Cost Control - Purchase Order System

One of the first steps in Cost Control within the ICT Department is to have an effective Purchase Order system. The system should track purchases through from initial selection and approval through to delivery and installation. This process should be flexible so that it does not introduce delay (i.e. cost) or reduce service levels to your internal client base. The process should automatically create an entry in the appropriate asset control systems and trigger actions to properly deal with disposals and decommisioning. It will soon be a legal requirement to track the disposal of IT equipment.

We have implemented those type of procedures in many countries. Starting with negotiating the procedures with accounting staff, arrangements with suppliers to process only approved orders, implementing appropriate software and training the staff in the new procedures.

We help arrange appropriate reporting structures so that the parts of business funding the purchases are able to see that the spending is under control and is within appropriate budget limits. We can introduce procedures that ensure that the correct cost centre is billed with the cost of the purchase.

As part of the purchase order process we will facilitate processes to handle warranty recording, maintenance arrangements and licensing. This will all lead to making the annual budget process a whole lot more simple and painless.

We will help your team indentify opportunity to negotiate lower supplier costs. This might be via a single sourcing arrangement or by arranging for multiple suppliers to compete for the business. The purchase order control process is an essential part of this process. Our long history in handling such negotiations will help you save a significant proportion of of your expenditure. In effect this exercise will become self funding.

We will show you the important techniques of how to demonstrate to your business colleagues the benefit of the cost savings you have introduced.