How Nagarro Simplified the Procurement Process with Low-Code

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Low code applications have transformed the development of supplier relationship management (SRM) platforms and procurement processes, which were once a time-consuming and elaborate process.

Mendix and Nagarro, a global digital engineering leader, collaborated to digitalize the procurement process for a major manufacturer with 1,500+ vendors. The project was delivered within six months with an agile team of five low-code experts.

With Mendix, anything is possible

Mendix low-code technology helps enterprises turn ideas into business outcomes. The platform’s visual Integrated Development Environment (IDE) empowers business and IT collaboration so teams can deliver complex solutions — for procurement processes and more — quickly and consistently.

Mendix is powerful, open, and extensible and built to reduce the technical complexity of legacy migrations and new technology incorporation. The result is:

  • Rapid software delivery
  • Better internal collaboration
  • Reduced complexity
  • Digital business processes that free up operational resources

Nagarro, a leader in global digital engineering

Nagarro has continuously innovated and implemented low-code projects to help leading global companies realize their digitalization and tech innovation goals. Nagarro supports enterprises through their low-code journey with training, development, support, and a strategy engineered for success.

They hold special expertise in optimizing the procurement process for major manufacturers and shepherding them through the various stages of digital transformation. As technology evolves, its Fluidic Enterprise Vision brings technology and human ingenuity together to help organizations meet their unique needs.

The Mendix and Nagarro partnership is based on the shared emphasis on a value-driven approach to enterprise digitalization projects, with ROI considerations woven into the project strategy.

Creating a supplier relationship management platform

A leading global manufacturer approached Nagarro to request a decentralized, paper- and human-based procurement workflow. This process was responsible for tracking more than 1,500 suppliers. They needed an upgrade to their existing Supplier relationship management platform and processes to deliver more value from their procurement workflow.

With the Mendix low-code platform and six months of development time, a team of five transformed the client’s manufacturing procurement process. Today, the manufacturer’s cloud-based centralized application can streamline complex operations and provide a single access point for all users.

Digitizing manufacturing procurement processes

As a GSI partner, Nagarro has built low-code solutions on Mendix for a client base that spans the globe and touches on several major industries, including manufacturing. A specific manufacturing client must rethink procurement and overcome legacy technology hurdles and antiquated workflows.

In addition to optimizing technology requirements, the manufacturing client also needed to improve access to internal tools, vendor management, and procurement tools and resources.

With 1,500 suppliers providing cost-saving opportunities and relationships that need to be evaluated and acted upon, Nagarro’s manufacturing client wanted to simplify.

The best way to simplify the procurement process is to digitize it, removing human intervention, potential errors, and operational inefficiency. Digitizing the process would also remove paper from the procurement workflow. Nagarro and the manufacturing client worked together to create a project plan.

Building the right platform with Mendix

Nagarro began the project by deeply understanding the client’s relationship management process, including the procurement process and other internal tools. The team then designed a platform for the procurement process within the SRM platform. The platform can:

  • Collect quotations from vendors and suppliers
  • Compare offers
  • Seek internal approvals
  • Award purchase orders based on custom metrics

This also caters to various change management scenarios post-PO generation.

The manufacturer can use the platform to decide which metrics are essential to the enterprise and easily update them as the business scales. It manages the internal approval processes for purchase orders. It eliminates paper trails and bottlenecks in operations.

A transformed supplier network

Nagarro designed the Supplier relationship management application developed on the Mendix low-code platform. The app unlocks operational efficiencies and integrates SAP to enable seamless data exchange and enhance the end-to-end procurement process.

The application improved the client’s supplier management processes by ensuring:

  • A centralized experience: The Mendix-powered platform simplified and optimized processes by centralizing business processes, including Request for Quotation (RFQ), comparison, vendor negotiations, approvals, and PO award.
  • Cloud access: The Mendix application features an intuitive interface. The procurement team and other users can access the UI through a portal hosted on the cloud.
  • Digitalization: The app removes human touchpoints from several processes, reduces redundancies in operational workflows, and eliminates paperwork.
  • Data insights and visualization: Data centralization unveils new, comprehensive reports to track key metrics and facilitate continuous process iteration.