Menu

Digital purchasing processes in SAP S/4HANA – keep it simple with FUTURA

FUTURA is a cloud-based and modular platform for SAP-based purchasing – easy to use via apps for a new user experience. FUTURA apps bring the entire functional world of FUTURA into the SAP Launchpad: Your purchasing teams – operational as well as strategic – can thus more easily launch and better control request events from SAP, directly compare offers, strategically leverage negotiations and fully exploit market potentials.

All product groups.

Allcomplexity levels.

Guided sourcing approach

Standardized purchasing processes for all material groups and a shopping cart function for the items to be used in the request – thanks to the wizard with clearly timed steps, the time required for requests in operational sourcing is significantly reduced. 

Identical workflow for all requests

A lean and uniform purchasing process also guides you through one and the same workflow for a request, with interfaces that are always familiar – regardless of which requisitions, i.e. purchase requisitions, material masters or contracts the shopping cart is filled with.

Easy access to all sources of supply in SAP

Today's practice for purchasers is to call up different SAP transactions and select individual items – the views for the purchaser are different in each case and thus completely heterogeneous. An entry point to the sourcing process that is valid for all sources of supply brings a decisive facilitation of the workflow.

In just four steps to the request

You select the items to be listed from the purchase requisition, contract or materials cockpit - thanks to flexible filter options, you retain a complete overview even in extensive lists. Immediately afterwards, a wizard guides you to the request in four steps. Maintain header data, add texts, assign the relevant suppliers, and start.   

Supplier onboarding and management

In order to be able to react quickly to procurement bottlenecks or to find alternative suppliers, it is important to have an easy way to expand the supplier pool – and to integrate recently found suppliers into your procurement processes just as easily online.

In this context, it is important that all messages exchanged with suppliers are bundled in a central location – and can also be viewed transparently by other persons in charge, e.g., in the event of a substitution. This ensures that inquiries are clarified promptly and comprehensibly in order to receive the best possible offers.

  • Ad-hoc integration – company name and e-mail address are enough
  • Integrate communication with suppliers in an audit-proof manner
  • High acceptance due to cost-free use for suppliers 

Sourcing management

The highest level of transparent control is required to ensure that sourcing projects are actively managed at all stages of the request process and to make well-founded decisions.

Real-time status in the request process

Track the status and activities of your suppliers in the request process. Who has viewed the request, who is already working on an offer, or which supplier has already submitted one? Every single step of your suppliers is presented to you in the form of status messages. Communication with suppliers is also done via FUTURA – documented in an audit-proof manner.

Offer analysis

 The price comparison list is the central element in purchasing and makes it possible to compare individual supplier offers in a structured manner. Automated and individually configurable according to your needs, it is the perfect starting point for negotiations. Based on any price deviations, you can develop target scenarios for your purchasing strategy – even across several request rounds.

Actively manage order changes

Changes often occur during the processing of purchase orders. You can detect possible discrepancies in the ordered quantity or delivery times in the order confirmation. This allows you to react immediately, e.g., change the purchase order in SAP or find substitute suppliers. Lastly, you create purchase orders and/or contracts in SAP via FUTURA.

Multistage sourcing

A request project does not have to refer to only one request variant. Depending on the object of procurement and the market situation, several steps can also be combined to form multistage sourcing.

RFI (Request for information)

The first step is the gathering information with the aim of creating a supplier shortlist. This can prevent additional clarification effort in the further request process.

RFQ (Request for quotation)

The objective of a request for proposal / quotation is to obtain qualified offers based on a description or specification in order to make an initial assessment on price competitiveness.

Auction

Depending on the price situation after an RFQ, the final result of negotiations with the suppliers can be achieved by means of an auction. And this can be done transparently, quickly, and in accordance with compliance requirements.

Complex sourcing projects with GAEB

Requirements around technically demanding sourcing projects, e.g., in capital goods purchasing, place special demands on the performance and structures of the system used for requests. The advantages of integrated GAEB structures at FUTURA can be seen from requests through to service entries.

Strategic service procurement

You work with service contracts in SAP and want to update and put them out for requests on a regular basis? The easiest way to do this is to let buyers access all contracts directly from the SAP Launchpad – even those with item category "D" – and read them out for requests in FUTURA.

Transparency in billing and controlling

Creating an item with the value of the offer and 1 SU for a purchase order in SAP with the attached item list as a PDF – this practice has its pitfalls. Because: Real project controlling in SAP is not possible like this. It is only possible if the purchase order or the contract is mapped in SAP with the entire master service specifications in order to be created there as a service purchase order (item category "D") or service contract (value or quantity contract).

Service entries by suppliers in self-service

To ensure that in the event of a commissioning the invoicing or service entry can take place transparently at service line level and can also be created as a contract in SAP, the GAEB specifications must be available in their entirety in the SAP system – and of course it must also be continuously synchronized when a service provider accesses it. This shortens and simplifies billing processes.

Central purchasing

Bringing together multiple backend systems for purchasing processes could previously be done by SAP SRM – but S/4HANA Sourcing & Procurement does not support this.

For this purpose, FUTURA provides you with the flexibility needed for a central procurement: Different SAP systems as well as SAP clients can be connected with a central access to FUTURA which makes it possible to use purchasing documents centrally from different SAP systems as well as SAP clients.

The big advantage for a central purchasing department:

  • Access via FUTURA to all connected SAP systems and clients
  • Transfer of requirements into tenders or creation of purchase orders/contracts from FUTURA back into the various SAP systems and clients.

Contact us now to learn more!

Updates on SAP-integrated purchasing in S/4HANA and more. Sign up now for our e-mail newsletter.

Information on the use of your personal data can be found in our privacy policy. Your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose than to send you the newsletter. You can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time and thus revoke your consent to receive the newsletter for the future free of charge.

A fast way to contact us

Do you have questions or need more information?

+49 611 33 460 300

Contact via e-mail

info@futura-solutions.de

Live Demo

Get a first-hand impression of FUTURA.