DeepStream’s partnership with IONITY has gone from strength to strength, and as a case study it is particularly interesting due to the variety of use cases that have been run through the platform. The growth of IONITY users on the platform is a testament to the collaborative relationship between both companies. To delve deeper into this, we sat down with two of IONITY’s core users; Panagiotis Apostolopoulos, Head of Procurement, and Liliia Hrytsak, Procurement Support Specialist, to discuss their experience working with DeepStream.
Why DeepStream
Asking both Panagiotis and Liliia why DeepStream is a good fit for IONITY the main themes that emerged was the ease of use, the facilitating of internal collaboration and the saving of time communicating and managing suppliers.
According to Panagiotis;
“It (DeepStream) makes things simple, we have so many suppliers and different commodities in many countries and it helps us organise things in a more efficient way”.
Liliia seconded this saying it makes their workload “easier to handle” as a result of the facilitation of easy communication internally and externally, clear structure, and visibility of what has been sent or is awaiting submission. She estimated that as a result of using DeepStream to handle her numerous Requests, she saves a minimum of 3 hours a day.
Panagiotis also highlighted the time saved by the ability for teams to collaborate on DeepStream, because it does not require spending time internally to align on request statuses. This is a result of the required users being able to quickly access the platform and the information they require visibility of, the outcome of this is a significant improvement of team communication and collaboration.
Specific features that have facilitated this time saved in particular were the features supporting easy evaluation and the audit trail. Making tracking events and statuses of requests quickly accessible and improving accuracy.
In a fast paced environment at IONITY, the time saved has given the procurement team the ability to utilise their time more effectively on other projects. As Panagiotis said, there is always work to be done at IONITY, but the time saved has allowed them to focus on, “Defining the RFQ process and Procurement policy, as well as internal training and development of this”. The resources saved by the reduced administrative and manual work has meant that they haven’t needed to change the number of people working in the procurement team, but their time can be used more efficiently.
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What do the users say
From a user perspective, we were delighted to hear that everyone in IONITY was satisfied with and wanted to use DeepStream following an internal presentation. The main reason for this was the ability for direct communication and replacement of emails and attachments with in-app document exchanges. The clear structure for the exchange of information set by stages or deadlines tied with the speed at which requests can be created has made an established and attractive process.
Specifically in replacement of emails, Panagiotis underlined the points where using DeepStream has benefited IONITY’s processes. By moving to DeepStream rather than relying on emails for Supplier communication, IONITY has mitigated the risk of human error and reduced the manual work. By reducing the administrative tasks associated with email and following up with suppliers, and being able to easily check activity, IONITY has been able to focus on strategic tasks such as evaluation, better preparation and internal process improvement.
As a result of all procurement activities running through DeepStream, IONITY has expanded their use cases on the platform to include; indirect purchasing, direct purchasing, design and planning, invoicing, product management and many more. By having one source of truth for all purchasing transactions, IONITY has also had the foresight to mitigate regulatory and operational risks as a result of DeepStream's audit trail and secure storage of information. These include prevention of delays in replying to suppliers, missing invoices, and ensuring only the correct recipients receive confidential tender information. In addition, the email reminders issued by DeepStream have meant that any required follow ups are carried out, and as a result it has benefited overall supplier management.
Working together
In any business relationship, there should be a foundation of trust that each party will deliver on their promises in order to facilitate the growth of that relationship on the reliance it will benefit the individual companies growth in turn. This is how DeepStream approaches relationships with our clients, and the result is in Panagiotis’s words:
“we don’t feel like clients, we feel like partners”, and are “very satisfied” with the support delivered.
This is also as a result of the straightforward communication between DeepStream and IONITY. The clean and clear outline of the contract is the same way IONITY operates, with no hidden costs or over complexity, just a guarantee to deliver the value promised. An example of this is their feedback actually being listened to and executed in the product with open channels to share their thoughts at any time.
From DeepStream’s perspective, our partnership with IONITY has been both rewarding and also a learning experience. The company's different use cases on the platform have demonstrated the variety of different types of requests that can run through DeepStream, and their feedback has been invaluable for the platform’s development. As we continue this journey together, we are proud to be supporting an exciting company with huge current and potential growth. Here’s to where this journey will take us next.
Procurement software as it should look like.
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