Exclusive Features Added to Strategic Sourcing

Slingshot’s Strategic Sourcing application (eSource) automates the process of identifying, qualifying and onboarding suppliers.  RFx documents can be produced for a set of suppliers.  These documents are extremely flexible and can include items to be priced, business terms, documents required and a survey.    Supplier responses are recorded in Slingshot’s supplier portal.  Responses are scored automatically based on price and survey responses.  The RFx can be awarded as a purchase order or a contract.

Automatically Source Requisition Lines

Slingshot’s new AutoSource^tm tool creates purchase orders and RFx documents automatically to satisfy requisition lines.   A requisition line is associated with a set of potential suppliers using the UNSPSC (United Nations Standard Product and Service Code) taxonomy.  The product’s UNSPSC code also establishes its Spend Category.  The Spend Category defines the buy channel (e.g. RFQ, RFP, Contract Release, Spot PO) and other procurement parameters.

Category Managers review AutoSource^tm actions and exceptions (e.g. “no matching supplier”) on six exception queues.  The Category Manager can adjust the rules and resource the request line with one click.  Automatic Sourcing frees Category Managers to focus on supplier acquisition, negotiation and other high value activities.

Set and Track Savings Achievement Goals

eSource now allows Savings Goals to be set by spend category and fiscal year.  Savings are calculated by subtracting the actual purchase price from a “savings base line price” which is either the last price paid or the estimated cost supplied by the requisitioner.  Actual vs. Planned savings can be reviewed for each spend category on the form below.

A new Savings Analysis report allows the user to “slice and dice” the savings achieved along 24 dimensions including Supplier, Product Class, Commodity, UNSPSC (segment, family, class and / or commodity).  Multiple grouping levels can be specified as well.

Evaluate RFx Responses with the Comparison Tool

RFx responses can be viewed side by side on the new RFx Comparison Report.  Simply select the responses you wish to compare.  The report shows each element of the RFx (pricing, survey responses, scoring) as shown below:

Service Level Metrics (procurement cycle time)

Category Managers can now be evaluated on service level provided in addition to cost savings.  The time required to fulfill a requisition line is broken down into the time to issue an RFx document plus the time to issue a PO plus the time to receive the goods or services.  This information is all shown on the report below.

The data can be analyzed along 9 dimensions including supplier, product, spend category and region.  These dimensions can be grouped on multiple levels.

eSource can be licensed as a “stand alone” application or, as an extension to Slingshot’s purchasing and supplier portal modules.  For more information contact your Slingshot sales representative at sales@slingshotsoftware.com