FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Addison; TX - (June 5; 2024) - In a move that reinvents the RFP process for procurement professionals; ERA Group is now offering a suite of e-sourcing services that harnesses the power of AI to save clients time; money; and effort. ERA Group improves the e-sourcing process for clients by doubling down on a key element missing in recent hype around AI: humans.
ERA Group uses human intelligence to improve reverse auctions
One tool in ERA Group’s e-sourcing package is reverse auctions; in which vendors submit preliminary RFIs and RFPs. This information is then translated into a live competitive bidding event that provides rankings based on a set of criteria; including price.
“Reverse auctions are the antidote to manual RFPs;” says Jeff Reynolds; an ERA Group Global Enterprise Partner. “It’s a form of e-sourcing that utilises technology to streamline the RFP process. It both gathers the information and speeds up the cycle to get users to a decision-making point faster.”
But that’s only one part of the story.
“AI is great at gathering and measuring hard factors; such as price;” Reynolds says. “What it can’t do is employ non-price factors; such as quality; personal industry knowledge; judgement; and loyalty — which can all be considered while still minimising costs.”
That’s where ERA’s expert humans come in. They provide unmatched industry knowledge; negotiating experience; and historical context. They pre-qualify and vet suppliers that want to enter the auction; ensuring they actually can do the job on which they are quoting. Technology; alone; just can’t do that.
Further; real humans understand the importance of incumbency in RFP decision-making. ERA experts take the history and value of an existing vendor relationship into consideration and combine it with the competitive environment of a reverse auction. This gives key decision-making information to procurement professionals looking to balance efficiency and cost with quality and commitment.
ERA maximises e-sourcing for special expense categories
Businesses save an average of more than 10% across categories by using reverse auctions. Reverse auctions particularly excel at streamlining negotiation time and reducing decision-cycle time for specialised spending; such as:
• Custom and large commercial builds
• One-time-only capital expenses
• Spot pricing and distribution of commodities
• Specialised transportation and logistics
• Large direct material spends
E-sourcing provides efficiency improvements through cost analysis; expense reduction; vendor management; and procurement optimization.
For more information about ERA Group's e-sourcing; reverse auctions; and why humans and AI work better together; contact Jeff Reynolds or learn more here.
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About ERA Group
ERA Group partners with business leaders to tackle their most important challenges and illuminate their greatest opportunities. For more than 30 years; ERA has been a pioneer in business strategy and cost optimization. Today; we leverage data; analytics; and the world’s most knowledgeable industry specialists to help clients validate; improve processes; and turn insight into opportunities.
With over 40;000 projects completed in over 60 countries across six continents; ERA Group enables organizations to grow; build competitive advantage; and drive bottom-line impact. As a global team of thinkers and doers; ERA Group brings deep vertical and functional expertise in over 50 categories and 100’s of subcategories plus a range of diverse perspectives to spark change for our clients. We’re the resource today’s modern leaders need as they navigate a new horizon; face unforeseen challenges; and seek new opportunities.
