Purchase Request

What are Purchase Requests?

Purchase requests are often regarded as the first step in the purchase approval process and are made before a purchase order is issued. Purchase requests are quite common across different departments and can be made for buying goods or services. 

A purchase request is usually made by an employee using the company’s internal requisition process. The request often needs to be approved by a manager before it’s sent to the procurement department. 

The procurement department then uses the purchase request to create a purchase order, after requesting quotes from several vendors. Here’s the general workflow involved in generating a purchase request:

1. An employee creates a purchase request and seeks their manager’s approval.
2. The manager reviews the request and approves or rejects it. 
3. If approved, the purchase request is sent to the purchasing department 
4. The purchasing department then issues a purchase order and sends it to the vendor
5. The vendor confirms receipt and specifies if the order can be filled. 

What Purpose Does the Purchase Request Serve?

The purchase request is actually very important for making sure that the business follows a systematic ordering process. As a company’s scale of operations continues to grow, managing internal correspondences, including purchase details, often becomes difficult. 

It helps in tracking consumption patterns within the business, allowing finance leaders to better budget for subsequent operations. More importantly, purchase requests help formalize the requisition process, as the request goes through proper channels before being approved or denied. 

Automating the Procurement Process

Businesses can streamline operations by automating the procurement process. Instead of dealing with purchase requests manually, everything can be digitized.

Using a Procure-to-Pay system, businesses can maintain vendor catalogs and shopping lists, and pre-approve spend to mitigate any bottlenecks.