In procurement, purchasing processes involving approvals, account assignments, standardisations and authorisations usually take longer than one would like. Executives and purchasing managers have to manually check the processes in various systems, grant approvals and compile the required information. This is no longer feasible in day-to-day operations and takes up a huge amount of time.
Through the new “E-procurement” function, BRACK.CH Business is setting new standards in relation to procurement and is making these processes much easier for you to manage. The aim of the E-procurement solution is to digitalise and standardise approvals and authorisation processes, while also guaranteeing individuality. E-procurement ensures transparent, verifiable and replicable processes. Account assignments based on cost centres are recorded when the order is finalised, delivery addresses are defined and set, and maximum order values are observed. These workflows and standardisations reduce the amount of work your company will have to do.
Read on to find out how this works in detail.
User management in the online shop
Manage your users in a transparent and centralised manner from one location. You can change the user’s authorisation level by defining them as an OWNER or MASTER. To use this function and receive further information, click “User & roles” in the menu. In addition to the OWNER and MASTER authorisations, there are the SHOP ORDER and SHOP RESTRICTED ORDER authorisations. These two authorisations have an influence on the E-procurement workflow. If a user has been set to SHOP ORDER, they can select a cost centre at the checkout, but they do not have to.
If a user has been set to SHOP RESTRICTED ORDER, they will have to select a cost centre each time they go to the checkout.
Cost centre management in the online shop
You can manage your cost centres centrally in one location. When you authorise a debitor as an OWNER or MASTER, you have the option to make changes to existing cost centres, record new cost centres or activate or deactivate cost centres.
General cost centre information
If you want to record a new cost centre or modify an existing one, you have the option to define general information for a cost centre. Define a unique cost centre ID for each cost centre. This can only be assigned once and cannot be modified later on. Give the cost centre a name and add a description for it. The name and description are displayed to the user at the checkout and may help them to select the correct cost centre if multiple cost centres are available. Set the status of your cost centre to active if you want this to be available for use straight away. If a cost centre is not to be used yet, set the cost centre to inactive and activate it at the appropriate time. Further settings options are available to you in the “Reference required” area for each cost centre or by defining an uneditable delivery address for each cost centre. If a reference is required, the user has to enter a reference for each order. Fixed delivery addresses for a cost centre cannot be changed at the checkout.
Users and management at cost centre level
You can add one or more users with different roles (authorisations) to a cost centre. To do this, the user must already be linked to the debitor. If this has not been done, the user has to be added in user management. In the overview of users for the cost centres, you can see which users have access to the cost centre and what level of authorisation they have. Add existing users to a cost centre, remove users who are not or no longer authorised from a cost centre and define the right role for each user and each cost centre.
Roles and authorisations in E-procurement
Three further roles have been created for E-procurement in addition to the user roles available in user management. These help you use the E-procurement function correctly in your business in order to comply with the required workflow.
| Master cost centres | A user with this authorisation can perform all administration functions, approve orders and use the cost centres at the checkout |
| Reviewer cost centres | A user with this authorisation can approve orders and use the cost centres at the checkout |
| Client cost centres | A user with this authorisation can use the cost centres at the checkout |
Cost centre delivery addresses
You have the option to record one or more delivery addresses per cost centre. When you record the delivery address, you have the option to save a contact person for the address or enter chauffeur information (70 characters) in addition to the address itself. When you define a favourite delivery address, this will be saved automatically as the recommended address at the checkout. If the cost centre does not have a fixed delivery address, the user can select a different delivery address that has already been saved or enter a new one at the checkout. The newly entered delivery address is not added to the delivery addresses for the cost centre.
Cost centres on invoice documents
The cost centre information is printed on the invoice irrespective of whether your debitor has been set to single invoice or collective invoice. You have the option to receive the collective invoice based on the debitor, order debitor and cost centres or to sort by cost centre.
Maximum order value per cost centre and user
You can define the maximum order value function for each user and cost centre. If an order exceeds the maximum order value for a user in the context of the selected cost centre, the order is sent to the workflow during the approval process. The user can place the order but not fully finalise it. The order is only triggered at BRACK.CH Business once a manager of this cost centre has approved the order.
Granting approvals as a cost centre reviewer
You are saved as a reviewer of a cost centre. You will receive an e-mail as soon as an order has been placed by a user. You then have the option to approve the order and place it or to reject the order. If the order is rejected, you have the option to leave a message for the user, informing them why their order has been rejected. The user is informed in both cases (rejection or approval). In addition, the user can view the order and its current status in the order overview.
The functions at a glance
- A reliable, efficient and transparent function in the BRACK.CH Business online shop
- Automated and digitalised workflow
- Systemised and standardised purchasing processes
- The familiar user interface of the online shop
- Process customisation at user level
Visualisation of an ordering process with cost centres
Account / user: angela.sample@example.ch
Debitor: V58792 ¦ V58989
Available cost centres at debitor V58792:
ID: 4875 ¦ Name: Marketing ¦ Description: Use for various marketing materials ¦ Reference required = YES ¦ Fixed delivery address = YES
ID: 8982 ¦ Name: Cafeteria ¦ Description: Only use for coffee and accessories ¦ Reference required = NO ¦ Fixed delivery address = YES
ID: 8769 ¦ Name: Business events ¦ Description: Only use for external events ¦ Reference required = NO ¦ Fixed delivery address = NO
Log in
Ms Sample logs into business.brack.ch using account angela.sample@example.ch. The account has linked two debitors. Ms Sample selects debitor V58792.
Fill cart
Ms Sample fills her cart with coffee, coffee cream, cups and sugar sticks.
Select cost centre in cart
Ms Sample opens the cart. As she has the role “SHOP RESTRICTED ORDER” for the selected debitor, she is forced to select a cost centre. She can choose between the following cost centres: 4875, 8982 and 8769. The descriptions provided for the cost centres make it clear that she needs to select cost centre 8982. She can also see who the administrators of these cost centres are.
Check out
The online shop automatically takes Ms Sample to the checkout. As cost centre 8982 has a fixed delivery address, there is no option for Ms Sample to change the address. The reference field at the checkout is not a mandatory field. This means that Ms Sample can finalise the order without entering the reference.