It’s important to distinguish between the basic purchase order software included in many business applications, and the more advanced offerings from purchase order management providers. As noted above, the basic purchase order template software is relatively inexpensive and should prove beneficial to almost any company that routinely creates purchase orders. However, such software is usually limited primarily to the creation and, potentially, the electronic dispatch of purchase orders. Purchase order management providers, on the other hand, offer software and services that extend beyond those basic needs. Such software may allow your company to electronically track purchase orders, vendor acknowledgements, and available quantities in real time through the use of web-based services. If you believe your business might benefit from that type of software, keep the following in mind as you choose a provider:
• Scalability: Can you tailor the software to the needs of your business, and will it grow with your business as you add new vendors and customers?
• Flexibility: Does the software allow you to easily add or subtract vendors? Once a vendor is listed, is it relatively easy to make changes to vendor information?
• Compatibility: Will the software work properly on your current network, or will the purchase of the software require in turn that you upgrade your hardware? If you have some sort of supply chain management software already in place, is the purchase order software compatible with your previous software?
• Vendor stability: It’s likely that you’ll occasionally need employee training or software updates – will your software provider be around when you need help in those areas, and do they offer such support at a reasonable cost?