Configuring Procurement Processes in Bitrix24
The marketing department wants to buy a subscription for an analytics service. A manager sends an email to the procurement team; procurement forwards it to the manager for approval; the manager forgets to reply. A week later, the manager calls to check—turns out the email was lost. They buy at an inflated price because it's urgent. Without a unified procurement process, each department buys differently, budgets are uncontrolled, and vendors aren't compared.
Procurement Process Steps
Procurement in Bitrix24 is built on a smart process with stages:
- Request — initiator creates a procurement card: what's needed, quantity, by when, justification.
- Approval — route by budget and category. Department manager, CFO, CEO for large amounts.
- Vendor Selection — procurement team collects quotes, attaches them to card, fills comparison table.
- Order — after vendor selection, order is generated. Documents are created from Bitrix24 templates.
- Delivery — track shipping dates, confirm receipt.
- Closed — goods received, documents signed, card closed.
Procurement Request Card
Card fields:
- Item Name — what's being purchased
- Category — reference: equipment, software, supplies, services
- Quantity and Unit
- Desired Delivery Date
- Justification — why needed, impact if not purchased
- Estimated Budget
- Requesting Department
- Priority — standard, urgent
Approval and Budget Control
The approval route is similar to expenses—conditional branches by amount. Additionally, the business process checks:
- Department's remaining budget for purchases this quarter
- Similar purchases in the last 3 months—protection against duplication
If budget is exceeded, request gets a flag and goes for additional approval.
Working with Vendors
Vendors are maintained as CRM contacts or companies with type "Vendor." Vendor card includes:
- Details and contact info
- Purchase history—linked to order cards
- Rating (custom field): delivery time, quality, payment terms
When selecting a vendor, procurement attaches quotes to the procurement card and fills a comparison table: price, delivery time, payment terms, warranty. The decision is recorded in the card with justification.
Order Tracking
After approval, the card moves to "Order" stage. Procurement team records:
- Order number and date
- Actual amount
- Expected delivery date
If delivery is late—the business process sends a notification to procurement and the requestor. Deadline is tracked automatically by card date.
Reporting
- Procurement register — all requests for period: status, amounts, dates
- Procurement budget — plan vs. fact by department and category
- Vendor efficiency — average delivery time, number of delays
- Approval time — from request to approval
What We Configure
- Procurement smart process with stages and custom fields
- Approval routes with budget checking
- Category and vendor reference lists in CRM
- Document templates: order, receipt
- Automatic notifications for delivery delays
- Reports on procurement and budget execution