How can my employees ask for what they need without calling purchasing?

2026-11-10 | Intagya ERP

A maintenance technician needs six belts for the filling line. He calls the purchasing officer, who does not answer, so he sends a message, then drops by the office in the afternoon. The officer writes it on a sticky note.

A week later six new belts arrive. In the back store of the other branch sit four belts of the same size that nobody asked about.

Why do employee requests get lost or doubled?

Because each employee asks the way they know: a call, a message, a note. Nobody sees the requests together, so the manager does not know what the department asked for this month, and purchasing does not know the item is in another branch.

The purchase screens are not the answer for a regular employee. They are built for people who deal with vendors and prices, not for someone who wants a box of gloves.

How does an employee ask without learning the purchase system?

From a screen that feels like a shop: a picture catalog, a search and a basket. They press Add, change the quantity, and write a short reason and the date needed. That is all they need to know.

If the item is not there, New item appears with the searched name already filled in, and they attach a photo. No product code or vendor needed; purchasing completes the details later.

Ask purchasing to add a clear photo to the fifty items people ask for most. Employees recognise a picture faster than a name.

Does the system buy everything that is asked for?

No, and that is the point. Before sending, the system works out the cheapest route per line: issue from the employee warehouse if it is there, then transfer from the branch holding most, and buy only the rest.

The employee sees it too, with the expected saving. In the belt example: four come from the other branch and only two are bought.

Who approves an employee request?

Their department manager first, before purchasing even sees it. They know what the department needs, and they answer for its spending.

• Department manager: approves every request, or refuses it with a short reason the employee reads.
• Finance manager: only when the request goes over what is left of the department monthly purchase budget.
• Purchase manager: only when something in the request is left to buy.

So a request met entirely from stock never goes through purchasing. My advice: give each department a budget from the first month, even a rough one; the number makes the manager read the request before approving it.

How do I stop two requests for the same thing from one department?

The basket shows A similar request when a colleague asked for the same item this week, with Join their request. It becomes one request with one quantity.

Suggested quantity says how much the department uses a month and how many months the requested quantity lasts. Someone asking for twenty ink cartridges for a department that uses two a month sees it before sending.

How does the employee know where the request stands?

From the My requests tab. Each request has a clear line: sent, approved, from the warehouse or a branch, ordered from the vendor, arrived at the warehouse. When the items reach them, they press I received the items and the request closes.

That is what really stops the calls. Nobody phones to ask where their request is when they can see it.

Where do I start?

In Intagya ERP, My needs installs by itself wherever Purchase and Inventory are. Start by making sure each department has a manager and each employee belongs to a department. Then pick one department, maintenance for example, and ask its staff to request nothing except through My needs for two weeks. Then count how many requests were met from stock with no purchase.

Read the My needs steps in the guide