Why Digital Onboarding is a Vital Tool for Procurement

When suppliers change, it is important they are onboarded quickly and efficiently to avoid time-consuming administrative work and can go directly into delivering improvements for the procurement team.

Leading procurement platforms know how vital this tool is, offering an array of assistance in helping their users to stay streamlined and keep their competitive edge in an increasingly competitive market.

Leaders from JAGGAER and Coupa share with Procurement Magazine the key components of effective onboarding processes and how they work to reduce risks and improve efficiency.

Why is digital onboarding so important?

Digital onboarding is vital for procurement teams, offering numerous benefits that enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Through the automation of the process, teams can reduce time and effort when it comes to integrating new suppliers — allowing them to put their resources into strategic tasks.

It also assists in reducing risk, with the platform providing the tools for due diligence, ensuring compliance with regulations and ultimately leading to better supplier selection and cost optimisation. The process empowers procurement teams to drive value by minimising risks, optimising costs and maintaining high-quality standards, positioning them for success in a competitive business landscape.

Simon Thompson is VP Northern Europe at JAGGAER, which offers users JAGGAER Adopt – offering faster onboarding, higher adoption and increased utilisation deliver a continuous ROI on procurement transformation

He believes that effective digital onboarding must be "streamlined, affordable, secure and fast to truly benefit both suppliers and purchasers”.

"The process should avoid overwhelming suppliers with extensive data requirements, without losing out on collecting key information," he adds.

Highlighting the embedding of onboarding tools, training and contextual guides directly within the platform ensure that users receive guidance exactly where and when they need it, without having to exit the platform for external training sessions.

Scott Harris, Senior Director, Product Management at Coupa, says a critical component is a strong integration between a supplier portal, supplier network and customers’ purchasing systems. 

“This ecosystem accelerates onboarding if they’re already part of a supplier network and eases their ability to transact with multiple customers,” he shares. “It also increases the data available on their success and risk, enabling buyers to select reliable suppliers. By participating in a supplier portal, suppliers gain access to a free system to manage their orders, invoicing and payment preferences with their buyer. 

“This can increase a supplier's order-taking efficiency, reduce mistakes and delays in fulfilling orders and allow the supplier an option for invoicing the buyer electronically. Plus, they open themselves up to potential new buyers and increase sales.”

Improving efficiency and reducing risks 

Digital onboarding greatly enhances efficiency by streamlining processes and reducing the time needed for new suppliers to integrate. It minimises human error by automating repetitive tasks, such as data entry and document verification, which are prone to mistakes when done manually.

Scott adds that digital onboarding significantly alleviates pressures on back office teams by minimising time spent on manual processes and reallocating resources to focus on more strategic initiatives. 

“Suppliers that go through digital onboarding processes are also likely to participate in electronic invoicing and digital payments, which further alleviates pressures on back office teams,” Scott adds. 

“It also supports further business efficiencies and provides several benefits to finance teams, including increased on-time payments, better visibility into spend and cash management and opportunities for savings via programmes like early pay discounts.

“Lastly, by digitising the supplier onboarding process, buyers are able to capture more supplier data and have a more holistic view of a supplier, which supports real-time risk monitoring and spend management.”

Security roles in digital onboarding 

Data security is crucial in digital onboarding, as it protects sensitive information — such as personal details, financial data and certifications — which companies collect from new users, suppliers or clients.

If companies do not have robust data security, onboarding processes become vulnerable to breaches that can compromise both company and user data, leading to financial, legal and reputational harm. Security measures also build trust with new users by demonstrating that their information is handled responsibly, which is particularly important during the onboarding stage, when users are forming their initial impressions of the organisation.

To ensure data security in digital onboarding, companies can implement a combination of advanced security protocols. Simon highlights tools such as encryption as essential, "as it protects data both in transit and at rest, making it difficult for unauthorised parties to access the information even if they intercept it”.

He also emphasises multi-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity through additional steps, reducing the risk of unauthorised access.

"Additionally, compliance with data protection standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001 ensures that onboarding processes meet regulatory requirements and reflect industry best practices," he says.

For Scott, the primary areas where organisations can look for an ROI in supplier onboarding are cost reduction associated with supplier management and savings opportunities gained through more efficient and timely processes.

“With digital supplier onboarding, organisations can enable their supplier base at scale without adding headcount,” he adds.

“They experience reduced cycle times and processing costs across purchasing, invoicing and payables.

“In a community environment, organisations can measure their efficiency benchmarks against their peers. 

“For example, they can view benchmarks related to supplier information management cycle time, risk management evaluation cycle time, electronic invoice processing and suppliers using digital payments. They can view how they compare to leaders and peer organisations and also receive guidance on how to improve and maximise their supplier onboarding processes.”

To read the full article in the magazine, click HERE.

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