Reducing supplier onboarding spend through onboarding fewer suppliers is critical for any business looking to streamline its procurement process and save time and money. Unfortunately, many companies face the challenge of a lack of visibility into their current suppliers' product offerings, which can lead to inefficient use of time and money spent searching for and onboarding new suppliers to meet project needs. This is where the resources of other business units within the company can be leveraged to great effect. By leveraging these resources, you can ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the products and services offered by your current suppliers, which can help you avoid the need to onboard new suppliers altogether.

One key way to reduce supplier onboarding spend is by centralizing your procurement process. By bringing all of your purchasing decisions under one roof, you can gain greater visibility into your current supplier base and better understand what products and services they offer. This, in turn, can help you identify opportunities to leverage the resources of other business units within the company, potentially reducing the need to onboard new suppliers.

Of course, it's not always possible to avoid onboarding new suppliers entirely. There may be times when you need to bring on a new supplier to meet specific project needs or to take advantage of new products or technologies. In these cases, it's important to have a thorough and well-defined onboarding process in place to ensure that the process is as efficient and cost-effective as possible.

Another important factor to consider is the use of technology to streamline the procurement process. There are many tools and platforms available that can help you automate and optimize your procurement process, reducing the need for manual work and increasing efficiency. For example, Parq offers a centralized platform that can help you manage your supplier base, track purchases, and identify opportunities to reduce supplier onboarding spend all in one place, with one log-in. By leveraging such tools, you can save time and money and reduce the need to onboard new suppliers.

A commonly overlooked area of improvement regarding effective supplier onboarding is thorough due diligence. This involves conducting a thorough review of the supplier's operations, financial stability, and overall track record to ensure that they are a good fit for your company. This can be a time-consuming process, but it's essential to ensure that you're partnering with a reliable and trustworthy supplier. 

In addition to due diligence, it's also important to have clear and defined onboarding processes and procedures in place. This includes establishing clear expectations and requirements for the supplier, as well as defining the roles and responsibilities of both the supplier and your company. By clearly communicating your expectations and requirements upfront, you can help ensure that the onboarding process is smooth and efficient, reducing the time and money spent on onboarding new suppliers.

Finally, it's important to maintain good relationships with your current suppliers. By treating your suppliers as valued partners and working with them to address any issues or concerns that may arise, you can help ensure that they remain reliable and willing to work with your company in the future. This can help reduce the need to onboard new suppliers and improve the overall efficiency of your procurement process.

In conclusion, reducing supplier onboarding spend is a key strategy for any business looking to streamline its procurement process and save time and money. By centralizing your procurement process, leveraging technology, streamlining due diligence, establishing clear onboarding processes, and maintaining good relationships with your current suppliers, you can reduce the need to onboard new suppliers and improve the efficiency of your procurement process in 2023.