What is the difference between Intake and Procurement Orchestration?

As the scope of the procurement function continues to evolve, new terms and concepts enter the mind-share of those seeking to correspondingly evolve their teams and align with broader business objectives.

Two trending topics today are ‘Intake’ and ‘Procurement Orchestration’. As they are often mistaken as being interchangeable, being able to distinguish between these concepts is essential to embracing the strategic advantages of either—and ideally both.

Both concepts serve different, though linked objectives within the procurement ecosystem. Together, they can address the entire procurement scope of efficiency, risk mitigation, user experience, and broad strategic business alignment. Let’s distinguish between these two concepts.

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“The goal of Procurement Orchestration is not just about orchestrating workflows; rather, it’s about orchestrating data and collaboration—both internal and external—allowing you to analyze and optimize all of these interactions continuously.” - Nick Heinzmann, Head of Research at Zip, Margin Makers Newsletter

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What is Intake?

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Intake is the centralized initiation and dynamic routing of purchase requests, designed to collect and organize every piece of relevant information procurement requires to complete a process.

Put simply, it is a ‘single front door’ to any procurement activity—be it sourcing, contracting, vendor onboarding, or making simple purchase requests. Intake efficiently guides requesters through the appropriate steps, facilitating the next stages of collaboration with all of the necessary stakeholders involved in the procurement process.

By offering a user-friendly and efficient portal for intake, the process becomes not just more appealing and thus more widely adopted by employees, but it also ensures adherence to comprehensive procurement policies automatically. 

Through the automation and routing of requests to appropriate parties such as IT, legal, privacy, and more, Intake effectively coordinates the approval process and guarantees a smooth progression to subsequent stages of procurement.

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What is Procurement Orchestration?

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Procurement Orchestration, on the other hand, is the overarching and comprehensive strategy of procurement that includes, but extends beyond the initial Intake of requests. 

It involves the coordination of all procurement-related activities from Intake-to-Pay, ensuring that all actions are transparent and coordinated. Procurement Orchestration ensures that procurement leaders retain total visibility and control over the process, even as tasks are distributed among stakeholders.

By facilitating collaboration and integration of disparate processes across the organization—along with leveraging AI for process guidance and process improvements—Procurement Orchestration not only improves efficiencies but also positions procurement as a key player in achieving strategic business goals.

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Procurement Orchestration is a strategic advantage 

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Traditionally, procurement teams have been bogged down by manual, labor-intensive activities throughout the entire procurement cycle.

Starting with the initial Intake request and moving through vendor selection, to the creation of purchase orders and processing of invoices, these tasks typically consist of repetitive, administrative duties that rarely contribute significant strategic value.

This situation not only detracts from overall efficiency but also restricts the procurement department's ability to contribute to broader organizational goals.

The integration of self-service Intake within a broader Procurement Orchestration network represents a paradigm shift in how procurement operates as a function—it's not just about making procurement faster; it's about making it smarter, more strategic, and more aligned with the company’s bottom line goals.

By automating the 'busywork,' teams can allocate more effort to strategic initiatives that drive cost savings, innovation, and competitive advantage. 

Meanwhile, Procurement Orchestration ensures that this strategic work is not done in isolation but is part of a cohesive, company-wide approach to procurement that accelerates outcomes and amplifies impact:

• ​​Enhanced efficiency: Automation of routine tasks significantly reduces cycle times, allowing procurement teams to execute processes more quickly and respond to organizational needs with greater agility.
• Increased focus on strategic activities: Freed from the constraints of administrative busywork, procurement professionals can dedicate more time and resources to high-ROI activities, like the strategic sourcing of multi-million dollar contracts that really move the needle.
• Improved stakeholder engagement: Intake empowers employees to submit procurement requests easily and track their progress in real-time. This not only improves the user experience but also kick’s off a collaborative orchestrated environment where procurement is viewed as a valuable partner in achieving business objectives.
• Data-driven decision making: Advanced AI-powered analytics capabilities of platforms provide procurement leaders with actionable insights into spending patterns, supplier performance, and process bottlenecks. 

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Looking forward to the future of procurement

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As we look towards the next era, the role of procurement is shifting and as such, the entire market category is evolving to meet it. The workflow advancements powered by a Procurement Orchestration platform like Zip cannot be overstated.

AI-powered insights and process automations offer unprecedented opportunities to enhance efficiency, improve compliance, and provide strategic leverage that can be felt across a company. These technologies enable procurement teams to focus on the high-value strategic activities that finally earn them that seat at the table.

Understanding the way Intake Management and the broader Procurement Orchestration differ—and strategically align—is what allows procurement to optimize every dollar and minute spent at each node of the procurement process, from Intake-to-Pay.

Procurement leaders are therefore encouraged to not only adopt these strategies but to also continuously seek out innovative technologies and methodologies that can further enhance the strategic value of procurement. 

In doing so, they will not only optimize their procurement processes but also ensure that procurement is fully understood as a key driver of business value and strategic growth.

Interested in learning more about how Zip can transform Intake and Procurement Orchestration at your company? Request a demo today.