- 0:06 — Why choose this procurement vendor — The presenter moves past what procurement is and why to do it, and frames the session around why to do it with this vendor. Out-of-the-box integrations are named as the biggest reason.
- 0:16 — ERP integration and implementation timeline — For organizations already using PaperSave with a currently supported ERP, procurement is described as an easy add-on. Those teams typically get up and running in about four to six weeks, and the product is designed to work with the ERP rather than around it, keeping purchasing, approvals, invoices, vendors, and budgets connected.
- 0:37 — Connected suite and PaperSave Pay — Procurement is described as flowing into invoice capture, AP automation, and document management. Organizations using PaperSave Pay can also handle payments through the same stack.
- 0:49 — Punchout catalogs — Punchout catalogs are available for vendors that offer them. They are described as a form of e-procurement providing direct access to suppliers' catalogs from the vendors' websites using credentials supplied by those vendors.
- 1:04 — Requisition-to-payment control and session scope — Combining these pieces is presented as giving finance teams control from requisition through payment instead of creating handoffs between disparate systems. The presenter states this session is not a full demonstration of that flow and asks interested viewers to schedule separate time, then previews the AI requisition intake bot plus receiving and budget features coming later in the year.
- 1:33 — Entering the demonstration environment — The presenter switches into the demo environment and lands on the product homepage. Catalogs and punchout catalogs are surfaced here, along with left-hand navigation and tiles used to reach features.
- 1:59 — Featured catalogs as a best practice — Featured catalogs let a team bundle items that are not otherwise related into a single package, potentially drawing from several different vendors. The presenter notes this has not been covered on a recording before.
- 2:27 — New hire needs bundle example — A "new hire needs" featured catalog is used as the example: branded logo gear, a phone, an iPad, plus a cake and balloons for an employee starting the following week. All the items can be added to a cart at once and processed as a single order.
- 3:35 — AI procurement bot: PLA spool request — The bot sits in the corner of the interface and accepts open-ended questions. Asked whether there are any PLA spools for the 3D printer, it searches the available catalogs and returns several color options, then offers to add items to the cart.
- 4:17 — Confirming and adding to cart — The presenter asks the bot to add yellow. The bot asks the user to verify before adding, then places one yellow PLA spool in the cart, selected from the available catalog items, from which a requisition can be created.
- 4:48 — Persistent chat and a harder question — The chat history is retained and can be cleared on demand. The presenter then asks a needs-based question rather than a product question: what kind of fire extinguisher is required for a grease fire.
- 5:15 — Class K recommendation for grease fires — The bot works through the available items and recommends a Class K fire extinguisher for kitchen grease fires, then adds it to the cart on confirmation. The presenter notes the user did not need to know the correct extinguisher class in advance.
- 5:49 — Creating a requisition and next steps — A requisition can be created directly from the cart contents. The presenter offers a fuller demonstration covering requisitions, approvals, and how approvals connect back to PaperSave, and directs viewers to respond to the email sent after the meeting.
Demo: AI Requisition Intake Bot in Procurement for Blackbaud FE NXT, Microsoft Dynamics
Key takeaways
- The webinar focuses on a new AI requisition intake bot inside a procurement product that connects to PaperSave and supported ERPs.
- Out-of-the-box ERP integrations are presented as the main reason to choose this procurement product, with typical implementation for existing PaperSave customers taking about four to six weeks.
- Procurement data is designed to flow into invoice capture, AP automation, document management, and payments through PaperSave Pay.
- Punchout catalogs are supported for vendors that offer them, giving buyers access to supplier catalogs using vendor-supplied credentials.
- Featured catalogs let teams bundle unrelated items from multiple vendors into one package, such as a new-hire kit, and add them all to a cart at once.
- In the live demonstration, the chat bot answered a natural-language question about PLA spools for a 3D printer and added a yellow spool to the cart after asking for confirmation.
- The bot also handled a needs-based question about a fire extinguisher for a grease fire and returned the appropriate Class K extinguisher without the user knowing the correct class.
- Receiving and budget features were mentioned as items coming later in the year, and a full end-to-end demonstration was offered via follow-up email.
Overview
This session is a short product demonstration centered on a new AI requisition intake bot within a procurement product that works alongside PaperSave. The presenter opens by addressing why a buyer would choose this vendor for procurement rather than what procurement is or why it matters. The stated primary reason is out-of-the-box integrations with the ERPs the vendor currently supports. For organizations already using PaperSave, procurement is described as an easy add-on, with those teams typically getting up and running in roughly four to six weeks. The presenter emphasizes working with the existing ERP rather than around it, because purchasing, approvals, invoices, vendors, and budgets need to stay connected.
