The client
The client is a large multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Singapore, with regional offices, operational teams and business locations across Southeast Asia.
Purchasing followed internal processes, but each region kept its own request records and approved purchases its own way. Head office wanted one procurement approach across the whole business.
The challenge
With every region running its own records and approvals, head office could not see what was being requested, approved or bought. Coordinating purchasing took effort and control was weak.
- Regional teams kept separate purchase request records.
- Approval practices differed between regions and departments.
- There was little visibility of requirements, approvals and ongoing purchases.
- Coordination between regions and procurement relied on manual communication.
What they set up in Asset Infinity
The company centralized purchase requests, approvals and procurement records in Asset Infinity’s Suppliers feature, with consistent workflows for every region.
One place for purchase requests
Departments and regional locations raise purchase requests in one system, so all requirements reach procurement the same way. (Suppliers)
Approvals by responsibility
Approval steps were configured without code to match who is responsible for what, and apply the same way across regions. (Platform)
Requests through to orders
Approved requests become purchase orders, and the procurement record stays linked from request to receipt. (Suppliers)
Procurement visible centrally
Dashboards show requests, approvals and procurement progress for every region in one view. (Insight)
How it works day to day
Here is how a purchase now moves through the company, in any region.
- Regional staff: raise a purchase request. A department or regional office raises a request in the web app with items, quantities and justification, using the same form as every other region.
- System: routes it for approval. The request follows the approval steps configured for it, and each approver is notified in turn.
- Approver: approves or returns it. Approvers act on the request in the app. If one waits too long, a reminder goes out.
- Procurement team: places the order. An approved request becomes a purchase order, linked to the request it came from.
- Requester: tracks progress. The requester sees whether the request is pending, approved or ordered without emailing procurement.
- Receiving team: receives the goods. Goods are received against the purchase order, completing the record for that purchase.
- Head office: reviews all regions. Dashboards show requests, approvals and orders by region, so procurement can be managed as one strategy.
Before and after
| Before | With Asset Infinity | |
|---|---|---|
| Request records | Separate in each region | One system for all regions |
| Approvals | Each region’s own practice | Standard steps by responsibility |
| Visibility | Limited view of requests and approvals | Central view of every purchase |
| Coordination | Manual communication with procurement | Requests and status in one place |
| Control | Weak purchasing control | Stronger oversight across locations |
How it rolled out
- Regional processes reviewed. The team reviewed regional purchasing, approval structures and visibility gaps.
- Workflows and approvals set. Consistent procurement workflows and approval steps were configured, with central tracking of every request.
- Regions trained and supported. Regional teams were trained, and workflows were refined for stronger regional alignment.
The results
- Regional purchase requirements consolidated in one system
- Standardized approval workflows across departments and regions
- Clearer visibility of requests, approvals and procurement activity
- Stronger oversight of purchasing across locations
- Less manual communication between requesters and procurement
- Consistent procurement practices supporting one strategy
Why it worked
One way for every region
The same request form and approval steps apply everywhere, which is what makes regional data comparable.
Approvals follow responsibility
Approval steps were mapped to the company’s own responsibilities, so the right people sign off in every region.
Head office sees it all
Central tracking gives procurement leaders one view of activity, the basis for a consistent strategy.
Looking ahead
The telecom company moved from regionally managed purchasing to one procurement process across its distributed operations.
Purchase requests are consolidated, approvals are standardized and progress is visible centrally. That has cut coordination effort, strengthened purchasing control and given the company a consistent procurement strategy across regions.