What is Intake-to-Procure?

Procurement involves a lot of moving parts, a lot of which can easily become complex. Keeping track of spending, the risks associated with new suppliers, and procurement policy compliance, just to name a few. 

Intake-to-procure refers to a modernized approach to procurement that helps teams manage rogue spending and creates a simplified flow to the purchase approval process. If your procurement department is struggling to keep up, Intake-to-Procure technology can be your solution to more streamlined and simplified processes.

What is Intake in Procurement?

Intake in procurement refers to the initial process where internal stakeholders submit requests for goods, services, or projects. It serves as the entry point for all procurement activities, allowing teams to capture and assess needs before initiating sourcing or purchasing. By using a structured intake process, organizations can streamline requests, ensure compliance with procurement policies, prioritize demands, and better align procurement efforts with overall business objectives. This helps improve visibility, communication, and efficiency in managing procurement workflows.

What Is Intake-to-Procure?

An Intake-to-Procure system allows employees to request, approve, and collaborate on procurement-related items from one centralized interface. Gone are the days of complicated Excel spreadsheets and lost-in-translation email chains. Intake-to-Procure solutions empower procurement, IT, security, legal, and executive teams and departments to easily collaborate and to see all necessary information from the beginning of the intake process to the procurement and invoicing at the end of a transaction. 

It is common for procurement and finance departments to become overworked with too much on their plate. In modern business, it is essential for these teams to have the ability to access and approve purchase requests without the need for time-consuming, manual methods. Additionally, when the intake process is automated, all necessary employees can play a part in the process and see their requests through to final approval while managing compliance at the same time.

Benefits of Adopting an Intake-to-Procure Solution

By merging together the traditional ways of request and approval, procurement intake solutions help organizations improve employee adoption of procurement processes, increase efficiency, reduce risks, and allow for greater control over company spending. 

Increased Employee Adoption

Ease of orchestration and accessibility are some of the main components of an Intake-to-Procure solution. By granting all needed individuals access to procurement information from one centralized location, data is presented more clearly and concisely, which minimizes confusion and improves the speed at wich employees are able to learn new systems. 

Improving user experience also helps catch spend and gives employees more agency and buy-in for compliance. Implementing intake processes can boost spend under management by up to 80% in initial use cases or elevate the typical range of 60%–70% to over 90%. With an estimated 9% savings for each new dollar brought under procurement oversight, this translates into potential savings of tens of millions simply by prioritizing adoption. It’s truly a measurable game changer.

Better Operational Efficiency 

If you haven’t yet implemented automation in your procurement processes, now is the time. Automation of systems in Intake-to-Procure means that procurement teams do not need to manually handle every element of the procurement process. This frees up your team’s time to deal with more important items. 

Intake-to-Procure ensures efficiency within your organization. Almost all steps of procurement are handled on one platform, including vendor onboarding, risk management, security checks, and more, strengthening your procurement process. 

Mitigated Risk

Intake-to-Procure detects potential risks in all stages of the procurement process and flags these for your team to see. Additionally, since an Intake-to-Procure solution means more employees have access to procurement information, there is greater oversight, which means problems are more likely to be detected early on.

Controlled Spend

With improved efficiency and lower risk from an Intake-to-Procure solution, your organization will be able to find better budgetary outcomes. Intake-to-Procure solutions streamline request routing to preferred vendors, which enables companies to select the best options aligned with their financial objectives. The automation within Intake-to-Procure ensures efficient, low-cost outcomes.

​​What is P2P and S2P in Procurement?

In procurement, P2P (Procure-to-Pay) and S2P (Source-to-Pay) are critical processes that streamline procurement operations and improve efficiency. P2P refers to the end-to-end cycle of acquiring goods or services, starting with the requisition and continuing through purchasing, receiving, and payment processing.

