Top 4 Ways to Streamline Your Intake Process for Better Procurement Management

Years from now, procurement managers will be scratching their heads when someone tries to explain the differences between centralized and decentralized procurement, or even strategic sourcing and category management.

The lines are blurring. Today you see:

• Procurement teams working closely with business units to understand their needs
• Sourcing managers using data analytics to identify savings opportunities
• Suppliers being treated as strategic partners rather than just vendors

With the risk of sounding cliché, it's because the way organizations buy has changed.

They don't want to withstand complex approval chains, they don't want to fill out lengthy request forms, and they won't wait weeks for their orders to be fulfilled.

As a result, procurement processes are evolving, especially in large enterprises.

Let's dig into some of the best examples to learn what's worked for top companies and help you streamline your intake process.

What is intake management?

Intake management is the process of receiving, assessing, and prioritizing requests for goods and services from internal stakeholders, such as business units, departments, or individual employees. 

The goal of intake management is to ensure that all requests are properly documented, evaluated against established criteria, and routed to the appropriate procurement team members for action.

Effective intake management helps procurement teams:

- Gain visibility into demand across the organization

- Prioritize requests based on urgency and strategic importance  

- Ensure compliance with policies and procedures

- Allocate resources efficiently to meet business needs

In other words, intake management is the first step in the procurement lifecycle, setting the stage for all subsequent sourcing, contracting, and purchasing activities.

Why is intake management important?

A well-designed intake process helps procurement teams avoid the common pitfalls of ad hoc, unstructured approaches to managing requests, which can lead to:

Missed or delayed requests: 

Without a centralized system for capturing and tracking requests, it's easy for things to fall through the cracks. Important needs may go unaddressed, leading to frustration among stakeholders and missed opportunities for the business.

Wasted time and effort: 

When requests come in through multiple channels (email, phone, hallway conversations), procurement teams spend valuable time chasing down information and trying to piece together requirements. This reduces the time available for strategic sourcing and negotiations.

Maverick spend: 

If the intake process is too cumbersome or opaque, stakeholders may bypass procurement altogether and purchase goods or services directly. This leads to higher costs, reduced visibility, and increased risk exposure.

Poor alignment with business goals: 

Without a clear understanding of organizational priorities, procurement teams may focus on the wrong requests or fail to secure the resources needed to support critical initiatives.

On the flip side, a streamlined intake process helps procurement teams be more proactive, responsive, and strategic in meeting the needs of the business. When the flow of information and aligning procurement activities with organizational objectives are improved, effective intake management drives better outcomes across the source-to-pay lifecycle.

How to streamline your intake process?

To streamline intake management, it's important to implement best practices such as creating user-friendly request forms, automating workflows, integrating intake with broader business objectives, and consistently analyzing data to identify areas for improvement. 

Let's explore four key practices that are enabling procurement leaders to take intake to the next level.‍

Provide a single, intuitive portal for all requests 

The first step to modernizing intake is to give requesters a single, easy-to-use portal for submitting all of their procurement needs. This could be a purpose-built intake module within your procurement software suite or a standalone request management solution that integrates with your other procurement tools.

The key is to provide a consistent, intuitive interface that guides requesters through the intake process and captures all of the information procurement needs to take action. 

Best-in-class request portals typically include features like:

• Customizable request forms with conditional fields and data validation
• Guided buying catalogs that make it easy to find and select preferred items
• Automated approval workflows based on configurable business rules
• Real-time status tracking and notifications
• Mobile-responsive design for anytime, anywhere access

By giving stakeholders a modern, consumer-like experience for submitting requests, procurement can significantly reduce friction and increase adoption.

Instead of chasing down incomplete or inaccurate forms, procurement teams can focus on value-added activities like strategic sourcing and supplier management. And with all requests flowing through a centralized system, it's much easier to track demand, spot trends, and optimize spend over time.

Automate intake workflows with intelligent routing 

Another key to streamlining intake is to automate as much of the process as possible using intelligent workflows. Modern procurement software makes it easy to configure rules-based routing that automatically directs requests to the right team members based on factors like:

• Category or commodity type
• Dollar amount or risk level
• Requester location or department
• Urgency or criticality of the need

For example, a low-value, low-risk request for office supplies might be automatically approved and routed directly to a buyer for fulfillment. A high-value capital equipment request, on the other hand, might require additional scrutiny and approvals from finance, legal, and executive stakeholders.

By automating these intake workflows, procurement can significantly reduce cycle times and ensure consistent compliance with policies and procedures. Requesters get the fast, frictionless experience they crave, while procurement maintains control and visibility throughout the process.

Intelligent intake solutions can even leverage machine learning to continuously optimize routing based on past patterns and outcomes. Over time, the system gets smarter and more efficient at directing requests to the right people at the right time.

Integrate intake with your broader procurement ecosystem

Intake doesn't happen in a vacuum. To fully streamline the end-to-end procurement process, it's important to integrate your intake solution with the rest of your procurement technology stack.

