Tuesday 26th March, 2013

SciQuest, a provider of cloud-based spend management solutions has announced the next major extension of its business automation suite. The new interfacewhich includes includes consumer-like features and experiences with the look and feel of sites like Amazon, Facebook and LinkedIn. Combined with other significant new features such as a Digital Mailroom for accounts payable, tighter contract management integration, a new Workflow Inspector and shared shopping cart, SciQuest aims to make it easier for customers to cut costs, automate processes and gain transparency to turn spending into savings. The new product was previewed to customers at NextLevel, SciQuest’s annual user conference held last month.

“We are committed to continuous enhancements to enrich the user experience across our suite of cloud-based applications” said Mark Digman, SciQuest Vice President, Product Marketing and Strategy. “This release represents a tremendous leap forward, by enabling users to shop within their organization much like how they purchase goods on-line as consumers. Along with other key features of this release, we have streamlined  key processes within AP, procurement, purchasing and contract management to empower our customers to contribute to the bottom line.”

In the area of Accounts Payable, the new version features a Digital Mailroom that offers organisations the ability to route paper, fax and email invoices directly to SciQuest for scan and capture. Once final visual verification is completed to ensure accuracy, the invoices are available to the organisation for matching and approval in the SciQuest Accounts Payable Director. This significantly improves productivity within accounts payable departments.

“The transformed procurement organisation should be proactive in seeking and identifying savings opportunities, and should be a strategic partner for the organization in innovation, make-versus-buy decisions, risk management, outsourcing, demand management, etc.,” said Magnus Bergfors, Gartner Research Director in the report, “How to Use Software and Service Providers for Successful Procurement Transformation, November 2, 2012.  “In order for the organisation to function this way, it must have access to suitable tools and systems such as spend analysis, e-sourcing, contract life cycle management (CLM), procure to pay (P2P) systems and supply base management.”