbots for more efficiency in procurement

It is clear that the use of voice and chatbots in procurement and purchasing can significantly increase operational efficiency, save time, and provide valuable support to employees. With the chatbot doing simple, repetitive tasks, employees in procurement are free to deal with more structural, complex, creative and overall more fulfilling tasks. Procurement software continuously evolves, and SapienceS2P is in the middle of new developments. To use the full potential of chatbots in procurement, an integration into the front-end user interface will be as important as developing intelligent backend systems. Be prepared to discover innovative chatbots solutions from SapienceS2P that will make procurement better than ever.

8 advantages of chatbots in procurement