MyCIMA

Purchase order systems

Replies : 2

Hi,

A member has sent us the following query on purchase order systems.

"I have been asked by my employer to write a report describing the operation of a purchase order system, concluding with a recommendation as to whether or not such a system should be implemented across the entire Group.

I have started to research this issue but have struggled to find any substantially detailed information.

Does the CIMA head office have any resources for members which would provide me with some help on this issue? Otherwise are you aware of any public libraries I can visit which contain a decent stock of books on the subject of financial control?"

I have replied to him and suggested he tries searching the Business Source Corporate database for articles on this subject.  (Business Source Corporate is an online CPD resource available to CIMA members only).  I have also suggested he tries contacting several business libraries in the London area. 

Can anyone offer any further suggestions, please?

Thanks very much for your help.

Regards,

Bill Haskins, CIMA

Purchase Order Systems - why?

Hi Bill,

If you'd be interested I can spare 30 minutes to chat to you about some of the reasons our customers contacted us, and the problems they wanted to overcome? No hard sell I promise! To give you a rough idea though here are 3 reasons for using a purchasing management system that I see on a regular basis:

1. Reduce costs: once a system is put in to control expenditure you will see a decrease in spending, when used across a large company this can have a very positive impact. This could be between 2/5% depending on the company and the industry. Any organisation with high staff turnover can save more in some cases.

2. Visibility and control: A significant amount of time wasted by the finance team can be put down to chasing "ghost" invoices that arrive when no one knows about the goods or services they relate to. PO systems stop this happening and can also speed up the process of sign off by keeping all the data in a single place.

3. Better auditing: As part of ISO9000 it’s usually recommended to have a PO system in place to aid compliance. It can also speed up an external financial audit which results in lower fee’s.

These would be very common reasons for implementation, although each company we’ve worked with has many smaller specific reasons as well.

Kind regards,

Neill Austin

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Purchase order systems

Hi Neill,

Thanks very much for your reply.  I'm sorry but we had to remove your contact details from your message, as publishing your personal details contravenes our community guidelines.   

I will make sure that our enquirer is aware of your message and your kind offer of assistance, and suggest he contacts you via CIMAsphere's private messaging system.

Thanks again for your help.

Kind regards,

Bill Haskins, CIMA