Hiring specialized third-party service providers and contractors outside of a company’s direct employee base for maintenance, capital projects and real estate management is an effective management strategy that many successful companies employ. There is a wide range of third-party service providers in the market that a business could procure, including contractors, technicians, engineers, consultants and many others.
However, companies that rely on outsourcing as a significant component of their business operations (business process outsourcing or BPO) need to make sure they have the right tools to manage their third-party vendors and service providers.
A comprehensive Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) should provide a service procurement and vendor management functionality that facilitates, organizes and tracks the services provided by vendors, takes care of the legal contracting and financial invoicing, and stores contractor information including qualifications, insurance, and service history.
Axxerion’s Service Procurement & Vendor Management Software Solution
Axxerion’s Service Procurement & Vendor Management software allows companies to connect and collaborate with their third-party vendors and service providers throughout the entire procurement lifecycle – all within one efficient, streamlined and cloud-based CMMS platform.
Through Axxerion’s online environment, companies can efficiently bid for goods and services directly or as part of their maintenance management, property management, and/or project management operations.
This includes storing contractor information, selecting and inviting suppliers/contractors to bid via email, comparing their services and prices, selecting winner(s), generating relevant purchase/work orders, and invoicing.
The Benefits of a CMMS with Service Procurement and Vendor Management Offerings:
By using a CMMS that has both service procurement and vendor management capabilities, companies will experience major benefits such as:
- Enhanced control and communication throughout the service procurement lifecycle
- Greater visibility into the qualifications and services of vendors
- Improved efficiency through streamlined processes and quicker response times
- Reduced risk by ensuring valid insurances and thorough documentation
- Better overall service outcomes and considerable cost savings
Here are the key features included in Axxerion’s Service Procurement & Vendor Management Software:
Bidding and Service Procurement
Axxerion’s Bidding and Service Procurement module allows users to bid for, evaluate and award service to third-party vendors through one streamlined workflow.
In this platform, you can easily create and send out a service-related request for proposal (RFP) to a curated list of vendors, have bidders submit their responses directly into the system, easily compare offers, award work, create corresponding purchase and work orders, track the service in progress, and follow through with invoicing at the end of the process.
Learn more about each feature in Axxerion’s vendor bidding and service procurement module:
Contractor/Supplier Selection
Store a list of qualified vendors in Axxerion’s database. Then select specific vendors and service providers to submit a bid based customized search criteria such as region, qualifications, or other customer-specific criteria.
Bid Creation and Digital Contracting
Easily create a bid that consists of a summary description, reference documents and drawings, schematics, and a breakdown list of goods and services. For digital contracting, easily generate request for proposal (RFP) documents with terms, conditions and attachments.
Online Invitation to Bid
Create a standard email template for inviting contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. Invitation emails are automatically generated to include all bid details and sent to the selected service providers to solicit their bids. These email invitations include a dynamic link that will allow vendors to respond directly in the system via a vendor portal.
Easy Bidding via Vendor Portal
Axxerion’s Bidding platform allows vendors to receive, accept and submit bids directly within the system via a vendor portal. In the portal, vendors can reject or accept the bid, include with their prices, and upload additional documents.
Quick Comparison and Bid Selection
Submitted vendor bids are shown clearly in a matrix diagram for efficient comparison that includes factors such as items and supplier prices. All bid details can be reviewed in depth, and then the bid can be awarded to a single provider or split amongst different bidders.
Selected vendors will then be notified that their bid has been accepted and receive next steps. All vendor responses can be stored for future reference.
Work Orders & Purchase Orders
Upon selection of a service provider, bids can automatically be converted into contracts, or purchase orders and work orders, as relevant, with just a few clicks of a mouse.
Purchase orders can be generated based on information for each selected bid, such as primary vendor, order method, and lead time. Work orders can be approved by management and tracked until the service is complete.
Invoicing and Financials
Axxerion’s Service Procurement & Vendor Management application offers full integration with accounting and financial procedures. This includes facilitating incoming and outgoing invoices and posting to General Ledgers and Vendor Ledgers:
Accounting & Invoices
Axxerion’s system can easily facilitate invoicing processes after the service from third-party vendors is completed. Vendors can easily submit their invoices for their goods and services. Invoices can then can be completed with all necessary markups.
