If you’ve found your way to our blog, you’re probably thinking of implementing a procurement automation tool in your organization or seeking an improved alternative to your current one. 

Either way, you’ve landed in the right spot.

In today’s business environment, efficient procurement practices are vital for maintaining a competitive edge, and automation is the way forward.

With that in mind, we’ve curated a list of ten procurement automation tools that can accelerate and enhance your procurement processes. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into the first tool on our list.

Veridion

One of procurement’s most critical yet time-consuming aspects is finding the right suppliers. 

Veridion, primarily a data service business, is an AI-powered procurement automation enabler that excels in automating supplier discovery, and it stands out in a league of its own.

This tool boasts access to a vast network of over 70 million suppliers worldwide, with data that is continually updated, so that it’s never older than two weeks. 

This sets Veridion apart from the competition, where most tools have limited global coverage and rarely update their data.

Source: Veridion on Youtube

But Veridion doesn’t just accelerate supplier discovery. 

Our tool can help you choose suppliers that pose no risk to your company and adhere to ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria. 

Moreover, Veridion’s automated supplier monitoring feature keeps you informed of any changes in a supplier’s activities and enables you to make informed decisions.

Our complex search API is designed to search suppliers based on various criteria, from company name and location to specific details like the technology used, insurance codes, certifications, and product information.

Source: Veridion

On the other hand, even if you only know a company’s name and city, for example, Veridion’s Match & Enrich API can equip you with a comprehensive company profile in just a few seconds. 

The best part? It’s easy to implement and seamlessly integrates with your workflows to keep your master data management (MDM) real-time and up-to-date.

Key Features

• Accelerated, enhanced supplier discovery with always accurate, up-to-date data
• Supplier monitoring and the ability to evaluate suppliers based on ESG criteria
• Supplier risk mitigation
• Complex search API
• Effortless workflow integration

While Veridion caters to larger enterprises dealing with substantial data volumes, startups seeking data-driven innovation can also benefit from it. 

Pricing is flexible and tailored to each company’s unique needs, so you can contact us directly to explore your options.

In summary, Veridion is the go-to solution for obtaining accurate, consistently fresh supplier data that can empower you to make well-informed procurement decisions.

Bellwether

For over 35 years, Bellwether has been a reliable name in procurement solutions. This cloud-based software offers an easy-to-use approach to purchasing and inventory management.

Bellwether streamlines the procurement process, allowing you to create requisitions and purchase orders from any device effortlessly. It also simplifies purchasing by enabling direct ordering from a network of over 60 vendors.

What’s more, with real-time purchase tracking, from order to receipt, and automated accounts payable, Bellwether provides transparency into invoices and payments.

Source: Bellwether on Youtube

And since Bellwether is also an inventory management software, it helps you monitor stock levels for timely purchasing decisions.

A standout feature of this tool is the robust three-way matching process, which safeguards against fraudulent activities by comparing purchase orders, receipts, and invoices.

Source: Bellwether

Finally, with Bellwether’s custom reporting and analytics feature, which gives you insights into historical data, you can improve your vendor pricing strategies.

Key Features 

• Automated procurement from requisitions to payments
• Custom approval workflow across departments
• Seamless integration with accounting and ERP systems
• Convenient direct website ordering

Pricing-wise, Bellwether offers tailored solutions but does come in three pricing plans: Essential, Professional, and Enterprise. As you opt for higher plans, the software unlocks more features and integration options.

However, it’s worth noting that quotations (RFQs), a crucial part of procurement, are exclusive to the Enterprise plan. 

So, if you already have solutions for other procurement aspects like supplier sourcing, Bellwether is an excellent addition, particularly for purchasing needs. 

But if you are looking for an all-in-one procurement automation tool, maybe the next solution on this list will be more appropriate.

Coupa

Coupa is an all-in-one cloud-based procurement automation solution designed to simplify and enhance the entire procurement process.

Coupa’s extensive feature set automates everything, from spend analysis and purchase requisitions to receipts, invoices, and payments. 

It also covers inventory and contract management, offering a one-stop solution for procurement needs.

Source: Coupa

In Coupa, they promote seamless communication and supplier relationship management. 

This software features a supplier platform that allows companies to find, evaluate, and engage with pre-sourced, pre-negotiated, and pre-qualified suppliers. This minimizes supplier risk and speeds up the sourcing process.

Sourcing is also improved with Coupa’s e-sourcing capabilities—it allows organizations to create and manage competitive bidding events to secure the best prices from suppliers.

On top of that, Coupa leverages AI-powered community intelligence, analyzing anonymized data from its extensive customer base. This provides benchmarking and best practice insights to help organizations make informed decisions.

Key Features

• Complete procurement automation
• Supplier platform for fast and risk-free supplier sourcing and communication
• Search for suppliers based on sustainability and ESG criteria

While Coupa offers comprehensive solutions, it may be cost-prohibitive for small businesses due to its pricing structure. Moreover, their users have reported a steep learning curve, and customer support has received mixed feedback.

When it comes to pricing, Coupa operates on a subscription-based model, and certain features require additional payment. For precise pricing, you should contact them directly.

