The introduction of procurement card services by SA banks offers companies a useful tool to improve basic levels of control of corporate spend, particularly on small spend items. Like consumer credit cards, they come with pre-determined spend limits which can be individualised per person, or per buying unit, throughout the organisation. And they can be used at merchants that accept credit card payments at point of sale.  At month-end, spend information for all the company’s procurement cards is consolidated into one report by the bank so the company knows what was purchased and how much it cost. More importantly companies no longer have to issue numerous small cheques to pay individual merchants.  A single payment can be made to the bank, saving costs and bank charges. But while corporate purchasing cards are an efficient payment instrument, they do have limitations: ·    There is no approval process to control where or when spend occurs; ·    They don’t ensure that buyers utilise the suppliers with whom the company has negotiated contracts or volume purchasing agreements; and ·    Because the control associated with purchasing cards is retrospective – the company can only determine where spend has occurred once the bank statement arrives – purchasing departments will continue to find it difficult to eliminate maverick spend. However, when used within the controlled environment facilitated by an e-marketplace like Miraculum Xchange, purchasing cards can achieve their full potential. Apart from reducing the monthly reconciliation paper chase and bank charges, the combination of a procurement card and an e-procurement solution will enable: 1. Upfront control of where spend occurs – with which supplier and on which items from a pre-determined catalogue, so reducing maverick spend with unwanted suppliers; 2. An understanding of what and how much is purchased enabling a procurement officer to easily determine where to establish contracts to standardise pricing; 3. A workflow control process over spend prior to purchase; 4. Efficient single source reporting; 5. The ability to directly target particular suppliers such as black empowerment enterprises; and 6. An efficient procure-to-pay solution that is easy to implement and operate. An additional key benefit offered by Miraculum is the provision of aggregation services, where companies can take advantage of volume discounts negotiated with suppliers either individually, or through buying consortia.  Procurement cards then make the payment of suppliers easier, more efficient and less costly. When you implement your e-procurement system, how will you know if it is delivering the savings and efficiencies you anticipated? Do you have a concrete idea of the level of savings you can realistically expect from the system? Have you set targets with regard to savings on products and services, not only in terms of price but also in respect of supplier performance, product performance and internal efficiencies in the procurement process? Do you know what you can expect an e-procurement system to achieve? If not you will be unable to exploit your investment in e-procurement to its full potential. What can you do? Companies wanting to obtain the highest ROI (return on investment) should conduct a gap analysis of the differences between their achievements in the e-procurement arena and that of their competitors, or other companies operating in a similar space. What’s required is an independent benchmark based on research of supplier pricing and performance across a broad spectrum of suppliers.  Measure these against your own performance. But where can you obtain this information?  Miraculum utilises international benchmarks across eleven principles to formulate world-class best procurement practice.  Data utilised to establish these benchmarks are obtained from international research and suppliers and buyers which utilise the Miraculum Xchange e-marketplace. These benchmarking processes provide companies with key metrics and best practices to improve deployment of their e-purchasing systems. Once you have a better understanding of your procurement processes, you can identify efficiencies and savings in the purchasing function, and continue to make improvements which allow good purchasing practices to be a well-recognised competitive advantage. Miraculum is proud to welcome new members to the community. 3M Applebee Office Supplies Axiz Buildzone Canon Choice Technologies Contract Stationers DG Store Dimension Data Network Services First Data First Technology GPT Cash Systems Imperial Car Rental Ince Introstat Moduline Memtek Mutual & Federal Merpak Nashua NEC/Packard Bell Nedcor Old Mutual OSEC RBE Manufacturing Stationers Rennies Travel RS&E/Rubber Stamp and Engraving Co. Seekers TradeWorld The Internet Solution Xerox "Mutual and Federal have chosen to be one of the forerunners in the e-procurement space. We recognise that substantial process efficiency and control benefits can be leveraged for our business by using Miraculum Hosted Procurement. Miraculum has shown professionalism and dedication and we look forward to realising the return on our investment." Gary Benton, General Manager - Administration, Mutual & Federal

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