Purchasing using Click & Buy: More Flexibility, less administrative pressure

1. XXxx
Sodexo
The challenge The challenge was to find a solution
for the purchasing process in which changes to the
product range could be made efficiently, orders could
be placed uniformly at 1,350 locations and thousands
of invoices could be sent electronically every week.
The solution The solution was to implement the
TIE Verification Manager, a software tool that is part
of the TIE Kinetix Business Integration Platform. The
TIE Verification Manager functions as a middleware
application that integrates with the existing SAP
materials management environment. The web-based
front portal provides product range managers and
purchasers with an overview, a checking capability and
measurement points in the automated exchange of
article information between Sodexo and its suppliers.
The result Product range management was inte-
grated into the purchasing platform; the catalogue is
always up-to-date for all users; process management
has been optimised and the administration has been
radically simplified at all locations; effective matching
of order and invoice has been achieved and invoice
loss has been kept to a minimum.

2. Text Cees Steijger ~ Photography Marcel R. Bakker
BUSINESS INTEGRATION
Purchasing using Click & Buy
More Flexibility less
,
administrative pressure
With more than 355,000 employees representing 132 different nationalities,
Sodexo operates from 30,600 locations in 80 countries. The Sodexo Group,
of which Sodexo Nederland has been a part since 1995, is the biggest
independent Food & Facilities Management organisation in the world.
I
n the Netherlands, Sodexo operates Click & Buy The Click & Buy purchas- material management system that incor-
from 1,350 locations and every day ing project – focusing on streamlining the porates all the products of all of the suppli-
about 6,500 employees provide more uniform purchasing and ordering process ers of Sodexo Nederland. “The advantage
than half a million people with food & fa- - started some time ago at the headquarters of being web-based is that it’s flexible and
cilities management services, remote sites of the Sodexo Group in Paris. The aim of accessible. Once the location manager
services and party catering & events. In the the Click & Buy project is to reduce the has logged in, he gets full access to his
Netherlands, Sodexo serves companies, load on catering locations, catalogue. Assignments and authorisations
(government) institutions, polytechnics, optimise the purchasing ensure that the location manager sees only
universities and the (health)care sector.
The trend is towards growth. The so-
process and, at the same
time, have better manage-
“In the what is intended for him and can then
place his orders. After delivery, the goods
called, out-of-home market in particular
has increased enormously in recent years,
ment information available,
and to have all reports from
Netherlands, are processed while, following automatic
checking and matching with the purchas-
mostly as a result of a growing awareness
on the part of the public that take-away
all over the world within
reach in the future. Arno
we are a ing order by the TIE Business Integra-
tion Software, the electronic invoices are
food can also be healthy. Sodexo adds to
this items such as biological products and,
Cok, Supply Chain Cata-
logue Manager Benelux, is
considerable immediately processed in a SAP system at
our head office in Capelle aan den IJssel. So
in general terms, sustainability (including
fair trade). And this combination is bearing
co-responsible for imple-
menting the Click & Buy step further no paper invoices are sent to the locations.
This makes management information
fruit: the group’s worldwide turnover is
approaching €14 billion.
programme in the Neth-
erlands. We spoke with than the much better and reduces administrative
pressure on the location manager.”
In the Netherlands, Sodexo works closely
with Deli XL, which supplies Sodexo with
him at the head office of
Sodexo in Capelle aan den rest of the Daily changes However, Arno admits
everything it needs to serve guests, clients,
residents and patients with something tasty.
IJssel. “The Click & Buy
programme was first car- world” that the approach has a disadvantage. He
is referring to the daily changes involved
From fresh ingredients to freshly prepared ried out as a pilot project in in the various products, of which there are
products. Deli XL has a complex distribu- Belgium and Spain in order Arno Cok about 8,000 to 10,000 in the catalogue.
tion network with specialised regional to gain experience prior to These changes are of many sorts, such as
branches – the so-called “fresh centres”. a large-scale rollout,” says new packaging, prices and weights, new
Each of the 1,350 Sodexo locations does its Arno Cok. “It was the turn brands, etc. “With the Click & Buy approach, we should
own purchasing using Click & Buy. Click of the Netherlands next.” use a so-called Request for Quotations, in which you send
& Buy is based on the centrally facilitated According to Arno, the database to the supplier in Excel format requesting him
SAP Supply Chain Relation Management there are many advantages to feed back any changes so that we can update our system.
module, SAP SRM (Supplier Relationship in the new approach to However, with an approach like that, you are totally de-
Management). Deli XL is the main sup- purchasing, which is web- pendent on the supplier being prepared to check all records.
plier, covering about 80% of Sodexo’s total based at the locations. The There are all kind of risks, of which corrupting the file is
purchasing in the Netherlands. system is based on a SAP not the least serious one. We saw a lot more advantages in
TIE ~ 1/2009 ~ P5

