Desktop Purchasing System

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A desktop purchasing system is an application program that a company's employees can use to order consumables. The term is a sham Anglicism that does not exist in the English language.

Need DPS

Since the mid-1990s, operational and strategic purchasing work has been increasingly supported by ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning) and MRP systems (Material Resource Planning) EDP. The focus here is on the direct area, i.e. on the procurement of production materials or products for sales.

The situation is different, however, with the procurement of indirect so-called MRO (Maintenance Repair Operating) products, i.e. products that do not go directly into the end product. The strategic consideration is often neglected here, although this figure often represents a not inconsiderable part of the total procurement volume.

Reason enough to take a strategic look at the procurement of indirect / MRO products. Many large companies also handle this via their ERP systems. These offer a variety of functional options in deep menu structures, which are difficult to master for employees who do not use the system on a daily basis.

Desktop Purchasing System

The problem lies in making the procurement of direct and indirect / MRO products transparent so that a strategic view is possible, but on a simple platform that should be manageable by every employee - the Desktop Purchasing System, or DPS for short. The proportion of C-parts in indirect / MRO products can be automated through e-procurement . With the help of desktop purchasing systems, the consumer has the opportunity to place an order with the supplier independently and without involving the purchasing department.

Despite the automation in the DPS, it is a controlled procurement process. A framework agreement is concluded with the supplier. For example, the duration, possible product groups and the agreed discounts are fixed. The released articles appear in the DPS catalog and, after legitimation of the user, can be ordered directly within the framework of the respective budget, whereby the costs are booked internally to the user cost center.

The application is a form of e-procurement solutions, which in practice can handle around 60 to 70% of the purchasing volume transparently and automatically (empirical values ​​from strategic purchasing). So there is enormous potential for savings in this, if you consider that the process costs for purchasing secondary goods in larger companies are between 60 and 100 euros per transaction. With the use of e-procurement, process costs between 6 euros and 8 euros can be realized. This automation gives employees in purchasing the opportunity to focus on tasks that add value.