‘Not To Exceed’ (NTE) amounts are easily setup for the type of activity and enforced by the system. Vendors have the option to submit change orders if they discover items beyond the original scope.
General Ledgers
Invoices are coded correctly and passed to General Ledgers for posting. Amounts are posted in their relevant accounts and can be reported in the balance sheet and profit & loss statements.
Vendor Ledger
A ledger is created for each vendor and allows you to quickly bring up the full history of all financial transactions, paid and outstanding unpaid invoices. 1099’s are automatically generated for vendors at the end of each year.
Expense Classification (R&M vs CapEx)
Axxerion’s accounting system classifies the expenses based on company rules, including categories such as Repair and Maintenance (R&M) and Capital Expenditure (CapEx). CapEx items are managed for depreciation and appropriate posting and reporting.
Vendor Management
In addition to facilitating the bidding, work order and invoicing processes, Axxerion offers a full vendor management system (VMS). This platform is where all vendor-information can be stored and shared within the organization, including vendor agreements; vendor insurances; vendor company and financial information; and vendor service report cards. Learn more below:
Vendor Invitation
Axxerion sends an online vendor invitation. An interested vendor then fills out an application online and provides the requested information and uploads the relevant documents.
Vendor Portal
Axxerion provides a vendor portal to make is easy for contractors to access their bid requests, assigned work orders and their financial items.
Check-in/Check-out, IVR
Contractors can easily check-in and check-out in their work orders using the portal. They can send and receive messages, add photos and other documents.
Mobile App, Text and GPS
Contractors can download a free app for their Apple or Android devices. They can send and receive texts to and from the system. GPS integration tracks the contractors location and stores it in the history as they check into the site and perform their functions.
Vendor Agreements
Axxerion’s vendor management system ensures that agreements are in place that define the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved, including Master Services Agreements (MSA) and Scope of Work Addendums.
Further, the system tracks critical dates regarding the expiration and renewal of any agreements. All documents are stored for future reference.
Vendor/Contractor Rate Management
Axxerion manages contractor rates for different markets for labor (standard, overtime and emergency), parts and equipment (fixed or with markups) and trip charges.
Vendor Insurances
It is critical for all third-party vendors and service providers to have adequate and valid insurance. Axxerion’s vendor management system stores proof of adequate liability insurance, workers compensation insurance and auto insurance along with their expiration dates.
The system will also notify vendors to provide the renewals as they come up. If a vendor fails to provide the renewal certificates, the system will put them in a non-compliant status.
Vendor Details
It is important to make sure that information about the vendor, the vendor’s company, and the vendor’s financial information is collected and kept on file for easy reference. Axxerion’s vendor management system stores vendor information such as the following: qualifications, areas of expertise, served markets, charge rates, and service report cards.
Vendor Documents
Other vendor documents such as W9 are also stored within the vendor’s records.
Summary
Axxerion’s Bidding, Service Procurement and Vendor Management services leads to major improvements in your company’s business process outsourcing and overall relationship with third-party vendors and contractors. These benefits include:
Streamlined and Simplified Processes
All aspects of the service procurement process are streamlined in Axxerion’s system and connected through a powerful and intuitive workflow. From bidding to vendor selection, to work orders and finally invoicing, everything can be done in one platform.
Improved Service Quality
Axxerion’s vendor management system will allow you to track the performance of service workers and store them for future reference. This means you will be selecting contractors you can trust to give top quality service.
Integrated Team Work
Axxerion makes it so that all parties involved, whether it be internal employees, management, executives or third-party contractors, can collaborate in one integrated platform to communicate information, get instant updates and overview, execute on financials and sign contracts.
Documentation & Organization
All documents and details for the entire service procurement lifecycle are stored in Axxerion’s system for record-keeping and future reference. This ensures security and built-in organization.
Free Demo
Want to learn more about how Axxerion’s Bidding, Service Procurement & Vendor Management services can help your business? Contact us today for a Free Demo.
Contact Us
We’ll help you with your company’s bidding, service procurement, and vendor management processes. You’ll experience major time and cost savings.
Contact us today:
Phone: (415) 233-9370
Email: info@axxerionusa.com
