Choosing the Best E-Invoicing Vendor for Tyre Manufacturers

 

We start by collecting the requirements from the finance, tax and IT departments before identifying a vendor. Our experience in running vendor search processes has  built a definitive Request for Proposal (RfP) framework that we were able to share with the International Tyre Manufacturer. Using this framework our client side  project manager was able to quickly gather the necessary information to start the analysis. 

 

There are two critical aspects to the analysis: firstly to determine why a specific requirement exists then to prioritize requirements according to the MoSCoW method. After the requirements were analyzed and prioritized, we  moved on to the next phase of the project. 

 

 

We started working on the RfP document, armed with a clear set of priorities, questions and an overview of the business and scope of the request. The client’s stakeholders viewed these documents to verify the requirements and agree on the long list of vendors we would approach. Once we had a consensus,  we invited fifteen vendors to participate in the RfP. The vendors were asked to reply to the RfP within four weeks, and could submit questions until two weeks before this deadline. The collated questions were distributed to the relevant departments at the tyre manufacturer for responses. Upon receiving the answers, we started our analysis. 

 

 

The international tyre manufacturer had a tight schedule; they wanted to find a vendor before summer 2023 in order to implement certain mandates at the beginning of 2024. So, we analyzed the answers to the RfP within a week and gave a presentation to stakeholders about the results. Twelve vendors had responded, and we selected six for the demo days in Belgium at the international tyre manufacturer’s European HQ. 

 

The demo days were quite intensive – over three days, the six vendors had two hours to present their company and solution. Each vendor received the same agenda and an explanation of what should be covered during their presentation. We created a scorecard for stakeholders on the client’s side to score the vendors. At the end of the week, we decided to move forward with two of the six vendors, to the workshop stage. 

 

During the vendor workshops we further discussed the vendors’ submissions  RfP,  who had the opportunity to display their capabilities and experience in more detail. These workshops were a great way to find out more about the vendor teams and their expertise. 

 

 

Due to the quality of the two final vendors, the international tyre manufacturer decided to move forward with both vendors. Each vendor will deliver a solution in a specific country. Our client was delighted with this result and complimented us for the knowledge and service we delivered during the vendor process. Using our e-invoicing expertise, project methodology and a pragmatic way of working, we were able to deliver outstanding vendors within the projected time frame. As a result, the international tyre manufacturer is equipped with a robust solution to meet all future e-invoicing mandates.