This process ensures that businesses maintain control over their expenditures while maximizing supplier relationships. S2P, on the other hand, encompasses the broader sourcing strategy, beginning with identifying needs, evaluating suppliers, negotiating contracts, and ultimately leading to payment. By integrating S2P and P2P, businesses can better manage procurement activities, achieve cost savings, and ensure smooth operations from sourcing to payment, all while leveraging digital tools to enhance visibility and decision-making in the procurement process.

What is a Procurement Intake Form?

A procurement intake form is a structured document or digital tool used by businesses to capture and standardize requests for goods, services, or projects. It acts as the initial step in the procurement process, enabling stakeholders across departments to submit their needs in a clear and organized way. This form typically includes key details such as the requester’s information, a description of the required items or services, deadlines, budget estimates, and any relevant specifications.

By utilizing a procurement intake form, businesses can streamline their intake process, reduce errors, ensure compliance with procurement policies, and enable procurement teams to evaluate and prioritize requests efficiently. This centralization improves communication between departments and ensures a smoother transition from request to purchase.

Features of an Intake-to-Procure Solution

A Centralized Interface for All Requests

A centralized, user-friendly interface helps simplify employee adoption and reduces purchase request cycle times. This type of system makes the entire procurement process frictionless and much simpler for everyone involved.

Collaborative Approvals

The centralized nature of Intake-to-Procure facilitates greater visibility of data and procurement information. This means that everyone is on board and knows what is needed to move forward with approvals.

Integrates with P2P and ERP systems

Intake-to-Procure technology seamlessly integrates with P2P and ERP systems. This means that approved requests can easily be converted into purchase orders and contracts without the need to do so manually. This also allows for the collection of more accurate, higher-quality data.

Vendor Management

Collecting all vendor data in one centralized location makes it simpler for procurement teams to manage vendor relationships. Intake-to-Procure solutions facilitate easier access to accurate vendor information and gives you everything you need to manage your supply chain. 

Renewal Management With Automated Workflows

Intake-to-Procure systems keep track of renewal dates and notify you when one is coming up. This not only saves you time and money, but lessens the chances of important dates being forgotten.

Spend Analytics

Intake-to-Procure grants you the earliest insight into your company’s spending habits and trends. Access to these analytics can help you learn where cycle time can be reduced, where the budget can be optimized, and other important insights. 

AI-Powered Workflows

In modern business, AI is a must-have feature in your procurement systems. This frees up your team’s time by streamlining processes and helps to produce the best outcomes. 

With Rio, you have the SAP Intake Management Extended Edition, bringing advanced interaction across emails, Teams/Slack, non-SAP system integration out of the box, and enhanced compatibility + connectivity for ECC customers.

‍Procure-to-Pay vs Intake-to-Procure vs Intake-to-Pay

Procure-to-Pay (P2P)

Procure-to-Pay refers to the process of procuring the items a company needs to function. Includes the requisitioning, purchasing, receiving, paying for, and accounting for these items, encompassing the process of ordering through to payment. 

P2P improves both the accuracy and efficiency of ordering and paying for goods. This helps reduce errors, delays, and associated costs. However, one major drawback of P2P systems is that they overlook the upstream processes in procurement, such as identifying requirements, validating requests, securing approvals, and vendor sourcing.

Intake-to-Procure (I2P)

Intake-to-Procure refers to the process of capturing and managing requests through to the purchase order or contact. I2P includes upstream procurement tasks like needs identification, request validation, approval acquisition, and vendor sourcing. I2P helps procurement teams optimize spending and allows employees to get involved in procurement requests earlier on in the process. 

Intake-to-Pay (I2P)

Intake-to-Pay encompasses all procurement requests, from the point of need to payment of goods. I2P includes both upstream and downstream procurement activities. By keeping all procurement-related tasks in one centralized space, visibility and employee collaboration are increased, reducing the likelihood of error.

However, for large organizations that utilize multiple systems and have several workflows, I2P may take longer to implement and maintain.

Is S2P the Same as P2P?

While S2P (Source-to-Pay) and P2P (Procure-to-Pay) are related processes in procurement, they are not the same. P2P focuses on the transactional side of procurement, encompassing the steps from requisitioning and purchasing to receiving goods or services and processing payments.