3. BUSINESS INTEGRATION
We saw
an automated approach that could save us a lot more it is approved, the spe- world on this point,” says Arno.
a lot of work and would also provide the cific datum is allowed and “Sodexo has now decided to bring
maximum data reliability. Moreover, we advantages sent to our own database. the Benelux countries under a single
were convinced that Click & Buy would This approach saves us a management with the aim of combining
only be interesting if it also enabled elec- in an considerable amount of strengths. Supply Chain Management
tronic messaging. We regarded it as extra time because it is largely was one of the first departments to be
profit if orders could be sent to the supplier automated automated. Moreover, the affected in this way. Which resulted in
automatically and the invoice could be chance of errors is slight, centralizing Catalogue Management in
processed electronically. For this reason, we approach which means that the data the Netherlands.”
started looking around and invited parties in the catalogue are always The TIE Business Integration Platform
to come up with a solution.” that could clean.” will now be rolled out in Belgium too.
“In Belgium, we’ve found that the situ-
Verification Manager This is
how Sodexo came to TIE Kinetix. The two
save us a Savings Apart from
the fact that the data in the
ation is different to that of the Nether-
lands,” says Arno. “They don’t work with
companies were not unknown to each
other. For example, the TIE Business Inte-
lot of work” catalogue are now always
up to date, the introduc-
one big supplier as is the case in the Neth-
erlands but with a Top 25. This resulted in
gration Platform had been implemented at tion of the TIE Verifica- a lot of differences which meant that the
Sodexo to answer the huge Sodexo organi- tion Manager also brings catalogue no longer satisfied the improved
sation’s messaging needs. “TIE offered the TIE Verification considerable savings, especially in terms Dutch standards. They were still using
Manager that had been successfully deployed at Intratuin, of time. For example, the accuracy of the Requests for Quotation and that has now
for example,” says Arno. “We studied this case thoroughly catalogue data means that invoice loss has been replaced with our EDI approach.”
and quickly became convinced that with a little customisa- been drastically reduced. In the case of an
tion this tool would be the ideal solution for Sodexo.” average of 30,000 invoices per month, and Interest Arno Cok sits on the Sodexo
The TIE Verification Manager was implemented in based on 20 minutes spent dealing with Click & Buy User Committee and recently
2007. But how does it work in Sodexo’s daily practice? “In every lost invoice, every percent improve- presented his experiences with the TIE
fact we work with two files,” says Arno. “One file is our ment makes a difference of no less than 100 Verification Manager in the Netherlands to
catalogue containing about 10,000 info-records and the hours per month. An additional advantage a meeting of his fellow Supply Chain Cata-
other is the supplier’s file. The catalogue provided by the is that incoming invoices are automatically logue managers. There is increasing interest
supplier is sent in his own format. The TIE platform takes made available to SAP by the TIE software. in the Dutch approach from other coun-
this format and ensures that the Verification Manager can So none of these invoices have to be entered tries. Especially as Supply Chain Manage-
work with it and that the two sources can be matched in manually. This also saves several minutes’ ment in the Netherlands is also function-
the Verification Manager. In fact the Verification Manager work per invoice – in fact no less than 1,500 ally responsible for the purchasing process
can handle various product descriptions. The supplier’s hours per month based on a minimum of 3 in Sweden, Finland and Germany, it is
description is compared with the description in the Sodexo minutes’ handling time for a paper invoice. expected that the TIE Verification Manager
catalogue. If differences are identified by the Verification So this results in sizeable savings annually. will also be introduced in these countries.
Manager (e.g. a different unit price or a different weight) “In the Netherlands, we are a considerable “After all, it’s a good solution and it makes
Supply Chain Management receives a notification. Once step further than the rest of Sodexo in the things easier,” says Arno Cok.
In the Sodexo company restaurants
you will always be certain to make a
wholesome, healthy choice.