A well-executed vendor onboarding process establishes a strong foundation for a mutually beneficial relationship between companies and their suppliers or service providers. It promotes better collaboration, reduces risks and costs, and eliminates delays caused by manual or siloed processes—particularly when teams are working from different locations.
Our client, a leading name in the luxury brand and fashion industry, faced similar challenges. To address these, we proposed a solution: fixing their broken onboarding process, which was overly reliant on emails, spreadsheets, and disjointed workflows. That’s where Rishabh Software stepped in, using its expertise in Microsoft technologies to develop a centralized, automated onboarding system tailored to their specific needs.
Let’s explore how we made remote onboarding seamless, facilitated real-time collaboration, and ensured compliance by integrating modern tools and workflows.
Project Overview:
The Vendor Onboarding Automation project was launched to streamline the client’s fragmented, manual onboarding process. The goal was to create a centralized, automated system that simplifies onboarding, enhances cross-departmental collaboration, ensures compliance, and provides real-time visibility by tracking the progress of each step. This solution would eliminate delays caused by reliance on emails, spreadsheets, and disjointed workflows.
Our team developed the vendor onboarding solution using Microsoft PowerApps, Power Automate, and SharePoint, breaking the project into modules and following an agile development approach. Key milestones included the creation of onboarding forms, setting up automated approval workflows, and deploying a comprehensive tracker dashboard. Through active collaboration with stakeholders from Procurement, Finance, and Information Security, the project successfully delivered a remote-friendly, efficient, and compliant vendor onboarding platform.
Challenges:
- Manual Process Execution: The client’s vendor onboarding process was heavily reliant on emails, Word documents, and other manual methods. Workflows were rarely integrated, resulting in repetitive tasks like updating and entering supplier records. Teams spent considerable time manually reconciling records, which often led to errors and delays.
- Siloed Teams and Disconnected Workflows: One of the primary bottlenecks was the fragmented collaboration among key departments involved in the approval process. Critical teams, such as Procurement, Supply Chain, and Information Security, worked in isolation, and the lack of integration between their workflows led to bottlenecks, miscommunication, and uncoordinated efforts, resulting in delays.
- Poor Documentation Management: The client faced significant challenges related to data collection and management, including gathering basic vendor information and handling documents. Vendor data was scattered across multiple spreadsheets and files, leading to missing, duplicated, or outdated records. The absence of a centralized system to store, track, and retrieve key documents—such as contracts, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and compliance certificates—increases the risk of non-compliance.
- Lack of Visibility and Tracking Issues: Manual processes made it difficult for stakeholders to gain real-time visibility or track the end-to-end onboarding process. Without a centralized tracking system, teams struggled with frequent follow-ups, delays, and onboarding bottlenecks due to unclear responsibilities and lack of accountability.
Solution:
Leveraging our in-house expertise and hands-on experience with Microsoft technologies, we helped the client deliver a centralized, automated vendor onboarding solution that enhances vendor relationship management and streamlines the entire process like never before.
The solution maps out key workflows, making it easier to track progress, ensure compliance, and improve cross-team collaboration. It enables the client to maximize the value of each vendor partnership while reducing manual effort and delays.
- Vendor Onboarding Request Submission: We introduced a user-friendly, structured interface for initiating vendor requests. By standardizing data collection—such as vendor details, category, region, and engagement type—we eliminated inconsistencies and ensured each onboarding process started with complete and accurate information. An integrated communication process allows easy interaction with vendors, including requests for necessary documents.
- Approval Workflow Automation: Manual approval chains were replaced with automated, sequential workflows that align with the client’s approval hierarchy. This ensured every request was processed through the appropriate departments—Procurement, Legal, Information Security, and Finance—without bottlenecks or missed steps. Each stage is clearly defined, ensuring seamless progression.
- Onboarding Tracker Dashboard: A centralized dashboard was created to provide a comprehensive view of the entire workflow. Developed using agile methodology, it includes status indicators, approval checkpoints, timestamps, and department-level ownership. SharePoint integration provides real-time visibility into the progress of each vendor’s onboarding process.
- Activity Logging and Reporting: All onboarding activities are logged and stored within SharePoint for auditing and historical reference. Customized SharePoint views support analytics and reporting, allowing stakeholders to access valuable insights and track the effectiveness of their processes.
- Document Management & Compliance: The solution ensures accurate and organized data collection, helping reduce risks associated with supplier interactions. Standardized workflows for data and document submission promote transparency, reduce audit risks, and foster trust with stakeholders by ensuring compliance and continuity.
Benefits:
- 50% reduction in onboarding turnaround time
- 100% visibility into onboarding progress for all stakeholders
- 40% improvement in process efficiency across departments
- Reduced communication gaps between remote teams
- Scalable for future growth with minimal IT dependency
Customer Profile:
A renowned global luxury fashion brand celebrated for its exclusive runway collections and meticulously curated shopping experiences designed to cater to an elite, discerning clientele.
Technologies:
Industry:
Luxury Fashion & Apparel
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