It primarily deals with managing the day-to-day procurement operations. S2P, on the other hand, includes a broader scope, starting from sourcing and supplier selection to contracting and then continuing through to the payment phase, covering the entire procurement lifecycle. While P2P is a subset of S2P, the latter includes strategic activities such as supplier evaluation, negotiation, and long-term sourcing strategies, making it a more comprehensive approach to procurement management

What Are the 7 Stages of the Procurement Cycle?

The procurement cycle is a structured process that guides organizations through the acquisition of goods or services. There are seven key stages in this cycle:

1. Identifying Needs – The process begins with identifying a specific need for goods, services, or resources. This stage involves evaluating requirements, often with input from various departments, to ensure the procurement aligns with business goals.
2. Supplier Selection – Once the need is established, the next step is finding and evaluating potential suppliers. This involves researching, requesting quotes, and comparing options based on cost, quality, and reliability.
3. Request for Proposal (RFP) or Quotation (RFQ) – Organizations issue an RFP or RFQ to shortlisted suppliers, formally asking for bids. These documents outline the specifications, scope of work, and terms, allowing suppliers to submit competitive offers.
4. Evaluation and Contracting – After receiving proposals, the procurement team evaluates them based on predetermined criteria such as price, delivery timelines, and compliance with requirements. Once a supplier is selected, the terms are negotiated, and a contract is drawn up.
5. Order Placement – With the contract in place, the procurement team issues a purchase order to the supplier, detailing the products or services needed, delivery dates, and payment terms.
6. Receiving and Inspection – Upon receiving the goods or services, the procurement team inspects the items to ensure they meet the agreed-upon quality standards and specifications. This step is critical for identifying any discrepancies before proceeding.
7. Payment and Record-Keeping – The final stage involves processing the invoice and making payment to the supplier as per the contract terms. Accurate record-keeping of all procurement documents, including contracts, receipts, and payments, is essential for auditing and future reference.

Steps for Intake-to-Procure

 Define Your Procurement Needs

The first step in mastering the intake to procure process is to clearly define your procurement needs. This involves identifying the types of goods and services your organization requires, as well as understanding the volume and frequency of these requests. Collaborate with various departments to gather insights and prioritize procurement needs based on urgency and importance.

Tips:

• Conduct a needs assessment survey among stakeholders.
• Analyze past procurement data to identify trends.
• Set clear objectives for your procurement strategy.
  
  

Create a dynamic and comprehensive intake form

Your intake form should be able to change as needed based on the nature of the request and the category. It should also be able to ask questions about the details of the request. All necessary information should be included in the intake form, such as the name of the vendor, type of work, desired result, completion dates, budget, contact points, and key stakeholders involved in approvals.

Create the purchase request approval workflow to guide the process through to completion

The workflow of approvals should clearly explain the needed criteria and the actions that are to be taken for each procurement request. The flow of approvals should be clear and collaborative so the requester and approver maintain full visibility of the request and its status.

Assign tasks to different team members

The required stakeholders must be assigned to their specific tasks in order to keep the process moving efficiently.

Make sure your team is on the same page

The procurement process should move smoothly, and part of this involves ensuring that your team is aligned on the details of the request and that any questions anyone may have are answered. Operating in one centralized system facilitates this as everyone has access to the same data and information.

Confirm the start of the process and communicate this to the relevant parties

It is essential for executives, vendors, legal teams, and finance departments to be aware of procurement requests. No one involved should be left in the dark, and nothing should come as a surprise to stakeholders.

Monitor intake processes for risk, approvals, and roadblocks

From time to time, problems come up, so it is essential to monitor for roadblocks. A comprehensive approval management system helps mitigate problems by tracking, managing and updating approvals. It can also flag any issues before they escalate.

Suggested KPIs:

• Average processing time for requests.
• Percentage of requests fulfilled on time.
• Cost savings achieved through procurement strategies.
  