That means seamless, real-time data flow between your intake portal and your:

• ERP or financial system of record
• Spend analysis and commodity management tools
• Contract lifecycle management (CLM) repository
• Supplier relationship management (SRM) platform
• Procure-to-pay (P2P) or e-procurement suite

With a fully integrated procurement ecosystem, teams can realize powerful benefits like:

• Automated requisition and purchase order creation from approved requests
• Real-time budget checking and commitment accounting
• Intelligent supplier recommendations based on past performance data
• Automatic alerts for expiring contracts or upcoming renewals
• End-to-end traceability from request to receipt and payment

In short, integration helps turn intake from a standalone process into a strategic driver of procurement performance. The more seamlessly your intake solution connects with the rest of your procurement tech stack, the more value you can unlock across the source-to-settle lifecycle.

Continuously measure and optimize intake performance 

Finally, to truly modernize intake, it's important to treat it like any other critical business process - with rigorous performance measurement and continuous improvement.

Best-in-class procurement teams establish clear metrics and KPIs for intake, such as:

• Average cycle time from request submission to approval
• First-time-right rate (percentage of requests that don't require rework)
• Requester satisfaction score
• Percentage of compliant requests (vs. maverick spend)

They also leverage their procurement software to gain real-time visibility into intake performance and identify opportunities for optimization. Using customizable dashboards and reports, procurement leaders can track progress against KPIs, spot bottlenecks or inefficiencies, and drill down to the root causes of any issues.

Armed with these insights, teams can take targeted actions to streamline intake over time, such as:

• Refining request forms and workflows based on user feedback
• Expanding or optimizing the catalog of pre-approved items
• Implementing new automation or integration capabilities
• Providing additional training or change management support

The key is to approach intake optimization as an ongoing, data-driven process, not a one-time event. By continuously monitoring and tweaking their intake process based on real-world results, procurement teams can drive steady gains in efficiency, adoption, and business value over time.

What are the stages of an effective procurement intake process? 

The intake process typically includes request submission, initial review, categorization, and prioritization. It's followed by approval routing, budget verification, and assignment to the appropriate procurement team for action.

Here’s a detailed breakdown:

1. Needs identification: This is the initial stage where a stakeholder identifies a need for a good or service and decides to submit a request to procurement. It may involve some initial research and scoping to define the requirements and business case.

2. Request submission: The stakeholder submits a formal request using the designated intake channel, providing all relevant information and documentation. This is where a streamlined, user-friendly intake system can make a big difference in the quality and completeness of requests.

3. Request review and validation: Once a request is submitted, it goes through an initial review by the procurement team to ensure that it is complete, accurate, and in-scope for procurement. This may involve some back-and-forth with the requester to clarify details or gather additional information.

4. Prioritization and assignment: Validated requests are then prioritized based on their urgency, strategic importance, and potential impact on the business. They are assigned to the appropriate procurement team member or category manager for further action.

5. Approval routing: Depending on the nature and value of the request, it may need to go through additional approvals by managers, budget owners, legal, or other stakeholders. This is where automated workflows can help streamline the process and ensure timely sign-off.

6. Fulfillment and tracking: Once a request is fully approved, it moves into the fulfillment stage, where the procurement team initiates sourcing activities, selects suppliers, and places orders. The progress of the request is tracked and communicated back to the requester at regular intervals.

7. Closure and feedback: After the requested goods or services have been delivered and accepted, the request is closed out in the intake system. This is also an opportunity to gather feedback from the requester on their experience with the process and identify any areas for improvement.

How Spendflo helps you centralize visibility, streamline intake and manage your procurements with ease

At Spendflo, we get it - managing procurement intake is a hassle, especially when you're trying to keep up with the breakneck pace of modern business. We've been there, and that's why we created a platform that makes it dead simple to centralize all your procurement activities, from the moment a request comes in to the final invoice payment. 

So, what exactly can Spendflo do for you?

• Centralize all purchase requests in a single, intuitive portal that guides users to the right buying channel and captures all the information you need upfront.
• Automate approval workflows and intelligently route requests based on custom business rules, reducing manual effort and ensuring consistent compliance.
• Integrate seamlessly with your existing ERP, financial, and procurement systems to enable end-to-end efficiency and visibility across the source-to-settle lifecycle.

Book A Demo With Spendflo Now!

Frequently Asked Questions on Intake Process Management

1. What is intake management?

Intake management in procurement is the process of receiving and handling requests for goods or services. It involves collecting, organizing, and prioritizing purchase requisitions from various departments within an organization.

2. What are the steps in the intake process?

The intake process typically includes request submission, initial review, categorization, and prioritization. It's followed by approval routing, budget verification, and assignment to the appropriate procurement team for action.

3. What is the strategic intake process?

A strategic intake process aligns procurement requests with organizational goals and spending policies. It involves analyzing requests for strategic value, consolidating similar needs, and identifying opportunities for cost savings or process improvements.

4. Why is the intake process important?

The intake process is crucial for maintaining control over spending and ensuring compliance with procurement policies. It helps organizations prioritize needs, allocate resources effectively, and identify opportunities for strategic sourcing and cost reduction.

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