Partner Spotlight: ISS Group and iPurchase for QAD

ISS Group has been building purchasing software for QAD users since the mid 1990s. This September they release a new version of iPurchase™, their requisition and purchase order solution, at the QAD Champions of Manufacturing conference in Chicago.

They are the latest in our partner spotlight series, where we look at the partners we work with and what they are building. ISS Group has spent thirty years building for QAD manufacturers, every client they have is a QAD end user, and their solutions integrate with the ERP in real time.

What iPurchase Does

iPurchase is a PO requisition management and approval solution integrated in real-time with QAD. First released by ISS Group (ISSG) in the late 1990s, it continues to serve QAD Users around the globe.

iPurchase streamlines purchasing for both MRO and direct materials. In addition to providing functionality beyond QAD’s standard procurement capabilities, it includes a robust approval-routing engine capable of supporting even the most complex approval policies.

iPurchase and the Supplier Portal

A purchase order leaves iPurchase and reaches the supplier. What happens next usually happens in email.

iPurchase integrates with our Supplier Portal, so suppliers have one place to work instead. They view the purchase order and confirm shipping, and every request and response is logged rather than buried in a thread. The portal also holds a supplier document library and contact lists, and it all runs with QAD.

What’s Changing for ISS Group this September

ISS Group is releasing a new version of iPurchase at QAD Champions of Manufacturing, with a revamped user interface and new functionality across the solution.

Here is what’s new with the release:

• A Modernized User Experience. Streamlined navigation, modern iconography, clearer notifications and better search across iPurchase and iApprove™, with each user landing on their own approval queue, recent requisitions and favorites.
• Visual Approval Management. Approval history becomes an interactive graphical workflow showing stages, parallel routing, current status, previous attempts and anything returned for rework.
• Approver Intelligence. See who owns an approval, who acted on it, and each participant’s role, contact information, supervisor and approval authority.
• Approval Transparency. The rules driving each step are visible, so users understand not just where a request sits but why it routed that way.
• Delegation and Availability Awareness. Out-of-office status and delegate assignments appear inside the approval flow.
• Workflow Performance Intelligence. Pending workload, cycle times, approver decision times, rejections and rework, and originator trends, with drill-down to the requisitions behind them.

Additionally, all current iPurchase functionality is being moved onto the iApprove platform, along with new functionality that will be available throughout the solution, such as:

• Buyer Workbench. Open purchase orders, past due and upcoming deliveries, requisitions awaiting buyer approval, supplier confirmations and MRP action messages in one view, with filtering and export.
• Enhanced Approval and Rework Processing. Approvers can return a requisition to a previously approved step, with notes and notifications recording what reopened and why.
• Expanded PunchOut and ASN Capabilities. Advance Ship Notice data from participating suppliers brings delivery dates, carrier and tracking information, partial shipments, line-level quantities and shipment exceptions, while the QAD receipt stays under the user’s control.
• Improved Operational Auditability. Expanded logging across PunchOut communications, supplier documents, application processing, email activity and purchase order receipts.
• Artificial Intelligence. Conversational assistants and task-focused productivity tools, built on a human-in-the-loop design.

Why We Partner With ISS Group

With over three decades building for QAD users, ISS Group brings deep QAD expertise and a strong understanding of what manufacturers need. We are proud to partner with them, and this release is another example of the investment they keep making for their customers.

Want to learn more? Reach out to the ISS Group team or stop by their booth at QAD Champions of Manufacturing to see the release firsthand.