  

Finalize the process and review results

After everything is finalized, it is wise to ask yourself, “How effective was this process?”. This answer can identify where things went well and where improvements can be made for future purchases. 

Key Strategies to Improve Intake to Procure

Centralize Your Procurement Intake System

One of the first steps in optimizing procurement operations is creating a centralized intake system. A centralized platform enables the entire team to submit requests, track progress, and monitor approvals. This eliminates fragmented processes and makes it easier to manage multiple procurement requests at once.

• Best Practice: Use a cloud-based system that integrates with existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to ensure transparency and real-time tracking.

Standardize Request Submission

Consistency is key to efficient procurement. By standardizing the request submission process, businesses can ensure that procurement teams have all the necessary information to make informed decisions. Standardized forms can include information on budget, required timelines, and technical specifications, allowing the procurement team to assess the request faster and more accurately.

• Best Practice: Develop templates and checklists for common procurement requests to minimize errors and reduce back-and-forth communication.

Automate Approval Workflows

Automation plays a critical role in improving procurement efficiency. Automating approval workflows reduces manual tasks, speeds up the procurement cycle, and minimizes the risk of human error. By setting up automated triggers for approvals, companies can ensure that procurement requests move through the necessary channels without unnecessary delays.

• Best Practice: Implement automated approval workflows that are based on predefined criteria, such as purchase value or department priority.

Enhance Collaboration Between Departments

Procurement is not an isolated function; it involves input from various departments such as finance, legal, and operations. A key strategy to improve procurement is to enhance cross-functional collaboration. By fostering better communication and transparency, teams can address potential issues early and ensure that all requirements are met before procurement takes place.

• Best Practice: Use collaboration tools integrated within the procurement system to enable seamless communication between departments.

Leverage Data for Better Decision-Making

Data-driven decision-making is crucial for improving procurement operations. By analyzing historical data on supplier performance, purchasing trends, and request timelines, companies can identify areas for improvement and make more informed procurement decisions. This data also helps in forecasting and demand planning, ensuring that procurement is proactive rather than reactive.

• Best Practice: Implement dashboards and reporting tools that provide real-time insights into procurement activities and supplier performance.

Maintain Supplier Relationships

Effective procurement isn’t just about internal processes; it's also about managing relationships with suppliers. A robust intake-to-procure process should include supplier performance evaluations and regular communication to ensure that suppliers meet the organization’s standards. This will help mitigate risks and improve the quality of goods and services procured.

• Best Practice: Set up performance tracking metrics for suppliers, focusing on key factors such as on-time delivery, quality, and cost competitiveness.

Ensure Compliance and Risk Management

Incorporating compliance and risk management into the procurement process is vital to avoid legal issues, manage costs, and maintain quality standards. An intake-to-procure strategy should ensure that all procurement activities comply with company policies and regulatory requirements, minimizing risk.

• Best Practice: Establish clear guidelines for procurement compliance, including vendor selection criteria, contract reviews, and audits.
  
  

How Your Organization Benefits from Intake-to-Procure

Procurement departments are often seen as causing friction due to long approval processes, lack of visibility, and unnecessary steps, leading employees to bypass procurement altogether. Intake-to-Procure offers a streamlined system that speeds up purchases, improves delivery times, and boosts employee satisfaction. It allows procurement to focus on strategic goals, while finance gains visibility and control over spend, eliminating rogue expenditures and ensuring better financial planning.

IT departments benefit from reduced shadow IT spend and earlier involvement in software procurement, improving budget outcomes and time management. For security, automated workflows enhance compliance and vendor management, while legal departments are included early, enabling thorough reviews and linking CLM tools to legacy contracts, mitigating risks and avoiding last-minute approvals. Intake-to-Procure transforms procurement into a more efficient, integrated function across departments.

What Procurement KPIs does Intake-to-Procure Impact?

Quality KPIs

Since Intake-to-Procure monitors vendors throughout the entire process, it is easy to make sure only approved and qualified vendors are used. Suppliers are also highly monitored through Intake-to-Pay, which allows for the continuous assessment of your supplier’s performance and prevents them from automatically renewing contracts.

