Purchase to Pay

10 Dec

Posted at 19:16h in Purchase to Pay, Purchase to Pay Process by
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Everyone thinks they’re at the centre of the universe. In a business it’s the sales guys who claim all the credit for growth and profit. After all, how would the business thrive without customers? The R&D people will argue that without great products the sales guys would have nothing to sell. The CEO claims credit for leadership without which the business would have no direction. The founders want to be recognised for the bright idea they had in the first place that started the company. They are all right of course in the sense that all parts of a business play a critically important role but it is also true to say that some functions struggle more than others to gain recognition. Perhaps it's because no-one really understands what they do or maybe they do understand - it's just that it's boring. Working within a a business function that, to the outside is not really that interesting makes it very hard when it comes to securing budget or priority over other competing departments. Purchase to pay is about the least glamorous and least understood back office function that I can think of and so it's a constant challenge to position P2P as a priority but there's one tip I'd like to share that I've used to get attention and secure budget. The problem with P2P is it's boring. But it's also critical especially to large businesses. Trying to explain why something that is a little arcane and dull is more likely to send people to sleep than to get them excited enough to support you. My recommendation is not to explain it at all - instead talk about something people do understand.

02 Dec

Posted at 17:16h in Purchase to Pay by
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The nearest I’d ever been to Las Vegas was reading Fear and Loathing by Hunter S Thompson. A place were money can buy you virtually anything. Where the rules and standards of behaviour adopted by contemporary western civilisation are suspended. Clearly, the perfect location to convene a summit to discuss best practice in purchase to pay. https://youtu.be/8TcQou6RpuY

19 Nov

Posted at 10:32h in e-invoicing, e-Procurement, Electronic Invoicing, Purchase to Pay, Spend Analysis, Spend Analytics by
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New technologies always promise to disrupt – it’s nearly always hype or enthusiastic futurology manifesting itself as over excitement that hasn’t really been thought through. But it's not always hype and it's great to see optimistic expectations actually being delivered in the real world.

I tell you what you want what you really really want - Doritos!

It was 1995. Monica Lewinski was in the White House, Windows 95 was launched, the Spice Girls were becoming the biggest girl group ever and last but not least, the internet fridge was launched. Don't believe the nouveau geeks who swear that the internet of things is something new. The Internet fridge has been breaking it's promise to disrupt the world of chilled groceries for nearly two decades. It seemed like a good idea but no one really thought it through. Many of us consider internet marketing to be intrusive. We shouldn't complain. We know what the deal is it when we sign up for "free" services in the full knowledge we're inviting the marketers into our inbox and onto our desktop. But if you thought internet marketing was intrusive, try inviting the marketers directly into your fridge to manage your snack inventory. You might believe you're buying into the internet of everything but, believe me, let an internet fridge into your kitchen and within weeks it will be full of nothing but Tortilla chips and salsa dip.

26 Oct

Posted at 23:32h in Purchase to Pay, Purchase to Pay Process by
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When implementing Purchase to Pay, the strength of the objections to change can be surprising. People prefer paper. They don't want to change. They want things immediately and they refuse to follow new processes. They think they can get a better deal themselves compared to the prices offered on a supplier catalog. It's been the same for years - decades even - and it's that last objection: "I can get a better deal myself" that can be the most difficult because it is - or more precisely appears to be - a valid objection. So how do you overcome it?

08 Oct

Posted at 16:45h in AP Automation, e-invoicing, e-Procurement, Electronic Invoicing, Purchase to Pay by
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This week I had the pleasure to support a seminar session run by Canon promoting their P2P offering. This is the transcript of my presentation P2P has always been important - important in the sense that it has always been important to ensure that the correct approval is given before something is bought. It’s important in the sense that it has always been important to ensure that suppliers are paid according to contractual terms - and important in the sense that it’s important to ensure that the details on an invoice sent by a supplier match what was asked for and what was delivered. But P2P has taken on a greater importance in recent years and there are three things that have put P2P in the spotlight
  • Visibility
  • Accountability
  • Automation

28 Aug

Posted at 03:42h in Purchase to Pay by
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One of the issues that procurement professionals complain about is respect. Or status. "Procurement isn't taken seriously". "They only involve us when things get difficult". It's a very common issue for procurement in many organizations. I've seen it at it's most extreme in financial services where procurement is so far removed from core business that it really is difficult, for what is considered by many as the the most boring of back office functions, to be taken seriously at a strategic level. But is this really any different from any other part of business? Perhaps procurement people need to take a look in mirror and frankly, get over themselves.