Reason for Using ISPnext
Providing insight into spend at various suppliers was the initial impetus for Pon to use ISPnext. Martijn initially wanted to map the spend for his own department, Pon's Automobielhandel. He also wanted to check that the suppliers receiving the highest payments were properly contracted.
In addition, ISPnext was also the solution to bundle the many administrative systems. "Precisely because we are such a decentralised company, there was no single system that could be used Pon-wide. We needed one system in which information from various administrative systems could be integrated to provide insights," Martijn explains.
Before Pon started using ISPnext, the company was using another, similar system. '’We eventually switched to ISPnext because of what we saw as better functionalities and better value for the price. This is a choice we are very happy with to this day."
Functionality
Within ISPnext, Pon uses Contract Management, Spend Management and Vendor Rating. "Spend Management is something we set up Pon-wide," Martijn points out. Each Pon company can then specify whether it also wants to use Contract Management or Vendor Rating. It very much depends on the kind of Pon company as to whether it needs these features. Within Pon's Automobile Dealership, we use two functionalities."
Six years ago, Pon's Automobielhandel started Vendor Rating in ISPnext. "A different path than most organisations, which often start with gaining insight into spend or contracts first," Martijn says. "It was very interesting for us to gain insight into the performance of suppliers and to be able to come to better contract agreements with (new) suppliers based on these insights. In addition, our OEMs and factories also require a certain system for assessing suppliers and for us to act accordingly. That is exactly one of the reasons why we were the first to implement Vendor Rating at the time."
Implementation
Implementing a new software solution is an intensive process, "Especially in an organisation like Pon that has to deal with so many accounting and administrative systems," Martijn says. "The implementation of ISPnext involved many people from each Pon company. A number of IT managers, a controller who can validate the data, you name it. Moreover, the implementation of new software is an activity to be completed in addition to normal operations. It was quite a challenge to keep up the speed in the implementation process and keep our people - despite their full schedules, of course - involved in the process."