In conclusion, Coupa is a robust procurement automation solution suitable for enterprises. However, it’s essential to consider the budget and the learning curve for smaller businesses.

Fraxion

Fraxion is another tool on our list that automates procurement. It’s an expense management and purchase requisition to purchase order app.

Fraxion allows employees to create purchase requisitions from anywhere, and these requests can be easily routed with customized approval workflows. 

Also, since it’s a mobile app, approvers can review and approve requests from any device, wherever they are.

Source: Fraxion on AppStore

Other features this software provides are real-time budget tracking and instant notifications at each purchasing stage.

This tool’s standout feature is its PunchOut catalog software integration. 

To put it briefly, you can connect purchase requests directly to a vendor’s catalog in real-time, with access to over 45 vendors (and the flexibility to integrate more if needed), and select items from the catalog while making purchase requests.

Key Features

• Expense management and purchase requisition app
• Automated invoice approval and 3-way matching
• PunchOut catalog software integration
• Integrations with accounting software and ERPs

Fraxion offers three pricing plans: Fraxion E, Fraxion Prime, and Fraxion Prime+. 

The plans vary in features and integrations, with additional PunchOut integrations available for a monthly fee per vendor in the Prime+ plan. 

However, it’s best to contact them directly for specific pricing details.

To recap, Fraxion simplifies procurement, expense management, purchase requisitions and purchase orders, offering real-time insights and powerful PunchOut catalog integration.

PRM360

The next tool you need to know about is PRM360, an AI-powered, cloud-based procurement solution.

PRM360 offers a comprehensive set of features to streamline procure to pay process, reduce delays, enhance vendor satisfaction, and deliver a substantial ROI.

Let’s mention a few key ones.

PRM360 automates contract management, catalog management, and e-invoice management. 

Source: PRM360

For example, it sends automatic reminders to vendors for invoice submission, ultimately reducing payment delays and ensuring excellent relationships between companies and suppliers.

Moreover, PRM360’s vendor management module centralizes all vendor and supplier data for future collaboration evaluations. It includes vendor profiling, strategic vendor sourcing, and supplier risk management.

One of the standout features of this tool is its reverse auction capability, designed to help users identify the most suitable supplier by creating competitive bidding events—similar to Coupa’s.

Key Features

• Automation from supplier sourcing to payments
• Supplier performance tracking
• Reverse auction feature
• Seamless integrations with ERP and third-party applications

User reviews on G2 applaud PRM360 for its user-friendly design, exceptional support, and straightforward setup, with ratings reaching an impressive 9.9.

For precise pricing details, you’ll need to contact them directly.

In summary, PRM360 is a comprehensive solution to streamline procurement in companies, covering everything from supplier sourcing to timely payments, and users love it.

Precoro

Precoro is a user-friendly procurement and spend management software that simplifies purchasing processes for organizations. Its adaptability makes it suitable for all sizes and types of businesses.

This tool offers most of the features found in other procurement automation tools on this list. For instance, Precoro streamlines purchase order creation and provides customizable workflows for proper authorization. 

It also enables you to create a catalog of the products and services you purchase the most frequently, which can simplify the ordering process for your employees.

And Precoro keeps it all in one place—in the dashboard you can see below.

Source: Precoro

What this tool excels at is budget tracking.

It offers reporting and analytics to gain insights into spending patterns, aiding in cost control. Its inventory management tools also optimize stock levels by tracking items and setting reorder points.

One feature that sets Precoro apart is its ability to handle reimbursement requests. 

For example, employees can request reimbursement for work-related expenses and attach receipts or other documents like plane tickets, which can streamline compensation processes.

Key Features

• Automation from purchase requisitions to payments
• Robust budget tracking and inventory management
• 3-way matching
• Requests for reimbursements

Precoro’s pricing is based on the number of users, starting at $35 per user per month for smaller teams, with tailored pricing available for larger organizations. 

But it’s important to remember that advanced features like the supplier portal (which enables direct communication with suppliers) and NetSuite integration come as paid add-ons.

To summarize, Precoro is another procurement automation tool worth knowing. 

It can streamline purchasing, control costs, and enhance supplier management, making it a valuable tool for procurement professionals. However, some of its advanced features are available only with additional fees.

ProcurementExpress

ProcurementExpress is a practical procurement automation tool accessible through its user-friendly app.

One of its notable features is the informative dashboard that provides an overview of performance metrics, pending purchase orders, and budget tracking, making it easy to stay on top of procurement operations.

The tool allows for flexible customization of purchase orders, including the option for custom fields and orders in multiple currencies.

That makes it an excellent choice for businesses that often deal with international suppliers.

Source: ProcurementExpress

Additionally, you can set up approval flow and maximum spending limits for purchase orders. Plus, the system keeps a detailed history of all purchase orders, aiding in record-keeping and auditing.

When using Chrome browsers, a unique feature exclusive to the web app is the shopping cart page, where purchase orders can be created directly from shopping carts.

For efficient invoice management, ProcurementExpress offers Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning, which converts invoices into digital formats and matches them with purchase orders, all within a centralized hub.

