Ivalua introduces developments to improve direct materials sourcing and procurement

Ivalua, the spend management solutions provider, has announced the availability of broad innovations in direct materials sourcing and procurement as part of its Platform Release 160. Direct materials enhancements on Ivalua's new platform release reflect the incorporation of leading capabilities gained through the October 2017 acquisition of Directworks, as well as new innovations.

With the new platform release, customers can more effectively manage a product's bill of materials (BOM) and the related components, costs and suppliers. Customers are empowered to effectively collaborate with suppliers to launch more innovative, profitable products and better-manage associated supply risk.

Customers will be able to manage a BOM with n-level hierarchy structure and have 360-degree visibility into target and actual cost rollups. Additionally, when buyers are ready to take action, they can do so directly from the BOM view. For example, they can seamlessly launch an RFx process for a sub-component. Together, these capabilities enable team collaboration, agility and ensure appropriate measures are taken to minimize risk while also allowing for complete lifecycle management of a product or component. In the near future, supplier health will be part of this enabling visibility into risk, performance, quality, and any other customer driven factors that could impact the success of a product BOM launch.

Release 160 includes a broad range of other innovations for direct materials sourcing and procurement. These include more sophisticated RFx quoting capabilities allowing customers to easily structure a quote template to collect detailed cost breakdowns, calculate total landed costs, and deeply analyse quotations automatically, with a few simple clicks. To support the transactional direct materials process, the release also includes Forecast Collaboration and PO Automation / Confirmation capabilities, facilitating more efficient and digitised supply chain collaboration between buyers and suppliers, reducing cycle times and risk of supply chain disruptions while also securing a stable supply of materials for production needs.

"This release further solidifies our vision to empower customers to effectively manage all areas of spend and facilitate deeper collaboration with suppliers," said David Khuat-Duy, Ivalua Corporate CEO. "These new capabilities will enable better collaboration internally and with suppliers to develop, launch and deliver more profitable products and do so with reduced risk."