A better way to do e-Sourcing

In today’s global marketplace, leveraging low-cost suppliers in countries around the world has made the business of sourcing products and services increasingly more complex and challenging. Accessing and communicating with vendors globally also means a lot of work for sourcing professionals. The smallest inconsistency can result in dramatic repercussions to your fiscal results.

Excel spreadsheets may have been the first choice for the sourcing process, but as the number of vendors and products increase, it becomes unwieldy and one more prone to errors.

The next logical step is to look towards e-sourcing, but it’s not as simple a decision as it seems. Your company may have just added on an e-sourcing module from the ERP system they’re already using, but that’s all it is, an add-on. As it’s a small component of what the company offers, it’s likely not offering all the features you need, or providing the speed you need to stay on top of this market. And when you need to analyze your data to be able to identify the best decisions, you find yourself back at an Excel spreadsheet again.

Some e-sourcing solutions require suppliers to download specific software for each manufacturer, and older staff at your suppliers may struggle to understand new online sourcing software systems. Updating catalogs and other info can also be complicated and time-consuming. All these scenarios can lead to errors in supplier responses.

There’s another way

QSTRAT is a targeted solution that allows sourcing groups to drive benefits quickly and economically without their needs being minimized as part of a larger solution or requiring a complicated portal setup.

QSTRAT Sourcing is an accessible and affordable way to streamline supplier communications is a web-based software application designed specifically to simplify and automate your sourcing process. The key difference from a portal solution is that QSTRAT Sourcing uses proprietary Adobe PDF forms technology to collect quote information, ensuring the secure transfer of sensitive pricing information – eliminating the need for suppliers to download specific software. PDF integration updates QSTRAT automatically and lets you incorporate cost drivers including customs, logistics, or any other custom elements.

Deployments are tailored to your organizational needs – we create or configure existing templates to your exact specifications and have you up and running in as fast as just 5 days.

How else do we compare to a portal solution?

Feature/Function	QSTRAT Sourcing	Portal Solution
Issue RFxs as eForms directly to suppliers
Buyer and supplier receive instant receipt of bids
Compare all bid responses in real time
Zero training for suppliers
Zero software cost to suppliers
Suppliers view and respond to RFx eForms with nothing more than a Free Adobe PDF Reader
View 3D technical/engineering drawings with nothing more than a Free Adobe PDF Reader
Speed: leverage data to find, copy, edit & re-use similar RFxs
Change Management: Vault and track all changes from one location
SOX Compliance: complete audit trail including time, date and name stamp for every communication
Complete and accurate supplier responses every time
More time to focus on meeting cost reduction targets
Re-certify suppliers globally with only a few keystrokes
Automatically track all communications with suppliers in one location
Leverage RSS technology with QSTRAT Quote-Cast to make real time updates a reality
Integrate with a suite of products managing Sales RFxs, Costing and 3D image viewing
Industry standard architecture to enable ERP/MRP integration
Complete supplier management capability built-in

QSTRAT has helped issue over $5 billion in accumulated RFQ value across 22 countries. To learn more about QSTRAT costing or the full QSTRAT suite, or to book a demo, get in touch!