This tool also takes care of supplier management, with the ability to send out requests for quotations and handle supplier relationships from a single portal.

Key Features 

• Customizable purchase orders and approval workflow
• Managing suppliers from a single portal
• Efficient invoice management

When it comes to pricing, ProcurementExpress offers four plans: Basic, Small Business, Standard, and Enterprise. 

As you move up the tiers, the software’s capacity to handle transactions and expenses increases and you gain access to more integrations and features.

To conclude, ProcurementExpress is a practical choice for procurement needs, providing valuable tools for businesses of all sizes.

Procurify

Procurify is another cloud-based procurement and spend management software designed to simplify and optimize procurement processes. 

It can be accessed through a user-friendly mobile app, allowing users to manage procurement tasks from any device.

Like other procurement tools we mentioned, Procurify offers various features. Let’s explore a few.

Source: Procurify

First and foremost, Procurify simplifies purchase orders, allowing users to quickly generate and customize purchase orders, track their status, and ensure proper authorization.

The software provides robust budget tracking tools that help organizations monitor spending against allocated budgets in real time, helping to control costs effectively.

Procurify offers a centralized hub for managing supplier information, performance evaluations, and communication, making collaborating with suppliers and negotiating contracts easier.

This tool can also integrate with popular accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero to streamline financial processes and ensure accurate record-keeping. 

It’s important to note that, unlike tools like Bellwether, Coupa, and Precoro, Procurify lacks inventory management capabilities, which can be valuable in procurement.

Key Features

• Automated purchase order creation and approval process
• Centralized platform for supplier management
• User-friendly mobile app
• PunchOut integrations with supplier’s catalogs
• Reloadable physical and virtual spending cards

Procurify’s pricing starts from $2,000 a month, which can depend on the number of users and integration needs. 

In a nutshell, with its vast range of features, Procurify is yet another practical choice for efficient procurement management. However, it lacks inventory management tools.

Tipalti

At number nine on our list of procurement automation tools is Tipalti, a robust cloud-based procurement automation software.

Some key features it comes with include a portal where employees can make purchase requests through predefined custom forms, as well as approval workflows, vendor management, and spending tracking.

Source: Tipalti

And like with other tools on this list, once purchase requests get approved, Tipalti can automatically turn them into purchase orders. 

One standout feature of Tipalti is its exceptional flexibility regarding payment options. This adaptability proves invaluable when making payments on a global scale, as it enables transactions to 196 countries in 120 different currencies.

Tipalti also shines with its supplier onboarding feature. It simplifies the onboarding and verification of suppliers while ensuring compliance with tax regulations.

G2 user reviews consistently emphasize the importance of the last two features mentioned above and highlight their effectiveness.

However, it’s important to note that some reviewers have reported occasional lags and error syncs, and some would wish for more advanced reporting features. 

But despite these minor issues, most users report being satisfied with this tool.

Key Features

• Automated purchase requests and approval workflows
• Global payment options that cover 196 countries and 120 currencies
• Amazon PunchOut integration
• Easy integration with ERPs and accounting software

Tipalti’s pricing model is designed to grow with your business. It starts at just $149 per month for the platform fee, providing the flexibility to upgrade to Tipalti’s more advanced capabilities as your business evolves.

In conclusion, Tipalti offers a user-friendly and adaptable solution for streamlining procurement processes and managing global payments.

Tradogram

We will finish this list with Tradogram—another cloud-based procurement management solution.

Similar to the others we’ve discussed, Tradogram offers essential features such as purchase order creation, supplier management, contract handling, budget tracking, and report generation.

As expected, this tool provides customizable workflows, approval processes, and integrations with popular accounting systems.

Source: Tradogram

Furthermore, Tradogram includes inventory management capabilities and allows users to monitor supplier performance. 

It also enables you to create a catalog of frequently purchased items to simplify procurement tasks. However, it lacks PunchOut integrations.

Key Features

• Automation from purchase requisitions to payments
• Approval workflows
• Automated 3-way match invoice processing
• Supplier portal
• Contract repository
• Item master data management

However, this can be a valuable starting point for smaller businesses that may not require more advanced procurement automation solutions.

What sets Tradogram apart is its basic plan, which is offered for free. Please note that this basic plan is limited to one user and allows up to five transactions per month. 

For those needing more features, Tradogram offers premium and enterprise plans with custom pricing.

In summary, as the only free procurement automation tool on this list, Tradogram is surprisingly well-equipped to help you kickstart your procurement automation efforts.

Conclusion 

And with that, we have reached the end.

The tools we discussed today share common goals: accelerating procurement, mitigating risks, and optimizing cost efficiency.

While some, like Coupa and PRM360, offer comprehensive all-in-one solutions, others excel when integrated with complementary tools.

Among them, Veridion stands out for its unparalleled global supplier discovery and sourcing capabilities, backed by consistently accurate data. 

Ultimately, the choice among these tools should align with your business’s size, type, and specific needs. 

But whichever automation solution you choose, you will be on the right track to improving your procurement process.