Chemical Manufacturer Cuts Vendor Onboarding by 91%
Client:
IndustryChemical manufacturing
TechnologyPMG
Summary
Innophos experienced inefficiencies in onboarding new vendors across three
countries, with 10+ departments working through emails and spreadsheets.
With limited visibility into request status, the process took longer than
the business needed. By implementing a unified workflow integrated with
their ERP system, vendor onboarding time was reduced by 91%.
Key highlights
Global leader in specialty phosphates and nutritional solutions.
Serves food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and industrial markets.
Operations across USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Customers include major global brands.
Project in a nutshell
/ Goals and challenges
Faster launch of new products
1. Vendor onboarding in days
Innophos manufactures specialty ingredients for customers who need products fast. With vendor onboarding taking months, purchasing couldn’t buy raw materials at the speed of demand.
2. Request status visible to all stakeholders
Tracking the status of a new vendor request required manual follow-ups. Getting an update involved time-consuming outreach to each department individually.
3. One system for documents and approvals
Documentation and approvals were managed through email across multiple departments. Ensuring continuity when team members were unavailable required significant manual effort.
4. One process for three countries
Each country had different legal requirements and managed vendor onboarding separately. This meant duplicate work, inconsistent processes, and no unified view across the organization.
5. Automated vendor data flow into ERP
The data governance team received vendor information in Excel and Word documents, then manually entered everything into the ERP system — creating delays and risking errors.
We had a solution already, but it wasn’t covering everything the business needed.
Dayra Sanchez
IT Applications Director
/ Context of cooperation
From improving an existing solution to transforming the entire process
Innophos had been managing vendor onboarding with an insufficient solution — and the business was asking for improvements the current system couldn’t provide.
Rather than searching for a completely new platform, Innophos built on a technology they were already using: PMG. The internal team had previously worked with GGS on a PMG implementation and saw an opportunity to extend that foundation.
As Dayra Sanchez explains: “We don’t look for having too many applications or different platforms. If we have something that works for us, we will try to use it as much as we can.”
The initial request seemed straightforward: improve and automate the vendor onboarding process. But once discussions started with different departments, the true scope emerged — 10+ departments, three countries, and 40+ different vendor paths. What began as a process improvement became a full-scale transformation.
/ Solution
One process for three countries — built to handle complexity
1. One workflow handling regional complexity
A unified vendor onboarding process for the USA, Canada, and Mexico — while respecting each country’s legal and compliance requirements. 40+ different paths mean the system knows which approvals, documents, and steps apply.
2. Complete intake before process starts
A 100-question questionnaire collects vendor data upfront. If something’s missing, the system won’t let them proceed. No more back-and-forth emails asking for documents that should have been there from the start.
3. Department-level visibility into specific data
Legal sees legal questions. Finance sees finance questions. Each department receives a focused view — only the fields and actions relevant to their approval step.
4. Vendor profile — one place for everything
A central view of each vendor: documentation, approval status, certificates, and expiration dates. When a certificate needs renewal, the right person gets notified. When purchasing asks “where’s my vendor?” — the answer is one click away.
5. Direct sync with ERP
The moment a vendor is fully approved, their profile is created in ERP. No one has to retype anything. Purchasing can place an order the same day.
Even when we didn’t have all the requirements covered at the beginning, you helped us go through everything and put a final solution that works for all departments.
Dayra Sanchez
IT Applications Director
/ Impact
Purchasing can finally move at the speed the business needs
1. From months to days — 91% faster
Vendor onboarding that used to take months now takes days. Purchasing can place orders with new vendors faster — shortening time from sourcing decision to first delivery.
2. No more chasing updates
Everyone can see where each vendor stands. When something’s stuck, it’s obvious who needs to act. Hours spent following up across departments — gone.
3. Three countries, one platform
Consistent process, unified reporting, and full oversight across the organization — while still respecting local requirements.
4. Improved security
Role-based access and built-in security measures ensure each user sees only the data relevant to their department, reducing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information.
5. Foundation for what’s next
The same approach is now planned for Customer Onboarding — applying lessons learned to the other side of the business relationship.
We are planning to do Customer Onboarding with you. We learned from this a lot — now we know more about the platform and also the way that you work. I think that’s going to help us a lot doing the next project.
Dayra Sanchez
IT Applications Director
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