eProcureAI / Platform / Energy and utilities

Industry

Buying that works
where the work happens

Crews are in the field, not at a desk. If requesting and receiving do not work from a truck, they happen later from memory, and everything downstream inherits the guesswork.

Built for field conditions. Including poor signal and gloved hands.

Field purchaseRaised from the field
The situation

Software designed at a desk fails in a field

Utilities and energy businesses run on crews who are almost never in an office. Yet the procurement systems they are given assume a desk, a keyboard and a stable connection.

What happens is predictable. The crew does the work, buys what they need through whatever route is quickest, and the paperwork is done days later by somebody reconstructing it. The project the cost belongs to is a best guess, and the receipt confirming what arrived was never created.

Then accounts payable has an invoice it cannot match, finance has a project position that is weeks behind, and the crew has learned that the system is something to work around rather than with.

Design for the truck, not the office

Requesting and receiving both have to work on a phone, quickly, in poor conditions. If they do, the crew captures the project code and the delivery at the moment they are certain about both.

Everything downstream then works, and none of it required anybody to change how they do their actual job.

Compliance before site access

Contractor certifications and insurance matter more here than in most sectors, and they expire quietly. Tracking them to a date and blocking new orders when critical cover lapses removes an exposure that otherwise depends on somebody remembering to look.

How a field purchase runs

Five steps, all of them from a phone

Step 1

Raised from the field

Crew, site and work order captured at the moment the need arises rather than reconstructed at the depot on Friday.

DeviceA phone
1
Step 2

Contractor compliance checked

Certifications and insurance verified as current before anything is committed or anybody goes on site.

CheckedBefore access
2
Step 3

Approved against the project

Classified as capital or operating and committed at approval, so the project manager sees the real position.

CommittedAt approval
3
Step 4

Received on site

Counted where the delivery lands, with shortages and condition recorded rather than assumed.

ReceivedIn the field
4
Step 5

Position stays current

Committed and invoiced both visible, so an overrun is spotted while the project is running rather than after it.

VisibleDuring, not after
5
What field operations need

Three requirements that decide whether it gets used

It has to work on a truck

Poor signal, gloves, weather and time pressure. A form designed for an office is a form that gets completed later from memory, which defeats the purpose entirely.

  • Works on a phone in field conditions
  • Site and work order selected rather than typed
  • Fast enough to happen at the moment of need
  • No desk trip required to complete anything
In the fieldLive
DevicePhone
SiteSelected
Work orderReferenced
Completed later from memoryNo
At the momentNot at the depot

Capital commitment visible during the project

A project manager needs committed cost, not invoiced cost. Those differ by weeks, and an overrun spotted after completion is a report rather than a decision.

  • Committed at approval against the project
  • Capital and operating classified at the request
  • Manager sees the position without asking finance
  • Alerts before a project budget is exhausted
Project positionLive
BudgetSet
InvoicedLower
CommittedHigher
Real remainingVisible
Overrun foundWhile running
DuringRather than afterwards

Contractor compliance before site access

Certifications lapse quietly and the consequence in this sector is not a difficult conversation. Tracking every document to its date removes the exposure without a spreadsheet.

  • Certifications and insurance tracked to expiry
  • Contractor chased before the date
  • New orders and site access blocked if critical cover lapses
  • Existing commitments continue untouched
ComplianceLive
CertificationsCurrent
InsuranceValid to a date
ChasingAutomatic
If lapsedBlocked
Watched by dateNot by memory
Spend types

Four kinds of buying, different rules

Capital and operating classification matters here more than in most sectors, because the accounting treatment follows it.

Spend typeWhat it coversWhat it needsHow it is handled
Field materialsParts, cable, fittings, consumablesSpeed and correct project codingCatalog with fast approval, coded at the request
Contracted servicesCrews, specialist works, inspectionsCompliance before site accessDocuments tracked to expiry, access gated
Capital projectsInfrastructure and long lead equipmentCommitment tracking and classificationFull chain, committed at approval, hard stop budgets
Fleet and plantVehicles, generators, equipment hireUtilisation and return datesTracked against the order with return dates recorded

Getting capital and operating classification right at the request avoids a reclassification exercise that nobody enjoys at year end.

Contractor compliance

Six documents that must be current before access

Insurance

Public and employer liability

The core exposure, and frequently out of date on site without anybody knowing.

TrackedTo the date
Certifications

Trade and safety qualifications

Sector specific and checked at onboarding then rarely again.

Re-checkedAutomatically
Safety documents

Method statements and assessments

Attached to the engagement rather than chased during mobilisation.

AttachedAt request
Inductions

Site specific requirements

Recorded against the contractor and the site rather than a clipboard.

RecordedPer site
Plant

Equipment certification

Hired plant with its own inspection dates, tracked alongside the contractor.

TrackedWith the order
Access

Whether they may attend

The consequence of all the above, applied as a rule rather than a judgement.

BlockedIf cover lapses
Who does what

The short version of everyone's job

If the system works where the work happens, the data is captured by the person who knows it.

What crews do

Ask for what the job needs and confirm what arrived. Both from a phone, in under two minutes.

The human partLive
CrewRaises from the field
CrewReceives on site
Project managerApproves against the project
ComplianceReviews exceptions
Two minutesIn the field

What eProcureAI does

Carries the project code, checks compliance and keeps the project position current.

The automatic partLive
Carry the project codeRequest to invoice
Check certificationsBefore access
Commit at approvalAgainst the project
Alert the managerBefore exhaustion
Match on siteAgainst the receipt
No reconstructionAt the depot on Friday
0requesting and receiving both work in the field
0contractor certifications verified rather than assumed
0capital commitment visible while the project runs
0deliveries counted where they land
FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Does this work with poor mobile signal?
Requesting and receiving are designed to be quick and light, which is what matters most in the field. Bring your worst site to the call and we will be straight about what works and what does not.
How is contractor compliance handled?
Certifications, insurance and safety documents are tracked to their expiry dates, with the contractor chased before they lapse. If critical cover expires, new orders can be blocked while existing commitments continue.
Can project managers see committed cost?
Yes, at approval rather than when invoices arrive. That is the difference between spotting an overrun while a project is running and reading about it afterwards.
How is capital and operating classification handled?
Classified at the request by the person raising it, then carried through, which avoids a reclassification exercise at year end.
Can crews receive deliveries themselves?
Yes, on a phone where the delivery lands, including partial deliveries and damage. A receiving step requiring a desk does not happen, and then nothing downstream can be matched.
What about hired plant and equipment?
Tracked against the order with return dates recorded, so hire that runs longer than intended is visible rather than discovered on an invoice.
Does this replace our work management system?
No. Work orders are referenced on the request so cost lands against the right job, and your work management system continues to run the work itself.
How long does implementation take?
Around three weeks for the first module in most cases. Field rollout is usually the easy part, because the alternative crews are working around is slower.

Bring a project that overran quietly

We will show where committed cost would have made it visible while there was still time.

Book your free demo

Related: All solutions and Receiving and Goods Receipts