Cost-Saving KPIs

Intake-to-Procure automation streamlines the use of preferred vendors to consolidate the supply base and control spending under management to optimize budgets. As more stakeholders see procurement's effectiveness and adopt the process, ROI improves. Faster vendor onboarding and approval also encourage price competition which helps you to better strategize category makeup.

Delivery KPIs

Intake-to-Procure streamlines all processes through automation and collaboration and thus improves supplier lead times. End-to-end order processing is also improved with Intake-to-Procure, which reduces cycle time. Enhanced visibility also reduces the likelihood of emergency orders that can throw off workflows.

What is Intake to Procure Software?

Intake-to-procure software is a digital tool designed to streamline the procurement process from the initial request submission to the final purchase. This type of software enables businesses to capture procurement requests from various departments in a standardized format, ensuring all necessary information is provided upfront.

With automated workflows, intake to procure software like Rio simplifies the evaluation, approval, and sourcing processes, helping procurement teams efficiently manage requests, prioritize needs, and maintain compliance with organizational policies. By centralizing procurement activities, Rio's intake to procure software enhances visibility, reduces manual errors, and accelerates decision-making, ultimately improving overall procurement operations and ensuring smooth transitions from intake to purchase.

Why a Strong Intake to Procure System is Vital for Business Growth

Companies are constantly racing against the clock to meet evolving demands. The secret to staying ahead often lies in the efficiency of their procurement processes. Imagine a scenario where every request flows effortlessly through a finely-tuned intake to procure system, eliminating delays and aligning teams toward common goals. This isn’t just a wishful scenario; it’s a tangible advantage for organizations that understand the impact of a strong intake-to-procure system. As challenges like rising costs and complex supply chains mount, investing in this crucial framework is essential for unlocking sustainable growth and achieving a competitive edge.

Investing in a strong intake to procure system offers several compelling benefits that can significantly impact a business's growth trajectory:

Increased Efficiency

One of the most significant advantages of implementing an effective intake-to-procure system is the increased efficiency it brings to procurement operations. By streamlining processes, organizations can reduce the time and effort spent on procurement tasks. This newfound efficiency allows teams to concentrate on strategic initiatives that drive growth, rather than getting bogged down in administrative work.

Cost Savings

A well-implemented intake to procure system can lead to substantial cost savings. By optimizing procurement processes, businesses can negotiate better deals with suppliers, curb maverick spending, and avoid unnecessary expenditures. With tighter controls on procurement spending, organizations can allocate resources more effectively, enhancing their bottom line.

Improved Compliance and Risk Management

An effective intake to procure system ensures that all procurement activities comply with company policies and regulations. This adherence helps mitigate risks associated with non-compliance, safeguarding the organization from potential legal and financial repercussions. Furthermore, fostering a culture of accountability within the organization enhances overall governance.

Enhanced Collaboration

A strong intake to procure system fosters better collaboration among different departments. Centralizing procurement requests provides visibility into the entire procurement process, enabling improved communication and teamwork. This collaboration leads to more informed decision-making and enhances the organization’s ability to respond swiftly to changing market demands.

Scalability

As businesses grow, their procurement needs can become increasingly complex. A robust intake to procure system is scalable, allowing organizations to adapt to changing demands without overhauling their entire procurement process. This scalability ensures that businesses can maintain operational efficiency as they expand, a crucial factor for sustainable growth.

Data-Driven Decision Making

The insights gained from a strong intake to procure system empower organizations to make data-driven decisions. By analyzing procurement data, companies can identify trends, forecast needs, and optimize their strategies for better outcomes. This ability to leverage data for decision-making enhances the organization’s agility in responding to market changes.

How ConvergentIS Can Help Your Procurement Team

ConvergentIS offers intake and procurement solutions to help you manage spending right from the start. From customizable workflows to comprehensive request management, we have got you covered.

Download our Intake Management & Orchestration pre-assessment to get started.