Digitize the procurement process starting with the request and help employees easily make purchases within the agreed-upon suppliers, contracts, and procedures. Basware e-Procurement supports the operational procurement process from the moment an employee needs a product or service.
Users can search for products, submit a request, obtain approval, and place an order with the supplier.
In doing so, Basware brings structure to a process that, without central support, can easily become fragmented across online stores, emails, forms, and ad-hoc agreements.
From Need to Purchase Request
A purchase usually doesn’t start with Procurement, but with an employee who needs something.
This can range from office supplies and IT equipment to facility services, marketing expenses, or other products and services.
With e-Procurement, that need is translated into a digital purchase requisition. The employee can search for available products and suppliers from a central platform and then submit a request.
Basware supports catalogs, punchouts, and other forms of digital supplier offerings for this purpose.
This means a user doesn’t have to figure out for themselves which supplier to order from or what terms apply.
Guided purchasing
An important principle in e-Procurement is guided purchasing.
Instead of simply imposing rules on employees, the procurement environment is designed so that the desired path is also the simplest one.
For example, a user searches for a laptop and is then shown products from suppliers with whom the organization has agreements. Contract prices and available catalogs can be displayed directly within the environment.
Basware uses Marketplace to guide employees toward preferred products, suppliers, and procurement channels.
This helps organizations channel more spending through controlled procurement processes.
Catalogs and Punchouts
Basware Marketplace is a key component of the e-Procurement solution.
Suppliers can make product catalogs available that include relevant products, descriptions, and prices. Organizations can review this content before it is made available to users.
In addition, Basware supports punchout links. This allows a user to navigate from the procurement environment to a supplier’s online store, select products there, and then return the shopping cart to the procurement process.
Basware also supports integrated search in external marketplaces, including Amazon Business.
This creates a user experience for employees that more closely resembles online shopping, while the organization retains control over the underlying procurement process.
Approval Before the Order Is Placed
Not every purchase can be made immediately.
Depending on factors such as amount, category, cost center, or organizational unit, approval may be required first.
Basware supports workflows that automatically route requests to the appropriate approver. Once a request is approved, a purchase order can be generated and sent to the supplier.
This builds in control before the obligation is incurred.
This is a key difference from a process in which Finance only discovers what was purchased upon receipt of the invoice.
Purchase Orders as the Basis for Automation
When an approved request is converted into a purchase order, structured information about the purchase is generated in advance.
The organization then knows, among other things:
- which supplier was selected;
- what was ordered;
- how much was ordered;
- at what price;
- who requested the purchase;
- who approved it;
- where the costs should be posted.
This information can be used later when processing the invoice.
When the supplier issues an invoice, the invoice can be compared with the purchase order and, if applicable, with the record of the goods or services received.
In this way, e-Procurement lays the foundation for further automation within the Purchase-to-Pay process.
From Procurement to Accounts Payable
Basware does not position e-Procurement as a standalone process. The solution is integrated with Invoice Automation and thus forms part of a broader Procure-to-Pay process.
That process runs from:
request → approve → order → receive → invoice → verify → pay.
By reusing information from the procurement phase during invoice processing, checks do not need to be performed manually again later in the process.
A well-structured purchase order enables a high degree of automated invoice matching.
This creates a direct relationship between the quality of the procurement process and the efficiency of Accounts Payable.
Greater control over spending
A recurring challenge in Procurement is that some spending occurs outside the formal process.
Employees order directly from suppliers, make their own arrangements, or submit an invoice after the fact.
This reduces visibility into future obligations and makes it harder to actually take advantage of contract terms.
E-Procurement aims to limit this so-called maverick spend by offering an accessible, centralized purchasing process.
Furthermore, when more employees place orders through the same platform, it provides greater insight into what the organization is actually purchasing.
Procurement can use this information for supplier management, negotiations, and further standardization.
Procurement without getting in the user’s way
The effectiveness of a procurement platform is ultimately determined in part by adoption.
A process may be fully controlled on paper, but it has little value if employees bypass it because it’s too complicated.
That’s why modern e-Procurement places a strong emphasis on search capabilities, guided buying, catalogs, and a user experience that aligns with online ordering.
The goal is not only to control purchases but, above all, to make the right purchasing route easily accessible.
The Foundation of Purchase-to-Pay
Basware e-Procurement thus digitizes the first part of the Purchase-to-Pay chain.
Employees are provided with a structured way to request products and services. Approval takes place before an order is placed. Purchase orders generate the data that can later be used for receipt and invoice matching.
This creates a controlled flow from need to order and a better foundation for further automation within Accounts Payable.