Process Assessment:
Explored the existing process for procurement budget creation, understood its manual dependencies, time intensive nature, and identified the scope for improvement.
Scheduled meetings with stakeholders to gain deeper insights into their challenges and concerns.
Building Supporting tools for the Template:
Framework was set up to estimate the Budget for upcoming Overseas Purchase visits, which utilizes historical data and scientific approach to calculate anticipated demand.
Developed a Power BI Dashboard showcasing category level insights and metrics complimenting budget estimation of the category; like deep view to current stock, stock in transit, performance of products at country level, at price bracket level, Inventory turnover ratio, margin particulars etc.
Template Creation:
Developed an Excel template designed for pre-trip budget estimation, seamlessly integrating with the client's ERP file for data collection, and Category Insights dashboard in Power BI was embedded in the template for easy reference. This dashboard complements users with the necessary supporting data needed for category-level budget estimation.
The template was equipped with various features including automation capabilities that automates budget preparation and summarization across various category levels.
The template provides users with the flexibility to modify factor variables in the budget estimation equation, allowing them to tailor the budget according to their specific needs.
Freight charges for each country were considered based on historical data to determine the actual spendable amount from the total budget allocated for purchases.
Associated discussions:
Held walkthrough sessions with stakeholders to educate and train them on the effective using of the template
The template provided a systematic data driven approach for overseas buyers for allocating budget shares to travelling countries, resulting in reduced overspending, and mitigating overstocking and understocking issues.
The template enhanced the Overseas Purchase Budget preparation process by minimizing manual dependence, resulting in a remarkable 75% reduction in budget preparation time.
The template standardizes the process of budget estimation, encompassing all necessary information for stakeholders at various levels, ranging from the buyer level to business leaders.