According to a recent survey conducted by Accenture, “80 percent of senior finance executives said their scope of responsibilities has expanded, with finance also now overseeing programs in other departments across the enterprise.”  This includes supply chain and procurement departments.

With the expanded responsibility of CFOs in procurement and supply chain, financial officers need to find ways to create efficiencies and cut costs.

What’s the solution?  Reverse auctions.  Reverse auctions benefit the supply chain by increasing productivity, reducing purchasing cycle time and create cost savings.  These benefits to the purchasing professionals make a big impact in the effectiveness of a CFO.

The reverse auction process automates many of the manual processes associated with the procurement process.  eBridge works on behalf of buyer to modify or create specifications, source and train suppliers and manage correspondence with suppliers.  According to a report from CAPS Research, buying firms report cycle-time reduction to be reduced by as much as 40% over traditional sourcing processes.

Reverse auctions also deliver efficiencies through cost savings.  Reverse auctions give suppliers an opportunity to submit multiple bids in an effort to win business.  When placed in a competitive environment, typically the buyer is able to glean an average 14% net savings from everything run through the process.

Reverse auctions should be a well-seasoned tool in an organization’s procurement department- they are very useful when applied to the right project and can make a significant impact to the bottom line.

Are you enjoying the benefits of reverse auctions?