Why automation is key to streamlining your vendor management systems

As we move into 2022 and beyond, automation is playing a more prominent role in the world of finance. But as it grows in popularity across different areas, you might find yourself wondering where exactly to integrate those automated workflows. Thankfully there is no shortage of options, whether you’re looking to automate accounting, payroll, bill pay, expense management, vendor management—or perhaps all of these! 

But if you’re a SMB juggling multiple vendors with little insight into your spending and or are concerned that you’re spending too much, automating vendor management systems might be a good place to start. Let’s dive deeper into the challenges and benefits of automating your vendor management processes.

What is vendor management automation?

Vendor management automation is designed to handle the end-to-end processes of vendor management, from the initial point of contact to sealing the deal on a newly established vendor relationship. 

With external workers playing such a vital role for many companies, automated vendor management systems are increasingly crucial for streamlining business processes and allowing employees to focus on other essential tasks. 

Vendor management automation typically allows you to manage and expedite many of the associated processes that have been traditionally done by hand, such as: 

• Vendor selection
• Defining terms
• Performance monitoring
• Contractual phase (renewal or termination)
• Goal establishment
• Bidding and more

Why you should use vendor management automation

One of the best ways to eliminate vendor management challenges is implementing automation into the process. Here are some of the benefits of doing just that:

Improves productivity and workflow

If you’re zapping resources to handle vendor management processes manually when they could be automated, think of the time workers will get back to focus on larger strategic tasks through automation instead of dealing with mundane tasks.

Speeds up the approval process and simplifies onboarding

Automation allows you to approve purchase orders and payment requests more rapidly while making the onboarding and off-boarding process easier.

Increases visibility of data and spend

A repository, or centralized data storage solution, makes it easier to call up necessary files and documents when you need them while working with multiple vendors simultaneously. Also, with improved visibility on spending, you can ultimately discover cost-saving insights.

What to look for in a vendor management platform

When it comes to saving time and money, automated vendor management platforms can be a massive step in the right direction. When you’re looking for the solution that’s right for you, be sure to look for one’s that offer the following: 

• Contract storage
• Vendor contract negotiation
• Savings insights
• One-time vendor virtual cards
• Quick and automated vendor bill payments

How to automate vendor management with Ramp

Vendor management involves many moving parts, so you need to automate each facet of the process to enjoy the benefits of vendor management automation fully.

Automating these workflows can help you save time while producing more accurate results and eliminating errors. Here’s a breakdown of how the automation features offered by Ramp can help each segment of the vendor management process.

Automated savings insight

You won’t have vendors to manage without first selecting the ones you’re working with. But much of what factors into this decision is the overall cost of the vendor. To help you streamline this process, Ramp’s automated vendor management can highlight money-saving opportunities by comparing your contracts to thousands of other similar ones. This way, you can know whether you’re overpaying or getting a good deal with your chosen vendors. 

Vendor-specific virtual cards

The bigger your company grows, the bigger your need for vendors becomes. Despite this, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice control over or insight into your spending. Ramp’s automated vendor management allows you to create single-use cards for one-off payments to vendors, helping you stay organized and always on top of where your money is being spent. And for greater security, these one-time cards are restricted to the vendor you create them for—no more erroneous charges for things you didn’t intend. 

One-click automated vendor contract negotiation 

As a growing business, you always want to surface opportunities to save money. Unfortunately, there are plenty of saving opportunities that many owners or finance teams don’t have the resources to surface, particularly with vendor contracts. To help, Ramp’s procurement team tackles the vendor contract negotiation process for you. Just upload the contract you want to save on, and our team will handle the rest, saving you 27% on average. 

All-in-one vendor contract management 

Half of the challenge of being a growing business is your ability to stay organized. And sometimes, understandably, staying on top of things like vendor contracts can slip through the cracks. To help, Ramp identifies and collects all of the vendors your company is using and the contract owners and houses them in one place. No more searching endlessly for contracts or contact information. 

Make vendor management easier with automation

Streamlining your vendor management systems with automation can be a rewarding effort. Not only can you save dozens of hours a week by eliminating manual tasks, but you can also save money in the process. 

From keeping your contracts organized to surfacing money-saving insights and automating negotiations, with these vendor automation processes in place, Ramp will have you well on your way to saving time and money so you can focus your energy on other business areas.

Learn more about Ramp today.