Public Purchasing & Bid Approval Workflows
When it comes to purchasing, few elements of the process are as important – and challenging – as managing approval workflows. Gathering and organizing the information necessary to move a procurement project forward, while having stakeholders sign off on each step, is a complex and difficult process that can give even seasoned purchasing managers a headache.
The BidNet Direct e-procurement solution makes it easy to manage approval workflows by automating the most time-consuming tasks, simplifying document distribution and offering custom approval options for any type of solicitation.
How do Approval Workflows Work?
Every approval workflow is unique; each must be tailored to the type of solicitation it will be associated with. For example, many local or state governments require RFPs expected to be worth more than $100,000 to be approved by several managers before the solicitation is published and distributed to vendors. Smaller RFPs (typically below $25,000) often require only one signature to be approved for distribution, while Requests for Quotes (RFQs) may not require approval at all.
Because of these variations, each approval workflow requires a custom design, something that BidNet Direct makes easy. With BidNet Direct, approval workflows can be designed as sequential or parallel approval flows, allowing approvals to be completed one step at a time or concurrently. Custom steps based on solicitation type, user identity or groups, or bid value can all be included in the workflow as well.
John Henderson, Purchasing Manager for the City of John’s Creek in Georgia, has been using the BidNet Direct Approval Workflows module for some time now and is very impressed with both the solution and the results. Henderson says that BidNet Direct takes care of some of the more challenging aspects of working out approvals, including the automated organization of documents and related information.
“It’s definitely sped up the [approval workflow] process… All of my boilerplate [solicitation] information is already preloaded in the pre-attach document section [of BidNet Direct]… All [the purchasing team] has to do is post the specifications and list line items for vendors to bid [on].”
The Importance of Approval Workflows
A detailed approval workflow is essential to the development of any solicitation. Approval workflows ultimately ensure that information posted in a solicitation is correct and that vendors who submit bids on the solicitation will be doing so based on the most accurate and complete information available.
Henderson explained how his department must be vigilant during the solicitation creation and approval workflow process.
“The burden [is on] the [purchasing] department to input the information correctly. [A solicitation] goes through one, sometimes two, or even three levels of approval before it comes to me to [publish]… The last thing you want is ambiguity that’s going to involve a lot of questions.”
With BidNet Direct, Henderson says that the time and resources needed to guide a solicitation through the approval process are greatly reduced.
“The ease and simplicity of the system [is] just wonderful.”
Find out how BidNet Direct can help your government organization today! 
