Emptoris Inc. rolled out the newest version of its Web-based sourcing software suite Tuesday designed to provide systematic savings via streamlined supplier relationships and more efficient procurement enterprisewide.
New modules in Version 4.0 of the Sourcing Portfolio (formerly called ePass) include contract management, project management, and supplier assessment; the modules expand the functional footprint of the Emptoris software to enable enterprisewide implementation, boosting visibility of corporate spending and helping enterprises reduce costs on direct and indirect goods and services, according to company officials.
"Most companies spend 60 to 80 percent of all revenue they bring in on either a good or service that they source," said Kevin Potts, director of product marketing for Burlington, Mass.-based Emptoris. "If they can reduce that [expenditure] ... that can have tremendous impact on their bottom line. In this economy, companies are looking for ways to help reduce the cost of their supply base."
The new contract management module is designed to allow companies to manage complex pricing agreements, monitor supply contracts, and leverage negotiated agreements for additional savings. Emptoris' project management module is designed to allow users to flexibly define multistep projects, define teams and assign roles, and save projects and documents as templates.
"It introduces a best practices capability. Every year or six months, when you establish contracts with new suppliers, you need a common system of record for capturing knowledge," said Steven Ricketts, Emptoris vice president of marketing. "That base of information is all captured in best practice templates."
Finally, a new supplier assessment module is designed to help managers assess the supply base and create performance scorecard data to use in sourcing. The suite also features a new data framework, a technology infrastructure for defining all the elements in the sourcing portfolio. While other systems hard-code data for items or supplier bid forms, the framework allows users to create their own definitions on the fly, according to company officials.