The positioning argument is that procurement does not stand alone: requisitions flow onward into invoice capture, AP automation, and document management, and organizations using PaperSave Pay can also handle payments through the same stack. Punchout catalogs are available for vendors that offer them, described as a form of e-procurement providing direct access to suppliers' catalogs from the vendors' websites using credentials the vendors supply. Taken together, the presenter frames this as giving a finance team control from requisition through payment instead of creating handoffs between disconnected systems. The presenter is explicit that a full demonstration of that end-to-end flow is not the goal of this session and invites interested viewers to schedule time separately.
The demonstration begins on the product's landing page, where catalogs and punchout catalogs are surfaced alongside left-hand navigation and tiles. Before showing the bot, the presenter highlights featured catalogs as a best practice. Featured catalogs let a team bundle items that are not otherwise related — and that may come from several different vendors — into a single package. The example given is a "new hire needs" catalog covering branded logo gear, a phone, an iPad, and even a cake and balloons for someone starting the following week. The buyer can add the whole bundle to a cart at once and process it as an order.
The AI procurement bot sits in the corner of the interface and accepts open-ended questions. In the first example, the presenter asks whether the organization has any PLA spools for the 3D printer. The bot searches available catalog content and returns several color options, then asks whether the user wants to add any to the cart. The presenter asks it to add yellow; the bot asks the user to verify before adding, confirms, and places one yellow spool in the cart, from which a requisition can be created. The chat history persists and can be cleared if needed. In a second, harder example, the presenter asks what kind of fire extinguisher is needed for a grease fire. The bot works through the available items and recommends a Class K extinguisher for kitchen grease fires — a detail the presenter notes the user did not need to know in advance — and adds it to the cart on confirmation.
The session closes by pointing back to the broader product. The presenter notes that requisitions can be created directly from the cart and that a fuller demonstration covering requisitions, approvals, and how approvals connect back to PaperSave is available on request. Viewers are directed to respond to the email sent after the meeting to arrange that walkthrough. Receiving and budget capabilities were flagged earlier in the session as features coming out later in the year.
Chapters
Questions this webinar answers
What is the AI requisition intake bot and how does a buyer use it?
It is a chat assistant that sits in the corner of the procurement interface and accepts open-ended, natural-language questions. It searches the catalogs configured in the system and returns relevant items, then offers to add them to the user's cart. Before adding anything, it asks the user to verify the selection. Once items are in the cart, a requisition can be created from them. The chat history is retained during a session and can be cleared.
Does the bot only match product names, or can it answer needs-based questions?
It handles both. In one demonstration it answered a direct product query — whether any PLA spools for a 3D printer were available — and returned several color options. In a second demonstration it answered a needs-based question about what kind of fire extinguisher was required for a grease fire, and recommended a Class K extinguisher for kitchen grease fires. The presenter noted the user did not need to know the correct extinguisher class beforehand; the assistant identified it from the available items.
How long does implementation take for an existing PaperSave customer?
For organizations already using PaperSave with one of the currently supported ERPs, procurement is described as an easy add-on. Those teams typically get up and running in about four to six weeks.
How does procurement connect to the rest of the finance stack?
Procurement is designed to flow into invoice capture, AP automation, and document management. Organizations using PaperSave Pay can also handle payments through the same stack. The stated goal is control from requisition through payment rather than handoffs between disconnected systems, and the product is described as working with the existing ERP instead of around it so that purchasing, approvals, invoices, vendors, and budgets stay connected.
Are punchout catalogs supported?
Yes, for vendors that offer them. Punchout catalogs are described as a form of e-procurement that provides access directly to suppliers' catalogs from the vendors' websites, using credentials supplied by those vendors.
What are featured catalogs and why would a team set them up?
Featured catalogs are a way to bundle items that are not otherwise related into a single package, including items sourced from several different vendors. The example given was a "new hire needs" catalog containing branded logo gear, a phone, an iPad, and a cake and balloons for an employee starting the following week. A buyer can add every item in the bundle to a cart at once and process it as one order. The presenter described this as a best practice.
What features were said to be coming later in the year?
Receiving and budget capabilities were mentioned as features coming out later in the year. No further detail about them was given.
Was the full requisition and approval workflow demonstrated?
No. The session was scoped to the AI requisition intake bot and a look at the catalog landing page. The presenter explicitly said this was not a full demonstration of the end-to-end procurement flow, and offered a separate walkthrough covering requisitions, approvals, and how approvals connect back to PaperSave for anyone who responds to the email sent after the meeting.
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