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How Sustainable Facilities Management Services cut purchase order processing time by over 90% with Spendwise

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Overview

 

Sustainable Facilities Management Services (SFMS) is a socially and economically disadvantaged women-owned small business that provides green and sustainable facilities management services to government and commercial entities.


SFMS had been using paper, spreadsheets and Dropbox to manage its purchasing process which became cumbersome and time-consuming, resulting in a number of issues.  After researching different solutions, SFMS chose Spendwise as the best option for automating its purchasing process and immediately began to see the benefits.


Since implementing Spendwise, SFMS has been able to reduce purchase order processing time by over 90%, increase compliance with approval policies to nearly 100% and significantly improve visibility.   

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Industry

Facilities Services

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Company Size

11-50 employees

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Location

Washington, DC

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Website

www.sfmscompany.com

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Key Outcomes

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Improved Efficiency

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Greater Control

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Increased Visibility

The Challenges

 

Before adopting Spendwise, SFMS used paper, spreadsheets and Dropbox to handle its purchasing process. Over time, this approach became difficult, inefficient and fraught with issues.  


One of the more significant issues was that over 80% of discretionary purchases lacked required pre-approval.  Oftentimes purchases were approved after they were made when it was too late to reject them anyway, and sometimes they were never formally approved at all.


Another issue was that information was scattered making it difficult to see what was going on.  This led to duplicate purchases and made it nearly impossible to analyze spending without wasting a lot of time trying to gather information.


A third issue was difficultly in verifying that goods or services had been received and ensuring that invoices accurately reflected delivered items or completed services. This caused delays in making payments to vendors which strained relationships and disrupted workflows. 

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Why SFMS chose Spendwise

 

SFMS knew that it needed to modernize its purchasing process and enlisted the help of its outside accountant to help find the best solution.  


The most important factors SFMS considered in choosing a solution were ease of use, cost effectiveness and strong customer support.  


After evaluating different options, Spendwise became the clear favorite as it best matched the criteria for what SFMS needed.

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The Results

 

Soon after selecting Spendwise, SFMS was able to get it up and running and start reaping the benefits.

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Improved efficiency

 

Instead of taking days to process purchase orders, they can now be processed within a couple of hours.​​

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“Before Spendwise, it took three to five days for purchase orders to be processed and approved.  Now it takes just a couple of hours at most.” 

– Patricia Bush, Chief Executive Officer

With Spendwise, project managers are able to initiate purchases, obtain necessary approvals and place purchase orders quickly so they have what they need when they need it.​

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Greater control

 

Because it is so much easier for purchase orders to be processed and approved, nearly all purchases are pre-approved in accordance with policies. 


In addition, SFMS is now able to easily keep track of goods or services that have been received on purchase orders and then match vendor invoices to purchase orders and receiving transactions.

 
By gaining more control, SFMS is able to get ahead of maverick spending and ensure that they only pay for what they have ordered and received. 

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Increased visibility

 

Spendwise makes it easy to see what is going on with spending in real-time.

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“It used to take days, weeks and even longer to pull spending information together for analysis.  With Spendwise, I can get the same information in seconds and it is far more accurate.”

– Andre Price, Director of Operations

With increased visibility, SFMS is able to better understand how money is being spent and see where there are opportunities to save money.

 

Better vendor relations

 

Previously, inefficiencies in the procure-to-pay process resulted in late payments to vendors which strained relationships and disrupted the delivery of goods and services. 


With Spendwise, SFMS is able to validate and process vendor invoices more quickly which has made it easier to pay vendors on time. 


By streamlining its workflows, SFMS has bolstered its reputation as a reliable partner and improved relations with its vendors.

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