Inetum supports organizations in their digital transformation across more than 19 countries. As the volume of professional services continued to grow and procurement processes became fragmented across multiple tools, the company set out to structure and digitalize the management of its external workforce. The objective was clear: increase visibility, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen compliance as part of a broader procurement performance strategy.
A challenge shared by many large organizations. As reliance on external service providers increases, vendor management quickly becomes a blind spot: scattered data, manual processes, and limited visibility into costs and ongoing engagements. To overcome these challenges, companies need to rethink their processes and leverage the digital tools now available to do so.
It was in this context that Inetum chose to transform the management of its external workforce with three clear objectives: centralize, automate, and strengthen the reliability of its procurement processes.
Here's a look back at a gradual, collaborative rollout and the concrete benefits experienced by Inetum's teams.
A transformation project for external workforce management
As part of a broader agile procurement and cost optimization strategy, Inetum wanted to fundamentally rethink the management of its external workforce through digitalization.
The objective was to increase visibility, improve data reliability, and simplify procurement processes through three key initiatives:
centralize engagements on a single platform;
automate sourcing and timesheet approval;
strengthen compliance to reduce processing times.
A collaborative rollout with continuous support
To carry out this project, Inetum chose to trust Eleven VMS and its expertise in deploying VMS solutions in complex environments. The implementation relied on close collaboration between the two teams, following a progressive approach combining scoping, operational rollout, and change management support.
The solution's setup phase began with specification validation. This step made it possible to define functional and technical requirements while ensuring the VMS was fully aligned with Inetum's internal processes.
It then unfolded in several stages to structure the project effectively.
Data collection and reliability came first, laying the groundwork: cleaning up existing databases, removing duplicates, and integrating supplier information.
Supplier onboarding followed naturally, with account creation and their attachment to Inetum entities. Workflow configuration then incorporated billing rules, including the exclusion of prior timesheets and duplicate management.
A testing and adjustment phase made it possible to verify data quality, complete the cleanup, and set up custom fields for KPI tracking, all paced by regular check-ins (weekly meetings and steering committees) to keep teams aligned and quickly resolve any issues.
Support from the Eleven VMS teams throughout the project, particularly during the transition to the run phase, was both proactive and responsive. This took the form of ongoing support to resolve onboarding and notification issues, as well as guidance on optimizing RFP forms and highlighting key features, notably the AI Score, to drive user adoption. Finally, the availability of user guides and quick fixes helped ensure reliable documentation and secure adoption of the solution.
The success of this project was built on close collaboration between the Inetum and Eleven VMS teams. By moving forward step by step, we were able to tailor the platform to Inetum's business needs while supporting users throughout the adoption journey to ensure long-term success.
Concrete benefits and a path of continuous optimization
From the moment of deployment, the benefits were quickly felt by the teams: increased visibility into engagements and costs thanks to exports and custom fields, along with stronger compliance and more secure timesheet validation. Time savings have also been significant, driven by process automation and fewer manual exchanges, while team adoption has been made easier by the solution's ease of use and hands-on guidance that fosters ownership.
What's next?
This project marks the first step in a partnership designed to evolve over time.
The next milestones in the Inetum x Eleven VMS collaboration include:
integrating with SAP to streamline the Procure-to-Pay cycle;
leveraging data and KPIs to strengthen performance management and anticipate future needs;
rolling out further enhancements to support the ongoing evolution of Inetum's procurement strategy.
