The client
The client is a large global engineering enterprise headquartered in London, with offices, project locations and regional business units across Europe and Asia.
Every office and project buys what it needs to keep work moving. Requesters, approvers and procurement teams sit in different countries, and each region had grown its own way of handling a purchase.
The challenge
Purchases were being processed, but each location followed its own practices, with manual coordination and approval steps that differed from place to place. Nobody had a central view of what was being bought.
- Approval processes differed between offices, projects and regions.
- Approvals were delayed while requests were chased by email and phone.
- Different departments raised duplicate requests for the same items.
- Purchase requests were hard to track once submitted.
- Head office had little control over how purchasing was done.
What they set up in Asset Infinity
The enterprise centralized purchase requests, approvals and tracking in Asset Infinity’s Suppliers feature, with one process for every office, project and business unit.
Purchase requests from every location
Offices and project teams raise purchase requests in one system, so procurement sees every request, wherever it comes from. (Suppliers)
Structured approval steps
Approval stages are configured for each type of purchase, with reminders when an approval waits too long. (Platform)
From request to purchase order
Approved requests become purchase orders, so each purchase can be followed from request to receipt. (Suppliers)
Central visibility
Dashboards show requests and approval progress by office, project and business unit, and help spot duplicate requests. (Insight)
How it works day to day
Here is how a purchase runs now, from any office or project.
- Project engineer: raises a purchase request. The requester fills in a purchase request with items, quantities and the project or cost center it belongs to.
- System: routes it for approval. The request follows the approval stages set for its type and location. Each approver is notified, with a reminder if it waits.
- Department head: approves or returns. The approver reviews the request and approves or returns it with a comment. Each decision is recorded.
- Procurement team: sources the items. Procurement checks for similar open requests from other teams, then raises the purchase order.
- Requester: follows progress. The requester sees where the request stands instead of emailing procurement to ask.
- Site team: receives the goods. Goods are received against the purchase order, closing the loop from request to delivery.
- Head office: reviews procurement. Reports show requests, approval times and purchasing by office, project and business unit.
Before and after
| Before | With Asset Infinity | |
|---|---|---|
| Process | Different in each location | One process for every office and project |
| Approvals | Inconsistent and slow | Structured stages with reminders |
| Duplicate requests | Common across departments | Visible and reduced |
| Tracking | Hard to follow after submission | Status visible from request to receipt |
| Coordination | Manual, by email and phone | Requesters, approvers and procurement in one system |
| Central control | Limited | Head office sees all purchasing |
How it rolled out
- Regional practices reviewed. The team reviewed regional procurement practices, approval structures and where processes differed.
- Workflows and approvals configured. Consistent workflows and approval steps were defined for different locations and departments, with central tracking.
- Regional teams trained. Procurement teams in each region were trained, and workflows were refined for better global coordination.
The results
- Purchase requests from every location consolidated in one system
- Faster approvals through structured request workflows
- Fewer duplicate purchase requests across departments and locations
- Clearer visibility into requests, approvals and procurement progress
- Standard procurement process across regional teams and business units
Why it worked
One way to buy
Every office and project follows the same request and approval steps, so purchases are handled consistently wherever they start.
Approvals that move
Approvers are notified and reminded, so requests stop waiting in someone’s inbox.
Visibility across regions
Head office and procurement see every request, which is how duplicate purchases came to light.
Looking ahead
The enterprise moved from location-specific purchasing to one procurement process across its offices and projects. Requesters, approvers and procurement teams now work from the same records.
With every request and approval in one place, head office can see what is being bought, where, and how long approvals take, and adjust the process for all regions at once.