Do you have an idea for improving the Xeeva platform? Read below to see how to submit your ideas and what happens next! What is an Enhancement Request? An Enhancement Request is a suggestion for an improvement or change to the existing solution. It is not a request to fix a 'a “bug” (something broken that is supposed to be working). Enhancement Requests can come from a variety of sources, such as a support ticket...
Procurement and purchasing activities and improved spend management have always been competitive factors for an enterprise. Managing key supplier relationships and costs contribute directly to bottom-line profits. Controlling indirect procurement spending can introduce various cost-saving opportunities and help organizations improve their operating costs. Three areas in which companies try to curtail their procurement and purchasing costs are reduction in spot buys, controlling the maverick spend, and managing tail spend. Each one can be optimized to...
Let me just start by saying: what a year! From racial and social justice to the novel coronavirus, the global economy and organizations of all sizes and across all industries were disrupted in some way or another. People everywhere were forced to adjust to new personal and professional challenges. It’s been a transformative year, to say the least, and that’s been true for our team as well. They say hindsight is 20/20 but what we’ve...
“What will the future look like?” has become the question of 2020. At this year’s OESA Automotive Supplier Conference, industry experts and senior automotive executives joined virtually to discuss how the industry will continue as it settles into a new norm and focuses on the future once again. Following the event’s theme of “Journey Back to the Future,” the 3-day conference consisted of a variety of conversations that included the industry impact of the coronavirus,...
With the advent of SaaS applications, companies have been able to take advantage of quick implementations and a short time to value. However, exchanging data among a new SaaS application with other SaaS and on-premise applications is sometimes an afterthought. This is especially common when a business unit decides to use a cloud software application to solve an urgent business problem without a representative from IT involved. Connecting IT systems properly for the exchange of...
We recently attended the ProcureCon MRO virtual event that brought together senior-level maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) procurement innovators representing some of the world’s largest manufacturing companies. Although the event was held behind computer screens, industry experts, practitioners, and solution providers gathered virtually to discuss the various ways organizations have been impacted, how to better manage risk, and how to proactively respond for the future. Read on to learn our most valuable takeaways. Now is...
Procurement activities and improved spend management have always been competitive factors for an enterprise. Managing key supplier relationships and costs contribute directly to bottom-line profits. Controlling indirect spend can introduce various cost-saving opportunities and help organizations improve their operating costs. Three areas in which companies try to curtail spend management are reduction in spot buys, controlling maverick spend, and managing tail spend. Each one can be optimized to yield better results for organizations, and having...
In what’s become our new normal, category and commodity managers, procurement directors, chief procurement officers, and others in the procurement and sourcing departments joined virtually for ProcureCon Indirect in late July. The theme of the event was “Coping with New Procurement Realities and Applying Lessons from 2020” with many of the sessions focused on procurement’s role in reopening post-COVID, cost savings, building resiliency in the indirect supply chain, and best practices to reshape procurement. Thinking...
At Xeeva, we know that our customers’ success in using our products is vital for our success. So when it comes to product releases, we want to make sure that those who use our spend management software are in the know and properly prepared for any upgrades that may occur. In this blog, we’ve laid out some of our most frequently asked questions around product release upgrades to help our customers have a better understanding...
No matter the industry, managing spending is always a fundamental focus for any executive team, and nothing impacts spend as much as variation in the purchase price of goods and services. Purchase price variance (PPV) is one of the key metrics – arguably the most important metric – used by procurement teams to measure the variation in the price of purchased goods and services. It is a prime measure of how effective the procurement team...
Xeeva welcomes this guest post on spend visibility and strategies for success from Andrew Bartolini, Founder and Chief Research Officer, Ardent Partners. Ardent Partners recently published its 14th annual “State of Procurement” research study, CPO Rising 2019: #ValueExpansion. And what was true when this series started remains true today – that there may be no greater advantage for the modern enterprise than comprehensive spend visibility and an ability to take action on it. While collaboration,...
We recently had the opportunity to chat with Charlotte de Brabandt, Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) 30 Under 30 Rising Supply Chain Stars 2017 Megawatt Star and member of ISM’s Thought Leadership Council. During our discussion, we chatted about the impact of technology on the future of procurement, and how to prepare for these inevitable changes. Check out a snippet from our interview below, and you can also listen to the full 30-minute audio interview here! XEEVA:...
In a recent webinar with Hugo Evans, Vice President at A.T. Kearney, talked about the impact emerging technology is having on procurement with our SVP of Growth & Business Development, Vikas Shah, and one of our Customer Success Managers, Marisa Pierron. During their discussion, one topic they covered was how organizations can start implementing emerging technology. Want to know what steps you should take first? Read the transcript or check out the clip below to...
This year’s OESA annual conference began with Julie Fream, OESA’s CEO and president, reviewing the event theme: “Transform. Innovate. Lead.” She warned that the automotive industry is transforming and if you don’t follow suit, you risk getting left behind. This message was further relayed throughout the day when Neil Boehm, VP of engineering at Gentex said, “you have to change with the times or you won’t exist,” when discussing the impact of new technology. The...
Last week a mix of supply chain professionals were brought together in Boston to learn about digital trends affecting manufacturing and gain insights into why development, digitization, and innovation are important. The event was DMSCA’s annual conference with the theme of “Velocity – Gearing Up Suppliers for New Opportunities in Manufacturing” and we were happy to be a part of it. Our CEO, Dilip Dubey, joined the conference as a subject matter expert in artificial...
Reflecting on the past couple weeks, I am enthusiastic about where Xeeva is and where we’re heading! You may have seen us in the news recently – here, here, here, and here (and many others) – because we had an amazing opportunity to raise capital and partner with PeakEquity Partners, Greenspring Associates, and Morgan Stanley Alternate Investment Partners to grow Xeeva and continue to define the future of procurement. If you haven’t seen the details...
Decisions, goals, and opportunities are all part of any journey. The path you take to reach each of those is important. What matters more though is where you start. That’s what determines if you will make it or not. Every part of life has a foundation that without, it would come crumbling down. For people, it’s oxygen. For cell phones, it’s a charged battery. If either of those were taken away, how long would you...
According to research from The Hackett Group, accounts payable best performers operate with 62% lower costs per invoice than their peers. This indicates a significant opportunity for companies not considered best performers to make significant improvements to their operations. "AP best performers operate with 62% lower costs per invoice than their peers." Key Metrics to Determine Procure-to-Pay Process Efficiency Price per financial transaction basis Transactions per full time equivalent (FTE) Purchasing’s span of control The...
Formulation of a supply risk strategy is essential for a company to perform at its optimal potential. Failure to construct an appropriate strategy can turn your risk into reality. Some may argue risk in the indirect and MRO world is less risky. But in fact, shutting down a factory line due to lack of critical tooling is just as bad a shutting it down due to lack of direct materials. "Formulation of a supply risk...
Setting up systems to monitor supply risk management and supply chain visibility can preempt future performance issues that your organization may encounter. Predictive financial performance monitoring tools are often of value to companies monitoring the activities of their suppliers – indeed, recently one large global manufacturer was able to prepare for the impending bankruptcy of a major supplier due to their predictive analysis, indicating that the supplier was developing cash flow issues. Related: Supply risk...