Finding The Right Source-To-Pay Solution: A Guide For The Busy Executive
Sourcing Management Software
One of the most important decisions finance executive can make is selecting the right source-to-pay (S2P) solution. After all, S2P systems are mission-critical applications that typically involve numerous stakeholders, involve large expenditure, and have sizable influence on the ability of company to competitively source products and services.
Given the immense value an S2P system can bring to any organization, it is essential that effective sourcing management software be carefully reviewed and implemented. To make this easier, the following guide is designed to outline the key steps executives can use to choose the optimal S2P system.
Step 1: Assess Your Requirements
The first step to selecting the best S2P software is to understand which features are essential for the organizations needs. This is especially important as each organizations requirements for an S2P system can be dramatically different. To assess requirements, gather cross-functional team of stakeholders to help evaluate wide range of criteria, such as functionality, user-experience, and features. Additionally, the team should make sure to map the existing procurement processes to the new system and its capabilities.
Step 2: Develop Selection Criteria
Once the desired requirements are identified, it is time to grade potential S2P solutions against selection criteria. This criteria should be developed in partnership with the above-mentioned cross-functional team and should take into account the needs of different user groups as well as organizational objectives. Additionally, the criteria should quantify the anticipated benefits of the new system, such as implementation costs, process improvements, and performance metrics.
Step 3: Explore the Market
At this stage, it is time to explore the market and select the S2P solutions that can meet the outlined criteria. Executives should use as much readily available information as they can to assess different solutions. Additionally, they should conduct their own research and look for customer reviews, product demonstrations, and in-depth evaluations of the chosen products.
Step 4: Evaluate the Options
Once the research phase is complete, the team should come together to carefully evaluate and score the sourced S2P solutions. Both qualitative and quantitative scores should be considered, and do not forget to tap into online resources such as Gartner?s Magic Quadrant and Forrester?s Wave. Additionally, make sure to assess intangibles such as vendor reliability, customerservice, and the future roadmap for product.
Step 5: Negotiate and Select Solution
At this stage, it ishould be easy to identify the S2P solution that best fits the organizations requirements. However, this is the stage where executives can really take advantage of their negotiation power and cut costs. Therefore, make sure to spare no effort in extracting the most reasonable terms from the vendor. Furthermore, clarify every aspect of the project, such as the implementation timeline, customization options and costs, estimated ROI, and any additional capabilities requested by the company.
Conclusion
Ultimately, selecting the right S2P system is complex and time-consuming process. It requires great amount of effort and collaboration between the stakeholders involved. Still, by carefully following the outlined steps, executives can confidently choose the solution that best fits the organizations requirements and future plans. With the right knowledge and preparation, they can make smart decisions and pick an optimal sourcing management software that truly serves the purpose.
