How can OEMs automate vendor quotations and RFQ approvals?
At a glance
Leading OEMs used Cost It Right (CIR) by Softude to automate their entire Request for Quotation (RFQ) process, from vendor onboarding to paperless approvals.
Before CIR, cost engineers lost about 70% of their time converting vendor quotations into one format, and weak negotiations led to overpriced deals in 50% of cases.
With CIR's RFQ portal, the approval process is 3x more optimized, communication time is down 90% and vendor quotation finalization saw a 100% productivity jump.
- 3xOptimization in the approval process
- 90%Less communication time
- 100%Productivity jump in vendor quotation finalization
The context
Client and industry
The clients are leading OEMs that subcontract the Share of Business on each project to multiple vendors to meet project timelines.
This is common practice across the industry, and it means every project involves shortlisting vendors and comparing several quotations.
The problem
The challenge
Shortlisting vendors took exhaustive man-hours, because every vendor sent quotations in a different format.
Cost engineers spent considerable time converting quotations into their own format for analysis and shortlisting. They could neither convert all quotations nor reach competitive pricing through effective negotiation. Coordinating with multiple vendors and seeking higher approvals by hand drained productivity further.
The problem
Why existing methods fell short
A manual RFQ process could not compare quotations fairly or move approvals quickly, which hurt the business in four ways:
- On average, 70% of the time was wasted converting quotations into a consistent format
- Weak negotiations led to overpriced deals in 50% of cases
- Instances of favoritism in vendor selection stood in the way of more competitive deals
- Sensitive documents went back and forth for vendor and cost approval, which delayed vendor finalization
Overall, the OEMs faced large productivity lags that hampered the output of entire manufacturing units.
The turning pointCost It Right (CIR) by Softude
The solution
How Cost It Right solved it
Cost It Right automated the OEMs' entire RFQ process with its RFQ portal.
CIR is an on-prem, one-stop cost automation and control solution. Its RFQ portal creates a working ecosystem between the client's team and its vendors and automates every important function of the RFQ process.
- Vendor onboarding on the portal
- Quotations received in one predefined format
- Efficient allotment of the Share of Business
- On-platform negotiations and bidding
- Paperless, workflow-driven approvals
The impact
Results and business impact
The approval process is 3x more optimized and communication time is down 90%.
| Result | Detail |
|---|---|
| 100% productivity jump | Vendor quotation finalization |
| 90% less communication time | Through on-platform negotiations and bidding |
| 3x optimization | Approval process, through workflow automation and paperless approvals |
- Centralized vendor quotation data and reports support effective negotiations and decision-making.
- A centralized record of Share of Business, cost and delivery timelines helps teams hit their targets on time.
The impact
Key takeaways
- Receiving every quotation in one predefined format removes the 70% of time lost to manual conversion.
- On-platform negotiation and bidding cuts communication time by 90%.
- Paperless workflow approvals make the approval process 3x more optimized and keep sensitive documents in one place.
- A central record of Share of Business, cost and delivery timelines keeps vendor allotment on target.
Under the hood
Cost It Right capabilities
Used in this case study
The full story
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Frequently asked questions
Workflow automation with paperless approvals made the approval process 3x more optimized.
On average, 70% of the time went into manually converting vendor quotations into a consistent format.
On-platform negotiations and bidding reduced communication time by 90%, and centralized quotation data and reports made negotiations more effective. Before, weak negotiations led to overpriced deals in 50% of cases.
It onboards vendors, receives quotations in a predefined format, helps allot the Share of Business, hosts negotiations and bidding, and runs paperless approvals.
A 100% productivity jump in vendor quotation finalization.