Free-Text Order - flexible ordering, controlled governance
Capture needs outside the catalog without losing control
A free-text order captures goods or services that are not held in any catalog as free text. It offers maximum flexibility for one-off needs - but requires clear mandatory fields, approvals, and governance to safeguard data quality and compliance.
- Capture non-catalog needs
- Mandatory fields & validation
- Approval workflows
- Later cataloging
Free-Text Order: Definition
A free-text order is an order for goods or services that are not held in a catalog. The requester enters all details - description, quantity, price, and supplier - manually as free text. It covers one-off needs and services and complements catalog-based orders within the procurement process.
When free-text orders make sense - and how to control them
From entry through control to later cataloging
Typical Use Cases
Free-text orders are used when a need is not covered by a catalog. This applies to one-off and special requirements, individual services, and items that have no catalog entry.
- One-off individual needs
- Services & projects
- Items without a catalog entry
Risks Without Control
Because data is entered manually, the validation of structured catalog data is often missing. This makes analysis and control harder, lowers data quality, and increases the risk of maverick buying outside procurement.
- Variable data quality
- Missing validation
- Maverick-buying risk
Governance & Control
With mandatory fields, approval workflows, and roles, free-text orders stay manageable. Recurring free-text needs can later be cataloged to standardize processes and keep spending transparent.
- Enforce mandatory fields
- Rule-based approvals
- Later cataloging
Free-text orders under control with Ovenca
Ovenca supports catalog orders and free-text requests in one ERP-agnostic platform - with approvals and field validation.
- Catalog and Free-Text Unified
- Ovenca supports both catalog orders and free-text requests in one platform - with approvals and field validation, so even free-text needs stay structured and traceable.
- Governance via Roles and Workflows
- Through role and rights concepts, approval workflows, and Admin Governance, you control who creates and approves free-text orders - reducing the risk of maverick buying.
- Integrated Into Your Landscape
- As an ERP-agnostic platform with API and punchout via OCI/cXML, Ovenca fits into your landscape. Deploy on-premise, private cloud, or hybrid, GDPR-compliant.
Free-Text Order: Questions and Answers
Ready to get free-text orders under control?
Let us show you in a conversation how to map catalog and free-text orders in Ovenca in a controlled way - with approvals, field validation, and governance.